Church of St. Nicholas, Wittenham with Rowley
The church here was dedicated to St. Nicholas and in 1428 had fewer than 10 parishioners, so was exempt from payment of the subsidy.
Also in 1428 Walter, Lord Hungerford, got permission from the Bishop of Bath and Wells and Salisbury to unite Wittenham with Farleigh Hungerford, on the grounds that Wittenham was impoverished and no priest was willing to occupy it. This was unusual in the Middle Ages and the parishioners of Wittenham were to maintain the nave of their church, and the books, vestments and ornaments were to remain at the church. They would also have no liability for Farleigh Hungerford church. Services were to be held there three times a year. The Wittenham parishioners were to have access to the church at Farleigh and had to pay the rector the usual dues. The rector of Farleigh had to pay 8d. each to the bishop the dean and chapter and the archdeacon of Salisbury and in 1535 this arrangement was still continuing.
Also in 1428 Walter, Lord Hungerford, got permission from the Bishop of Bath and Wells and Salisbury to unite Wittenham with Farleigh Hungerford, on the grounds that Wittenham was impoverished and no priest was willing to occupy it. This was unusual in the Middle Ages and the parishioners of Wittenham were to maintain the nave of their church, and the books, vestments and ornaments were to remain at the church. They would also have no liability for Farleigh Hungerford church. Services were to be held there three times a year. The Wittenham parishioners were to have access to the church at Farleigh and had to pay the rector the usual dues. The rector of Farleigh had to pay 8d. each to the bishop the dean and chapter and the archdeacon of Salisbury and in 1535 this arrangement was still continuing.
The site of the church is unknown, but it is generally assumed to be in Rowley Lane between Westwood and Farleigh Hungerford where the road widens into ‘Holy Green,’ so called in 1872. Soundings taken in the early 1970s indicated stone foundations in this area just to the west of the lane. Wittenham and Rowley was not a compact area of land added to Farleigh; terriers of 1675 show acres of land through Westwood, Bradford and Wingfield that were tithable to Farleigh. The glebe lands were also scattered, but the Tithe Commutation Act of 1838 returned some order to the ecclesiastical anomalies. A piece of mullioned stone in Wingfield church states that it originally came from Rowley church and it has been incorporated into that building.