The Shoe
| The Shoe | |
|---|---|
 The Fosse Way enters from the left and leaves to the right in this view of The Shoe | |
  The Shoe Location within Wiltshire | |
| OS grid reference | ST809743 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chippenham |
| Postcode district | SN14 |
| Dialling code | 01225 01249 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
The Shoe is a small hamlet in the parish of North Wraxall, in the north-west of Wiltshire in England. It lies at the junction of the Fosse Way (the old Roman road from Exeter to Lincoln) and the A420 (running from Bristol to Oxford). The settlement is named after the former inn, The Horse-shoe.[1] Ordnance Survey maps show a smithy. Earlier maps show the smithy on the south side[2] of the A420 road, while later maps show one on the north side[3] of the road. The Shoe is about 7 miles (11 km) west of Chippenham and the same distance northeast of Bath.
A spring rises in the village, forming a tributary of the Bybrook River.[3] To the south of the village, marking the boundary with Colerne, is Doncombe Brook, with Bury Camp – an Iron Age hillfort – rising above the Doncombe valley.[4]
Facilities
[edit]The Shoe Inn, marked on the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map, became a private house and is now used as a holiday let, although a board for public notices and a postbox are still outside.[5]
A garage and several other businesses are based in the village.
Just off the Fosse Way, about 400 yards (370 m) north of the A420 junction, lies the North Wraxall village hall, called the Community Hall, offering a playgroup and other amenities.[6]
The Shoe Inn's sign displayed in a private garden in 2009
Postbox and parish council noticeboard at The Shoe
The Garage at The Shoe
Looking west along the A420 towards Chippenham
References
[edit]- ↑ "North Wraxall". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ↑ "OS One-Inch, England and Wales, 1872–1914 Sheet 265 – Bath Published: 1898". 1898. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- 1 2 "OS Six-inch England and Wales, 1842–1952 Gloucestershire Sheet LXXIV Published: 1923". 1923. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ Historic England. "Bury Wood Camp hillfort and earthwork enclosure 750m north of Raffinwood House (1018385)". National Heritage List for England.
- ↑ North Wraxall Parish Council clerk (31 December 2025). "North Wraxall Parish Council Agenda". North Wraxall Parish Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ North Wraxall Parish Council chairman (8 May 2026). "North Wraxall Village Hall". North Wraxall Parish Council. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- G. M. Boumphrey, (1935) Along the Roman Roads. London: Allen & Unwin