Yatton Keynell is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is on the B4039 road near Castle Combe, about northwest of Chippenham, and about the same distance to the east of the county border with South Gloucestershire. The parish includes the hamlets of Broomfield, Giddeahall, Long Dean, Tiddleywink and West Yatton. The Bybrook River forms part of the western parish boundary. The economy of the parish was historically agricultural although it is now more of a residential area for surrounding towns; its population in the first census of 1801 was 353 and by 2001 reached 745, rising further to 825 at the 2011 census. Yatton Keynell village is surrounded by a green belt and is largely a conservation area, which explains why unlike other settlements it has not expanded very much over its history.
History
The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Getone". Its name moved through several variations of this and the "Keynell" appears to have been added some time in the 13th century after Henry Caynell, who had a holding in 1242. At about this time, the family gave a tract of land to Stanley Abbey, and the village itself became a grange of the abbey. The Manor House is dated 1659 and is Grade II* listed. The village pub, "The Bell", takes its name from being opposite the church and dates back to the 17th century. In 1764, deeds show its name as "The Old Inn" and consisting of outhouses, stables, a brew house, garden and orchard, remains of which are still visible. The adjacent road, now the B4039 to Castle Combe and beyond, was a toll road and there was a tollbooth close by as recently as 1871. A farmhouse, called Park Farmhouse, on Grittleton Road is dated to 1778 but was once known as "Small Pox Farm" and was possibly once an isolation house. An unusual milestone in the roadside wall of the rectory garden shows its distance to Hyde Park Corner, London, as 97 miles, and to Sodbury as 11 miles; the milestone is Grade II listed. The nearby hamlet of Tiddleywink made national news in 2003 following a campaign by the locals to get it officially recognised on maps.
John Aubrey, antiquary and writer, known for his descriptions of Avebury and Stonehenge, attended the church school.
Sir Charles Snell owned land in Yatton Keynell and sold it to invest in the ship Angel Gabriel for the expedition by Raleigh to Guiana in 1595. The family owned the Manor House in West Yatton Lane from the late 17th century.
