Character, change and continuity are the story of every English village. Over ten centuries, Laverstock and Ford parish has remained independent, resisting absorption by its much larger neighbour Salisbury. A thriving medieval pottery industry brought prosperity while much later a progressive mental health asylum put Laverstock on the national map. Once there were farms, workers' cottages, great houses, and a slower pace of life, now the parish has a busy through-road, new housing, and a transient studentpopulation. Yet a few older houses remain, clustered around the Church and the Green. Generously illustrated, this book contains old photographs and original coloured drawings of the village while the chapters offer a fresh insight into the parish and its history.