Church of All Saints, Norton Bavant

There was no doubt a church at Norton Bavant in the mid-12th century, when Edward the priest of Norton was twice mentioned in the register of St Osmund. Part of a Norman font, which was found re-used as a step in the tower in 1894, also points to the existence of a church at that time. The first documentary evidence of a building confirms that the church was in existence in 1364. The arch into the chapel is of the 14th century.

The two lower stages of the tower are of the same period. The upper stage has a fireplace, suggesting it was used as a priest’s chamber. The flue was blocked up as early as c. 1500 when the third stage of the tower was either added or rebuilt. At the north-east angle of the tower is a stair turret projecting to the north. It rises above the top of tower and has its own small stone spire.

The church was visited by Sir Richard Colt Hoare of Stourhead c. 1830.  The church was the same footprint as it is today. It measured 61 feet long and the nave was 21 feet wide. When the faculty for the rebuild was drawn up in 1839 it stated that the church had been in a ‘very ruinous and dilapidated state’ for several years. It was rebuilt between 1838 and 1840 by William Walker of Shaftesbury. Every structural feature was renewed except the archway into the chapel; the 17th century iron gates were also retained. The Benett chapel was supposedly built by John Benett who died in 1461.

There are many monuments to this family dating mostly from 1653 to the present day.

The vicar and parishioners do not seem to have been happy with the layout of the church, as further alterations took place in 1868. All the pews, seats and fittings in the nave and chancel were removed. The vestry and the porch, which were side by side on the north wall, were taken down and rebuilt separately at the east and west ends of the north wall. The wall was rebuilt and the roofs and stonework were repaired where necessary. The cost of the work was £430. In 1861 there were 260 people living in Norton Bavant, of whom 200 were within accessible distance of the church. The old seating arrangement had room for 152 people but only 80 of these seats were free. Following the alterations the church had 130 seats that were all free, and this was judged to be sufficient.

Further work was needed in 1894, this time to the tower. The church was built close to a stream and the tower was suffering from severe subsidence. This was remedied by underpinning the walls of the tower and turret with cement concrete. The bells and their frame were also in a perilous condition and had not been rung for many years. The bells were rung in December 1879 for the funeral of the late Mr Torrance, who had given a large contribution to the restoration work in 1868.

The architect’s report on the tower written in 1894 stated that this was a special occasion and that the bells had probably been out of action for many years previous. He recommended that the walls of the tower and the turret should be underpinned with concrete. The masonry also needed sympathetic repair due to water penetration. The estimated cost of all the work was £310, which was paid by Mrs. Torrance. During the work, part of a Norman font was found re-used upside down as the lowest of the tower steps.

There are currently five bells in the church. One, the present 3rd, survives from the survey taken in 1553 when there were just three bells. The 3rd is thought to have been cast at Bristol c. 1400. The present 4th was added in 1711. The bells were augmented to five in 1894 when Mrs Julia Torrance gave the present treble. She also had the 2nd (originally dated 1656) re-cast at the same time.

Norton Bavant has four surviving terriers each giving a detailed picture of the land and buildings held by the church. In 1609 the vicar had a dwelling house, a barn, a yard and a garden. In 1678 the house was described as having four bays. There was also a five bay barn, a garden and an orchard. The 1783 terrier describes the house in great detail. It was built of brick and stone and covered with thatch, except the brewhouse which was tiled. The ground floor consisted of a parlour, kitchen, brewhouse and a cellar.

Upstairs were two ’good’ bedrooms plus two much smaller ones. Outside there was a stable for two horses plus a thatched barn measuring 16 feet by 42 feet. 

In 1838, one year after the arrival of the Rev Edward Eliot Snr, extensive alterations were carried out at the vicarage at a cost of £538. The ground floor had a larder, cellar, scullery, kitchen, pantry, china pantry, parlour, drawing room and dining room. Upstairs had seven bedrooms, three dressing rooms and two closets. In 1851 the vicar employed a cook, nursery maid and two housemaids to help look after his young family. In 1901 the Rev Arthur Markham had a cook and a housemaid to look after himself and his wife.

In 1783 the clergy were required to submit a detailed visitation return to the bishop. The living was held by the Rector of Bishopstrow, He employed the Rector of Sutton Veny as his curate, pleading ill health as the reason for being unable to serve it himself. A service was held at Norton Bavant every Sunday at 1.00pm. The only festivals observed were Good Friday and Christmas Day. Communion was celebrated four times a year, but no more than eight people took communion. There was no collection taken at any services as the parishioners were too poor.

By 1864 the newly arrived Rev Eliot was taking two services every Sunday at 10.30am and 3.00pm. His congregation averaged 50, not including children. There were still very few communicants; the average was 15.

By 1876 the average congregation had risen to 65 in the morning and 90 in the afternoon, plus 30 schoolchildren. The number of communicants had also risen to 58.

From 1837 until 1891 Norton Bavant was in the care of the two Edward Eliots, father and son (except for 1862-3). These two men were responsible for the two major restoration projects in 1839 and 1868, as well as the alterations to the vicarage in 1838. The Rev Arthur Markham was the vicar from 1891-1912, but after this each vicar moved on after a short time.

Norton Bavant stayed as a single parish until 1953 when it joined with Sutton Veny. In 1981 the parish expanded to include Heytesbury, Tytherington and Knook. In 1997 when the Rector at Codford retired, the present day Upper Wylye Valley Team was created, including the parishes of Boyton, Codford, Sherrington and Upton Lovell.

The parish registers for Norton Bavant, dating from 1655, can be seen at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham (except for those currently in use).