Blessed Virgin Mary
Old Dilton, Wiltshire
Church with a curious spire near the White Horse.
The ancient parish of Westbury was one of the largest in Wiltshire with a petty medieval church in the town at it's centre.
Westbury , Wiltshire
It's 10,000 acres ran from Heywood to Dilton and from Chapmanslade to Bratton.
The Domesday Book of 1086 mentions a church at Westbury as worth 50 shillings. Nothing remains of this Saxon church now. There is evidence of a Norman church between 1109-20 when the church was given by Henry I to Salisbury Cathedral for the Precentors. In 1291 the church was valued at £40.
During the mid 1300s to the early 1500s the church was enlarged with the addition of aisles, chantry chapels, a new South porch and the lengthening of the chancel and transepts. These are in the perpendicular style. The final addition was in 1845 when a vestry was built between the south transept and porch. In 1968 it was found that the foundations were being destabilised by running water underneath the church and remedial work was undertaken to stabilise to a depth of 55 feet, reopening in 1969.
Look out for some fine tombs, some beautiful windows and attractive chantry chapels. The church is set in an attractive green area surrounded by houses that would have been originally related to the church and provides a pleasant and tranquil area in the town.
Old Dilton, Wiltshire
Church with a curious spire near the White Horse.
Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire
Edington, Wiltshire
With its unusual dedication to St Mary, St Katharine & All Saints, Edington's battlemented church is of a size and splendour out of all proportion to the quiet little village in which it stands.