Holy Trinity Church, Bower Chalke

The present church of Holy Trinity dates largely from the 15th century and was partially rebuilt in 1865. The church is built of ashlar and has a chancel and a nave with transeptal chapels, a south aisle and a north porch beneath a tower with a pyramidal roof. The font dates from the 12th century. The oldest parts of the building, namely the transept arches and part of the nave’s north wall, including the doorway, survive from a cruciform church without aisles that was built c.1300.

During the 15th century a separate porch and tower were added and new windows had been added to the transepts by the early 16th century. The tower was said to need repair in 1662. In 1820 part of the tower was taken down and rebuilt at a cost of £132.12s.4d.

In 1830 the church was visited by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, who published volume four of his History of Modern Wiltshire the following year. When Colt Hoare visited he described the church as ‘inconsiderable in appearance’. His plan of the church shows a nave, chancel, two transepts and a porch. Inside he marks the pulpit, font and three piscinas. The entire length of the church was 75’ 3”. The nave was 17’ 9” wide and the chancel 13’ 6”. He gives a lengthy description of the holy water stoup in the north doorway.

By 1864 thoughts were beginning to turn to enlarging the church. Although the regular congregation was about 65 people, the population of Bower Chalke was 496 in 1861 and the church could only seat 220. A faculty was applied for on April 1st 1865. It described the church as ‘in a state of general decay’ and not large enough to accommodate the whole village. The alterations were overseen by T.H. Wyatt. The south aisle was added, the tower was heightened and the chancel and part of the nave were rebuilt. The whole church was given a new roof. Inside, the west gallery was removed, a new floor was put in and the high box pews replaced by modern ones. The cost was £1,500. The new church had seating for 301 people. The church was re-opened on March 15th 1866 by the Bishop of Ely. The Salisbury Journal carried a lengthy report, including a detailed description of the service. After the service, Dr. Williams, the vicar of Broad Chalke, entertained parishioners and many visitors to lunch in the schoolroom.

Other items of interest include the church clock, which was given by public subscription and was first heard on 1st January 1881 at midnight. The present organ dates from 1903. Hymn singing was first accompanied by a harmonium installed in 1866, and replaced by an organ ten years later. The ten commandments on boards replace copies of the Commandments, the Creed and The Lord’s Prayer which were painted on the church walls in 1786 at a cost of £2.12s.6d. The west window is a memorial to the Rev. Edward Collett.

At the end of the 20th century the church had three bells. The Tenor was cast c.1400 in Salisbury, the second in 1611 by John Wallis of Salisbury and the third in 1880 by John Warner of London. The oak frame dated from 1880. The condition of the bells, frame and fittings deteriorated and the bells became unsafe to ring. To mark the start of the Third Millennium the bells were re-tuned (except for the Tenor), re-hung and augmented to make a ring of five. The two new bells were cast at the Whitechapel bell foundry in October 1999. The five bells were hung in a new galvanised steel bell frame. The village successfully raised £42,000 to pay for all the work.

Sir William Golding, the author and Nobel Prize Winner, lived in Bower Chalke with his wife Ann for many years. They are both buried in the churchyard.

The history of the living is complex. Bower Chalke may have been part of a large parish called Chalke, probably served by Broad Chalke church. The three parishes of Broad Chalke, Bower Chalke and Alvediston were combined into one living by the early 1600s; their earlier history is explored in detail in volume 13 of the Victoria County History of Wiltshire.

This was a poor living and there was not always sufficient money to pay for both a vicar and curates to cover the three parishes. There were occasional complaints about inadequate services. The return to the bishop’s visitation queries in 1783 shows that one curate served the three parishes of Broad Chalke, Bower Chalke and Alvediston. As the distance between them all was up to four miles, Bower Chalke had one service each Sunday at 1.00pm. There were no services on weekdays or festivals and communion was celebrated just four times each year.

The situation began to improve in the late 19th century. Alvediston became a separate living in 1861 as did Bower Chalke in 1880, when the Rev. Edward Collett took over the living. There was only one service each Sunday at this time and the regular congregation was small; improving the status of the church was going to be a challenge. Collett developed a somewhat theatrical style, possibly deliberately in an attempt to encourage more people to come to church. At Harvest Festival for example, 60 candles were placed on the altar and every available space in the church was filled with flowers. Celebratory services were organised for many occasions; Collett introduced a hay harvest festival in 1884 and a photograph has survived taken at this event in 1885. It shows the extent to which the church was decorated; flowers, potted plants and greenery in every available space. At Easter the church was decorated with masses of wild primroses, exotic hothouse flowers and various pot plants. At Christmas there were white chrysanthemums.

Sunday school classes were held twice each Sunday. To help encourage attendance, each child who was present before the bell stopped ringing received a ticket for attendance and another for learning the Collect. These were later exchanged for prizes according to a certain scale of values. A Boot Club for the pupils was another inducement to help poorer members and encourage thrift. Each Sunday afternoon their pennies were collected and for every shilling collected a ‘tuppenny’ bonus was added, the money being paid out for new boots or shoes each June and December.

In 1884 Collett described the Christmas Treat: ‘The Christmas tree for the Sunday Scholars was quite a new kind of treat for them, as hardly any of them had ever seen one before.’ It is difficult for us today to understand the level of excitement in the children. The tree was decorated with lots of small gifts, and after a tea of bread, butter, cake and coffee, each child was given a gift. In 1889 they were treated to games on the vicarage lawn followed by tea, and later in the evening a magic lantern show. In later years the treat progressed to a summer outing.

The choir were given similar encouragement and reward for their regular attendance. As early as 1880 a visit was paid to the village of Britford, for a cricket match against the choir there. In later years the highlight of the year became the Choirmen’s Supper and Social, with a tea for the boys. The men enjoyed a meal of roast beef, ham and vegetables, followed by a steam plum pudding, mince pies and cheese. The rest of the evening they enjoyed games, singing and dancing.

Collett continued to faithfully serve and encourage his flock for 46 years. Overwork made him unwell on one occasion and some kind friends gave him some money to get away for a month’s rest. He went, but the next week he was home again. Edward Collett died in May 1924. At his funeral, which took place in torrential rain, every house in the village was represented. It must have been very difficult for the villagers to adjust to life without him, and equally difficult for the vicars who followed him. They had no choice but to move on and accept change. Further change came in 1939 when both Broad Chalke and Bower Chalke were united again and served by one vicar. The parish became part of the Chalke Valley group ministry in 1972 which was re-named the Chalke Valley West benefice in 1981.

The parish registers dating from 1694 (baptisms) and 1701 (marriages and burials), apart from those currently in use at the church, are available to view at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham.