{{Short description|Hamlet in Wiltshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |static_image = The Shoe view.JPG |static_image_caption = The Fosse Way enters from the left and leaves to the right in this view of The Shoe |coordinates = {{coord|51.467|-2.277|type:city(50)_region:GB-WIL|display=inline,title}} |official_name = The Shoe |population = |population_ref = |civil_parish = North Wraxall |unitary_england = Wiltshire |lieutenancy_england = Wiltshire |region = South West England |constituency_westminster = South Cotswolds |post_town = Chippenham |postcode_district = SN14 |postcode_area = SN |dial_code = 01225 |dial_code1 = 01249 |os_grid_reference = ST809743 |website = }}

'''The Shoe''' is a small hamlet in the parish of North Wraxall, in the north-west of Wiltshire in England. It lies at the junction of the Fosse Way (the old Roman road from Exeter to Lincoln) and the A420 (running from Bristol to Oxford). The settlement is named after the former inn, ''The Horse-shoe''.<ref name="North Wraxall History">{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/172|title=North Wraxall|work=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=25 February 2013}}</ref> Ordnance Survey maps show a smithy. Earlier maps show the smithy on the south side<ref name="National Library of Scotland: OS One-Inch, England and Wales, 1872-1914 Sheet 265 - Bath Published: 1898">{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/101168663|title=OS One-Inch, England and Wales, 1872–1914 Sheet 265 – Bath Published: 1898|date=1898|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref> of the A420 road, while later maps show one on the north side<ref name="National Library of Scotland: OS Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952 Gloucestershire Sheet LXXIV Published: 1923">{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102342917|title=OS Six-inch England and Wales, 1842–1952 Gloucestershire Sheet LXXIV Published: 1923|date=1923|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref> of the road. The Shoe is about {{Convert|7|mi|km|0|abbr=}} west of Chippenham and the same distance northeast of Bath.

A spring rises in the village, forming a tributary of the Bybrook River.<ref name="National Library of Scotland: OS Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952 Gloucestershire Sheet LXXIV Published: 1923" /> To the south of the village, marking the boundary with Colerne, is Doncombe Brook, with Bury Camp – an Iron Age hillfort – rising above the Doncombe valley.<ref name="Historic England Page">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1018385 |desc=Bury Wood Camp hillfort and earthwork enclosure 750m north of Raffinwood House}}</ref>

==Facilities==

The Shoe Inn, marked on the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map, became a private house and is now used as a holiday let, although a board for public notices and a postbox are still outside.<ref name="North Wraxall Parish Council Agenda">{{cite web|url=https://northwraxall-pc.gov.uk/agenda-for-meeting-thursday-8th-jan-2026-at-community-hall/#more-2564|title=North Wraxall Parish Council Agenda|author=North Wraxall Parish Council clerk|date=31 December 2025|website=North Wraxall Parish Council|access-date=8 May 2026}}</ref>

A garage and several other businesses are based in the village.

Just off the Fosse Way, about {{convert|400|yd|m}} north of the A420 junction, lies the North Wraxall village hall, called the Community Hall, offering a playgroup and other amenities.<ref name="North Wraxall Parish Council Page">{{cite web|url=https://northwraxall-pc.gov.uk/the-parish/village-hall/|title=North Wraxall Village Hall|author=North Wraxall Parish Council chairman|date=8 May 2026|website=North Wraxall Parish Council|access-date=8 May 2026}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed"> File:The Shoe detail.JPG|The Shoe Inn's sign displayed in a private garden in 2009 File:Postbox and Noticeboard at The Shoe, Wiltshire.jpg|Postbox and parish council noticeboard at The Shoe File:The Garage at The Shoe, North Wraxall, Wiltshire.jpg|The Garage at The Shoe File:The Shoe, looking west along the A420 towards Chippenham.jpg|Looking west along the A420 towards Chippenham </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

* G. M. Boumphrey, (1935) ''Along the Roman Roads''. London: Allen & Unwin

Category:Hamlets in Wiltshire