Day 4: My Ancestors’ Villages

Here’s the third post sharing our adventures in the British Isles and Ireland from September 29 to October 17, 2025, for genealogy, business, and sightseeing. Hope you enjoy it!

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Our goal today was to visit the villages of North Stoke, Netheravon, and Amesbury. We also wanted to visit Stonehenge, but we knew our upcoming tour would visit there, too. And, of course, we had to be back in time to meet Rosemary at the church in Steeple Ashton to see if we could lay eyes on the Silverthorne plaque.

We were in the car by 10:00 a.m. and drove to North Stoke, Somerset, near Bath. It is in the opposite direction from Steeple Ashton than the other villages are, so we figured we’d go there first. The roads were very treacherous with one lane in many cases. The locals would probably laugh at us because they go zipping by! On the way, we saw a red phone booth turned into a little library!

North Stoke is where one of the oldest of my ancestors lived and died. John Silverthorne was born in 1422 and died in 1538. John isn’t the farthest-back ancestor, though. That is William Silverthorne, born in 1399. At this time, I don’t have any other information on him. 

John served as the vicar of The Church of St. Martin, and we spent a little while there. Of course we didn’t expect to find any gravestones, and we were correct. Most of the stones were in very bad shape and the oldest ones we found were from the 1800s.

Next, it was on to Netheravon, which is four miles north of Amesbury, where Stonehenge is located. On the way from North Stoke to Netheravon, we passed the Royal Artillery. Lots of barbed wire and men in camo and berets riding bicycles.

Netheravon is located on the River Avon, which greatly excited me (English major), because Shakespeare is associated with the River Avon, specifically Stratford-upon-Avon. Imagine how deflated I was when I learned a few days later that there are eight Avon rivers located within England, Scotland, and Wales! This is because “avon” is a Celtic word for “river.” 

Netheravon actually sits on the East Avon River, also known as the Hampshire Avon or the Salisbury Avon. That makes sense because Netheravon (and Stonehenge) sit on the Salisbury Plain. Shakespeare’s Avon is the Warwickshire Avon. Don’t ask me to list the others (and the additional names for all of them). Wait until I tell you about the lakes located in the Lake District in a future post!

All Saints Church, which dates back to the Saxons and the 11th century, was locked up tight, but it seems like it must be very beautiful inside based on its exterior appearance and how the grounds are kept.

Anthony Silverthorne was my ninth great grandfather and was born in West Ashton (near Steeple Ashton) in 1623. He died in Netheravon in 1696. He’s supposed to be buried at All Saints Church, but we didn’t find him. There’s also Oliver Silverthorne, my eighth great grandfather, who was born in Amesbury in 1661 and died in Netheravon in 1686. Apparently, bodies were buried on top of each other, when they needed space. I suppose they didn’t even use gravestones in the 1600s and before! 

Next, we headed to Amesbury, the home of Stonehenge! As mentioned above, Oliver Silverthorne, my 8th great grandfather, was born in Amesbury but died in Netheravon. His father, also Oliver Silverthorne (1686–1746), my seventh great-grandfather, was born in Amesbury, and he emigrated to America, receiving a land grant in New Jersey in 1735. There’s also Thomas Silverthorn, my sixth great grandfather, born in Amesbury in 1717. In 1735, when his father came to America, he would have been 18, so he must have tagged along. He died in 1788 in New Jersey. Some of his descendants remained in the American colonies, while others moved to Canada during the American Revolution.

Since none of my direct ancestors would be found in Amesbury cemeteries, we focused on Stonehenge and other ancient sights!

Have you ever heard of Woodhenge? It is a timber monument with six oval rings of posts, and it was built around the same time as Stonehenge (the neolithic period, around 4,500 BCE). Jim likes to say it is the prototype for Stonehenge, especially because some of the pillars follow the exact design of the stones in Stonehenge. It was originally an arrangement of wooden posts that may have been as tall as nine meters (that’s almost 30 feet, ya’ll).

Here’s how Woodhenge was discovered. In 1925, when air flight was new, an aerial photo revealed rings of dark spots what was thought to be a plowed burial mound. For two years, Maude and Benjamin Cunnington uncovered post holes, which resembled the arrangement at Stonehenge, and that’s how it got its name, Woodhenge. The holes were marked with concrete pillars, color coded to help visitors understand where the original posts were. Surrounding the site is a ditch or henge, another similarity to Stonehenge.

At this site was also a long display that pointed out the landscape in the distance and highlighted the ancient remains of Durrington Walls, Western Enclosures, Southern Circle, etc.

And then to Stonehenge! We had been told you could see it from the road and it’s true. I have to say that this was one of the most exciting moments of my life. Just driving along and seeing Stonehenge not that far from the road. You can’t stop on the road and walk up to it, though. There’s a visitors’ center and you can take a bus to get to Stonehenge, or you can walk the whole way, which is about a mile.

We would be visiting Stonehenge as part of our upcoming tour, so we didn’t need to do anything more than visit the gift shop. We got a few cool souvenirs and looked forward to returning.

Heading back to Steeple Ashton, we talked about how glad Jim must have been that we would be returning the car the next day and from then on, we’d let others worry about driving on the other side of the road!

Back at the B&B in Steeple Ashton, we lounged around a bit, captioning photos, etc., and then we met Rosemary at the church. She took us up into the Hey library via a close spiral stone staircase near the entrance to the church. There, we found the Silverthorne plaque hanging on the wall. I wish it wasn’t hidden away, but at least it’s not lost!

Rosemary tried to find the cemetery records, but none went back far enough. She said they are located somewhere official. In any case, we enjoyed talking to her about the history of the church, the Royals, etc. We sadly said goodbye and headed off to the Longs at Steeple Ashton pub we dined at the first night. Excellent again!

Sacred to the Memory of our Ancestors, Who were Baptized and Buried in this Church

JOHN SILVERTHORNE

of Steeple Ashton, Yeoman

Born about 1450, Released Lands in West Amesbury to William Southe in 1523, Buried here 12 Oct 1538, Married about 1480, AVISE HOBBES, Daughter & co-heiress of Thomas Hobbes the Younger of West Amesbury (who died in 1502), Born about 1460, Died before 1517; and their son:

WILLIAM SILVERTHORNE

of Steeple Ashton, Yeoman

Born about 1485, Released Lands in West Amesbury to Gilbert Beckington in 1571, Buried here 16 Oct 1538, Married about 1510, JANE PALMER, Born about 1490, Died in 1559, her will dated 17 Oct 1558, Proved 15 Jul 1559 in the Archdeaconry Court, and their son & heir:

JOHN SILVERTHORNE

Senior of West Ashton, Yeoman,

Born about 1520, Churchwarden here in 1559 & 1560, Died in 1572-73, His Will dated 8 April 1571, Proved 31 Mar 1573, Married about 1545, JOHANE, Born about 1525, Buried here 22 Apr 1598, Widow, Her Will dated 29 Mar 1597, Proved 2 May 1598, & Inventory named their son:

WILLIAM SILVERTHORNE

the Younger of West Ashton, Yeoman,

Baptized here 8 1549/50, Churchwarden in 1579 and 1580, Buried here 13 Jul 1612, of Brinknom, His Will dated 5 Jun 16112 and Proved 4 Feb 1612/13, P.C.C. 17 Capell, Married here about 1580, ANSTANCE, Born about 1560, Living in 1612 as Executor with their son & heir:

ANTHONY SILVERTHORNE

The Elder of West Ashton, Yeoman,

Baptized here 29 Sep 1585, Churchwarden in 1627 & 1651, Buried here 25 Jun 1665, Inventory taken 27 June 1665, Will dated 13 Feb 1664/65 & proved 20 Sep 1665, Married 1^st 27 Nov 1620 by license, with the consent of Robert Poore of St. Mary Boume, RACHELL PARKER, Daughter of Virgill Sneyth alias Parker of Lushill, Gentlemen, by his wife Mary Coxwell, Daughter of John Coxwell of Cirencester, Esquire, by his wife, Johne Partriche, Baptized 6 Jun 1594 at Castle Eaton, and Buried her 1 mar 1629/30, wife of Anthony, Married 2^nd here 21 Apr 1640, MARY JORDEN, Daughter of Paul Jorden of Steeple Ashton, by his wife Joanne Whately, Baptized here 25 Apr 1610, Buried here 17 Apr 1672, Wido: and his eldest son & heir (by his 1^st wife, Rachell):

ANTHONY SILVERTHORN

The Younger of West Ashton & Netheravon, Carpenter,

Baptized here 28 Sep 1623 (son of Anthony), Churchwarden in 1656, Buried 9 Sep 1696 at Netheravon, Married about 1650 at Netheravon, SARAH LONG, Daughter of John Long the Elder of Trowbridge & Netheravon, Yeoman, by his wife, Catherine Bushell, Daughter of Thomas Bushell of Netheravon, Gentleman, Baptized 2 May at All Saints Netheravon, Buried there 12 May 1688, Wife of Anthony, & their Son:

OLIVER SILVERTHORNE

Of Netheravon, Wheelwright,

Born about 1656 (at West Ashton), Buried 19 Jan 1685/86 at Netheravon, Inventory taken 28 Jan 1685/86, Married 21 Sep 1685 at Amesbury, MARGARET MIST, Daughter of Henry Mist of Amesbury, Yeoman, by his wife Winefred, Baptized 15 Apr 1661 at Amesbury: & their son:

OLIVER SILVERTHORNE

Of Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Yeoman,

Baptized 1 Aug 1686 at Amesbury (son of Margaret), Mentioned in the 1705 Will of his Grandfather, Henry Mist, Emigrated to America by 1733, Died in Oct 1746, aged 60, Union Furnace, Married MARY.

Given to the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin by Frank Fremont Reed and Jaqueiln Silverthorne Reed in 1986.