Church of St. Andrew, Castle Combe

The church here was Norman and there is no record of a Saxon church. The earliest structure, the chancel, is 13th century, while the nave was rebuilt in the 14th century and work on the 80 foot tower began in 1434. The font, of 1450, is a rare example of one with a rest for a priest's service book. There is a Norman memorial to Walter de Dunstanville, Baron of Castle Combe, in the Lady Chapel and the church was taxed in 1291. The first named rector is Adam of Codford in 1301. The village was prosperous in the 15th century from wool and the local cloth industry; money from this, and help from Sir John Fastolf, provided the means for building the church tower. The faceless clock is believed to have been made by the local blacksmith in the 1380s. The tower has a small bell of the 13th century and a larger one of 1766. A chapel, built on to the eastern wall of the chancel, was later used as a vestry after the theft of the church plate in 1468. The Lady Chapel became the Scrope family chapel from the mid 15th century. In c.1576 a relief carving was placed on the eastern wall of the tower to indicate the reasons for local wealth. It shows tools of the cloth trade, a comb, shears and a shuttle. There are four pinnacles on the tower, one dated 1617, and a bell turret.

By the 19th century the structure of the church had become insecure, partly because of the practice of digging graves and vaults partially under the walls, and the building was found to be in a dangerous condition. In 1850-51 nearly all the building, except the tower, was taken down and rebuilt to the original plan. The cost of £3,000 was mostly met by Mr G. Poulett Scrope and the pews were made from the estate timber. The church organ was given in 1911 by Miss Eva Gorst, in memory of her brother, Sir Eldon Gorst. From 1955 the parish was held in plurality with Yatton Keynell, Biddestone and Slaughterford. In 1960 the walls were decorated in an early style, being rendered with a mixture of lime wash and tallow. The nave roof was renovated in 1962, at a cost of £3,000, while the organ was rebuilt in 1988.