St Michael the Archangel

The Domesday Book records that the church of St Mary of Bec in Normandy held ‘Devral’. In those early days Brixton Deverill belonged to the Abbey of Bec by grant of Queen Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror. A church, probably of traditional wattle construction, thus existed at Brixton Deverill before the provision of the later 13th century building. Indeed, according to local folklore, Alfred the Great is said to have prayed for victory in the village on the eve of his successful battle against the Danes at Edington in the year 878. Since it is conceivable that his move to the battlefield from Pen Selwood brought him into the valley, then this tradition could well be true. The name Brixton is derived from the fact that the manor was originally held by Brictric, son of Alfgar a Saxon nobleman. 

As with most churches in Wiltshire, considerable restoration work was done to the building in the mid l9th century. The tower contains a fine medieval bell, cast in Salisbury about 1400 and inscribed ‘AVE GRACIA’. The chancel is of 13th century construction.

There are two features worthy of note in the church. The first is the chancel arch, which is rich with deep, fine mouldings and clustered shafts; and the second is provided by the lovely carved panels fastened to the north wall. These came from the now sadly redundant church of King Alfred at Monkton Deverill. The pulpit is believed to have been of Belgian origin and the panels show Adam in the Deep Sleep; Eve being Formed from ‘his rib; Temptation and the Tree of Knowledge; and lastly the Angel driving Adam and Eve out of Paradise. The canopied Norman font was presented to St Michael’s in 1951 by the church of St Giles at Imber, when that village was finally absorbed into the military field firing area.