St Aldhelm's Church

The parish church of St Aldhelm dates from the 14^th century. It is built of dressed limestone with a Welsh slate roof and consists of a nave, west tower with recessed spire, chancel and a north-east vestry. The church was largely rebuilt in 1757, the chancel was rebuilt in 1840 and the whole building was restored in 1876. The tower is the only part remaining from the 15^th century.

A stone tablet in the south wall records that the church was ‘restored from the lowest foundations’ in 1757. A faculty was applied for in January 1757 which described all the work to be undertaken. The parishioners had recently erected a new roof and quickly realised that the walls were in poor condition and unable to support the weight of a new roof. The decision was taken to take down and rebuild the walls and roof of the nave and chancel, leaving the tower and steeple standing.

The general opinion was that the church was too big and that ‘not within the time of memory of man’ had it been filled with seats. An experienced workman was confident that a church 51’ long was sufficient to seat all the parishioners. This was 14’ shorter than the previous church.

The churchwarden’s presentments during the 1750s reported problems with the tenor bell.

The faculty declared two of the three bells to be ‘useless’ and the petitioners asked for permission to sell the 1^st and the 3^rd bells and to put the money towards the rebuild. The parish could not afford to pay for the rebuild without this money. The parishioners had all been consulted on the matter and were of the opinion that one bell was sufficient for their needs.

A watercolour painting by John Buckler shows the church in 1804. The tower and spire look out of proportion with the small nave.

When Sir Richard Colt Hoare visited the church in 1830, he described it as ‘a plain edifice without aisles, east end circular, in the centre of which, contrary to usual custom, is placed the pulpit’. The nave measured 48’ long by 24’ wide.

By 1840 the village had outgrown its church which was no longer large enough. The population in 1801 was 227 and in 1841 it was 296. A faculty was submitted to remove the present chancel, enlarge the east end of the church and build a new chancel, which would increase the accommodation by 50. The entire cost of £590 was paid by William Temple of Bishopstrow House.

By 1876 the nave, pews and fittings, and unsightly gallery at the west end, were all in a state of general decay. The modern chancel was considered unsuitable for the remainder of the church.

It was resolved to repair and restore the stonework of the nave and tower, build buttresses where necessary and open out the south window in the tower. The north porch leading into the chancel was taken down and the height of the walls was lowered. The arch between the chancel and nave was rebuilt and the chancel reroofed. A vestry room and organ chamber opening into the chancel were erected on the site of the porch and adjacent churchyard. The gallery and the staircase leading to it were taken down and removed. A new prayer desk, pulpit, communion table and railing were all provided, the font was restored and refitted and a new heating apparatus installed. The total cost was £1200 of which £960 had already been raised from private donations. The parish was confident that it would be able to raise the rest by further donations.

The population in 1871 was 243. The new church would accommodate 200 sittings and it was intended that the majority would be free and unappropriated (previously 60 were free). The work was carried out by W Scott Champion during 1876-7.

There was a clock in the church in 1799, noted in the churchwardens’ accounts. The present clock was made by J Smith and Sons of Derby in 1901.

It was paid for by the rector George Attwood and the Temple family as a thank offering for the return of various parishioners from the South African War.

On entering the church, the visitor will notice the magnificent west door with its ornate hinges. The door was gifted by Francis Southey in 1916. Inside, the highly ornate Arts and Crafts style chancel screen was added in 1921. On the west wall of the nave hang mid-19^th century copies of two of the twelve angels depicted in the altar piece tabernacle created by Fra Angelico Linaioli in 1433. They are believed to have been brought to the church in the late 1940s. The paintings were restored in 2014.

There were three bells at Bishopstrow in 1553. As previously mentioned, two were sold in 1757. The remaining bell was recast by Wells of Aldbourne in 1785. A second bell was added in 1902. It was given by J.M. Benett-Stanford, who had it cast in 1895 for use at Pythouse but found it too heavy.

The steeple was unfortunately struck by lightning in 1930. There was a tremendous thunderstorm on Friday 13^th June and the Warminster Journal wrote a vivid description. The damage was the worst experienced in the Warminster district. According to the Journal, the steeple was ‘practically wrecked by lightning. From an external view of the steeple it does not look safe for people to approach too near the west end of the church’.

An emergency P.C.C.

meeting was called on Saturday 21^st June when it was reported that Messrs R Butcher and Son of Warminster had undertaken the removal of the damaged part of the spire in order to repair and rebuild it.

No further major work was required until 1989, when the south slope of the nave and the north slope of the chancel were re-roofed. This was followed in 1994 by the re-roofing of the south chancel.

The glebe terrier dated 1783 gives a detailed description of the rectory house. It was built partly of stone and partly of brick; one part was tiled and the other thatched and it contained two parlours, five bedrooms and two garrets. Outside was a stable with room for four horses, a kitchen garden, a pleasure garden and a stable garden. Much of this building still remains in the present Old Rectory, which was enlarged in the 19^th century. It was sold in 1954.

The 1783 return to the Bishop’s visitation query states that services were held twice on Sundays, with a sermon in the afternoon. The sacrament was administered four times a year to about 14 people. By 1864 there were still two services, but with a sermon preached at both. Communion was administered once a month, with an average of 45 people attending. The church had space for 170 people.

The return does not mention a figure for the Sunday congregation, but the rector was happy with the number of people attending.

The 19^th century clergy stayed in post a long time; most of them between 10 and 15 years. The Rev George Atwood arrived in 1883 and stayed until his death in 1921. The stained glass window in the north side of the nave was given in his memory by his friends in 1922. On 11^th January 1920 his notes in the Preacher’s Book record that the weather was bad, with gales and heavy storms. The following Sunday he was unable to take the services, being confined to bed on doctor’s orders. He took his last services on Feb 1^st. Sadly, the rector died in March and was buried at Bishopstrow on 15^th March aged just 65 years.

Bishopstrow stayed as an independent living until 1957, when it combined with St John’s to form the new ecclesiastical parish of Bishopstrow and Boreham. In 2017, the parish joined with the Minster in Warminster and St Mary’s in Upton Scudamore to form the new River Were Benefice.

The parish registers, apart from those currently in use at the church, are held at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham.