St Mary's, Calne | |
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Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
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51°26′14″N2°00′10″W / 51.4371°N 2.0028°W Coordinates: 51°26′14″N2°00′10″W / 51.4371°N 2.0028°W | |
OS grid reference | ST999709 |
Location | Calne, Wiltshire |
Country | England |
Denomination | Anglican |
Website | parishofcalneandblackland |
History | |
Status | Parish church |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Style | Perpendicular, Gothic survival |
Years built | 12th century, restored 1864 |
Administration | |
Parish | Calne and Blackland |
Deanery | Calne |
Archdeaconry | Wilts |
Diocese | Salisbury |
Province | Canterbury |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Reference no. | 1271365 [1] |
St Mary's Church is the main Anglican church in the town of Calne, Wiltshire, England. The church is large and cruciform, with a tall north tower; it stands in a triangular churchyard at the heart of the town. Begun in the 12th century, it is described by Pevsner as "the proud church of a prosperous clothiers' town". [2] The church is a Grade I listed building. [1]
A church was recorded at Calne in 1066 [3] and was almost certainly on the site of the present church. By 1116 the church's estate endowed a prebend at Salisbury Cathedral. The present building dates from c. 1160–70, and Norman work survives in the nave and part of a doorway, later moved to the north porch door.
The church was lengthened in the 14th century and St Edmund's chapel was added on the north side. The 15th century saw the addition of a clerestory and north and south porches, together with the re-roofing of the nave.
In 1638 the crossing tower and spire collapsed, damaging the north and east of the chancel. The tower was rebuilt over the north transept and is a notable example of the Gothic survival style, with four stages; Pevsner states that its buttress shafts and pinnacles are "in the Somerset fashion". [2]
The church was restored to designs of William Slater in 1864, when the south and west parts were rebuilt, including the south chapel, and the pulpit and organ were moved. In 1882–3, under the direction of J.L. Pearson, the organ was again moved and the north-east chapel became a vestry; Pearson also designed restoration of the chancel in 1890–91.
The 15th-century roof can be seen in the nave, and the 17th-century roof in the chancel. Bench pews are from the mid-19th century. The three-panel reredos of 1890 was designed by J.L. Pearson.
A new organ by Conacher and Co was installed in 1908. The large organ case, and the altar in the south chapel, are in Arts and Crafts style from the first decade of the 20th century. They were designed by C.R. Ashbee and carved by Alec Miller, from Ashbee's Guild at Chipping Campden.
The ancient parish of Calne covered a wide area, including Berwick Bassett, Cherhill and Studley, each with churches or chapels dependent on St Mary's. In the 19th century Berwick Bassett and Cherhill became independent, and much of the west of the parish was transferred to the new church at Derry Hill, including Sandy Lane, Studley and Bowood; also Stockley was transferred to Heddington.
Today St Mary's is the head church of the parish of Calne and Blackland, which comprises Holy Trinity at Quemerford, a Victorian church, and (since 1881) [4] the small 13th-century church at Blackland, south-east of the town. [5] Since 2010 the parish, together with Derry Hill, Bremhill and Foxham, has been served by the Marden Vale Team Ministry. [6]
Registers dating from 1528 are held in the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office.
Calne is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England, at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs hill range, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England, 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Devizes. The parish includes the village of Coate and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Horton.
Winterbourne Bassett is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Swindon and 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Marlborough.
Yatesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England. It is next to Cherhill, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the A4 road between Calne and Marlborough.
Compton Bassett is a village and rural civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of approximately 250. The village lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Cherhill and 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) east of the town of Calne.
Berwick St James is a village and civil parish on the River Till in Wiltshire, England, about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Salisbury, on the southern edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish includes the hamlet of Asserton. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 185, reducing to 142 at the 2011 census.
Derry Hill is a village in the English county of Wiltshire, in the civil parish of Calne Without. It has an elevated position at the northern edge of the Bowood House estate, about 3 miles (5 km) south-east of the centre of the town of Chippenham.
Sandy Lane is a small village in Wiltshire, England, about 4.5 miles (7 km) south-east of Chippenham and 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Calne. It lies on the A342 Chippenham-Devizes road, just north of its junction with the A3102 to Calne.
Studley is a small village in the county of Wiltshire, England, belonging to the civil parish of Calne Without.
Quemerford is a southeastern suburb of the town of Calne in the county of Wiltshire, England. It is within both the Calne and Calne Without civil parishes, and lies on the A4 road towards Marlborough, which is some 11 miles (18 km) to the east.
St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Much of the building is late 10th or early 11th century, making it the most significant surviving Anglo-Saxon building in the county. It is located near the centre of Roman Verulamium to the west of the modern city.
St Mary and All Saints Church is in the centre of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. Richards describes it as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture remaining in Cheshire". The authors of the Buildings of England series express the opinion that it is "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches of Cheshire and its setting brings its qualities out to perfection".
St Patrick's Church, Patrington is an Anglican parish church located in Patrington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The church is a Grade I listed building.
Marden is a small village and civil parish 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Devizes in the county of Wiltshire, south west England. The parish is in the Vale of Pewsey which carries the upper section of the Salisbury Avon; to the south the parish extends into Salisbury Plain.
Stapleford is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Wilton, Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Till just above its confluence with the River Wylye.
Calstone Wellington is a small village and former parish in Wiltshire, England, some three miles (5 km) from Calne and now part of the civil parish of Calne Without.
St Nicholas's Church in Berwick Bassett, Wiltshire, England dates from the early 13th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant in 1972, and was vested in the Trust the next year. Services continue to be held at the church a few times a year.
Calne Without is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is a rural parish surrounding the town of Calne, extending west to the Avon and south to the Roman road from London to Bath. Settlements in the parish are the village of Derry Hill; the small villages of Calstone Wellington, Sandy Lane, Stockley and Studley; the dispersed settlement of Stock; the hamlets of Blackland, Broad's Green, Buck Hill, Calstone, Mile Elm, Pewsham and Theobald's Green; and part of the hamlet of Ratford. The parish also encompasses the country house estates of Bowood and Whetham.
St Mary's Church stands on a hill in the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ellesmere, the archdeaconry of Salop, and the diocese of Lichfield. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
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