Church of St. Mary, Colligbourne Kingston

The parish church of St. Mary dates from the 12th century and probably earlier. It was originally dedicated to St. John the Baptist, but had changed to St. Mary by 1763. Various alterations to the building took place between 1175 and 1500. During the late 12th century the nave arcades were cut through and the aisles were built. In the 13th century the chancel was rebuilt; this is the date of the surviving chancel arch. Further alterations took place in the early 14th century and in the mid 14th century a new window was made in the south chancel wall. The clerestory was built presumably in the late 12th century, when the aisles were built, or in the 13th century when the chancel was rebuilt. In the early 14th century the east bay of the north aisle was rebuilt, probably to provide for a chapel. In the 15th century the tower and the porch were built and, except the west window of the north aisle, all the windows of both aisles were renewed. In the early 18th century the windows of the clerestory were replaced, the roof of the nave was reconstructed, and a west gallery was erected.

During 1861-2 major restoration work was undertaken. The faculty, dated 31st May 1861, declares the church to be ‘in a state of general decay and the arrangement of the seats being irregular and inconvenient to the inhabitants of the said parish’. It was decided to re-roof the whole building, to remove the west end gallery, to repair and restore the walls and arches both internally and externally, and to repair and restore the chancel arch. Inside, the church had a new floor and new pews; all internal fittings were also replaced. The cost of the work was £1,040.

The interior of the church is dominated by the huge canopied tomb of Sir Gabriel Pile (d. 1626) and his wife Anne. The canopy is supported on pillars and is one of only three in Wiltshire that is classed as an eight poster.

There are four stained glass windows in the church, all dating from the mid 19th century and later. The east and south windows in the chancel are memorials to the Mackrell family. The window behind the organ in the southern arcade is a memorial to the Rev. Poore who was vicar from 1839-1879. The nave window honours the men who fell in two World Wars.

There are six bells in this church. In 1553 four bells were recorded, but these were replaced by four cast by John Wallis in 1614. In 1695 a tenor bell cast by Samuel Knight brought the ring up to five. This bell was re-cast by John Taylor of Loughborough in 1896 when a treble bell cast at the same foundry increased the number of bells to six.

Collingbourne Kingston was an independent parish until 1963, when it combined with neighbouring Ducis. In 1975 the parish of Everleigh was added to the benefice. In 2002 Collingbourne became part of the Savernake Team Ministry. This is a team of eleven parishes in north-east Wiltshire ranging from Collingbourne Ducis in the south to Little Bedwyn in the north.

The parish registers dating from 1653 (apart from those currently in use at the church) can be seen at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham.