Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Hill Deverill, Longbridge

There was most probably a Saxon wooden church here that was replaced by a stone church by 1130. In 1200 it was described as 'a stone church covered with lead and needing repair'. At that date it was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Roman Catholic dedication that has, unusually, remained to this day. This was the family church of the Ludlows and there is a massive late 15th/early 16th century tomb of the family's in the church. This early church was almost entirely pulled down in 1841, only the east wall of the old building remains, and was rebuilt by 1842. The money for this was raised by public subscription. This church, almost certainly a copy of the earlier one, was designed by Chapman & Sons and consists of a nave with bellcote and a chancel. In 1860 an organ, presented by John Clifford of Mill Farm, was sited in the gallery, replacing the gallery mucisians. In 1890 the living of Hill Deverill was annexed to Longbridge Deverill and the church served from there. The church closed in the late 1970s/early 1980s and the parish registers from 1661 (baptisms and burials) and 1670 (marriages) are held in the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham.