Brinkworth Heritage Society's Millennium book, Brinkworth with Grittenham, is a well illustrated miscellany of village history to delight all who know and love the area, or would like to delve into its past.

It shows local families, their homes, occupations and pursuits and covers several centuries.

It has 162 prints from early years to modern times. It describes unfulfilled plans in 1811 for the Bristol junction canal project, which would have changed the face of Brinkworth, by providing a link to the Wilts and Berks Canal.

By 1903, Brinkworth had a railway station, and in the 1960s, when that station was no more, the M4 was built near the village.

Tales of rural life abound, and selection of photographs includes one of a young rider at a Brinkworth gymkhana hurtling head first from the saddle.

That unfortunate competitor, who went on to become a jockey, is better known as Lord Oaksey.

Country crafts, cheese making and butter churning are also pictured, and there is much information on the area's flora and fauna, footpaths, bridleways and cycle routes.

Even before the First World War, the village saw major military manoeuvres; a photograph of troops on the school hill is said to date from 1909.

Education and sport are prominent, and illustrations include the old school at Grittenham, the hamlet which has long been part of Brinkworth parish.

Brinkworth's important role as a centre of Primitive Methodism, whose missionaries evangelised vast areas of England, is detailed. There is also a history of the parish church of St Michael and All Angels, originally thought to have been dedicated to St Stephen.

Brinkworth with Grittenham, priced at £9.50, has been produced by Graham Greener and local historian Joanna Clothier. To obtain a copy, telephone (01666) 510351.