Kellaways

Kellaways is small, but ancient. The Manor of Kellaways is recorded as held by the Kellaways family from the C12 to c1424. From c1500 to 1844 it was held by the Long family of Draycot and South Wraxall. Kellaways is on the River Avon; there was once a watermill. It was marked as disused on a 1959 map. The present building, now a house, is from the late 17th and 18th centuries; nearby stands the mill-owner's house of c1800. The church of St. Giles was attached to the mill, but c1800 a new church was built. It has a beautiful and recently renovated octagonal cupola.
Kellaways is famous for being served by Maud Heath's Causeway, an elevated pathway for keeping people's feet dry in times of floods, which are frequent when the Avon bursts its banks. Maud Heath gave land and property in 1474 for the construction and maintenance of a raised path from Wick Hill to Chippenham and the upkeep is still the responsibility of the Trustees, one of the oldest charities in Britain.
The Great Western railway passes through but there has never been a stop in Kellaways. There is - unlikely as it sounds - a Kellaways telephone exchange. I can't find any physical evidence of it as yet. Maybe it was a shed with a telephonist once, as was the case elsewhere when the early telephone system was set up.

Kellaways is small, but ancient. The Manor of Kellaways is recorded as held by the Kellaways family from the C12 to c1424. From c1500 to 1844 it was held by the Long family of Draycot and South Wraxall. Kellaways is on the River Avon; there was once a watermill. It was marked as disused on a 1959 map. The present building, now a house, is from the late 17th and 18th centuries; nearby stands the mi…  (read more)

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