Church of St. Mary, Calne

There was certainly an early Saxon church here as the estate belonged to the king from the 9th or 10th century. The church standing in 1066 was almost certainly on the site of the present church, although nothing of this is known to have survived. It is believed that the present narrow nave was built by the Normans in the 12th century, without aisles. In the late 12th century this was enlarged on a cruciform plan and narrow aisles added. This was the start of several centuries of enlargement with chancel aisles built and the south transept rebuilt in the 13th century and a chapel built on the north side of the nave in the 14th century. In the 15th century the north and south porches and a clerestory were built.

In 1638 the central tower fell and probably damaged the north transept and the eastern end of the church as they were reconstructed c.1650. A new tower was built on the site of the northern part of the north transept and the south transept was rebuilt. There were two restorations in the 19th century - in 1864 the southern and western parts of the church were restored by William Slater and in 1890-1 the chancel was restored by J.L. Pearson. In 1553 there was a peal of 4 bells, including a Sanctus bell of the late 15th century which still survives, which were recast in 1976 when a peal of 8 was made. The registers dating from 1528, other than those in current use, are held in the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office.