BRITFORD, a parish in the hundred of CAWDEN-and-CADWORTH,
county of WILTS, 1 mile (S. E. by S.)
from Salisbury, containing, with the hamlets of East
Harnham and Longford, 713 inhabitants. The living
is a vicarage, in the peculiar jurisdiction and patronage
of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury, rated in the
king's books at A13. The church, dedicated to St. Peter,
is a spacious cruciform structure, with a central
tower: it contains a tomb which has afforded matter for
controversy among writers, some considering it to be
the tomb of the Duke of Buckingham, who was. beheaded
by Richard III., whilst others reject the opinion.
A stream in this parish was cut for a canal in the reign
pf Charles II., to form a line of communication with
Chris'tchurch, in the county of Southampton; but, owing
to the shifting of the sand, it was never completed.