St Francis Church, Salisbury is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

in the northern suburbs of

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, Wiltshire, England, consecrated in 1940.

History

A wooden ex-Army hut was used for worship from 1930, to serve the new residential area to the north of the city. By 1932, although the area was still part of

Stratford-sub-Castle Stratford-sub-Castle in Wiltshire, England, was anciently a separate village and civil parish, but is now in Salisbury. At approximately 170 ft above sea level, it is dominated to the east by the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, within the ...

parish, a curate had been assigned to it. An ecclesiastical district was created in 1937 from parts of the parishes of Stratford-sub-Castle and

St Mark Mark the Evangelist (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek language, Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, Romanization of Greek, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' ...

, and a vicar was instituted. A site was found nearby on Castle Road (the A345) for a permanent church: the foundation stone was laid in January 1939, and the church was consecrated in 1940. The building is in a 20th-century style, having a wide

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with passage aisles and meeting rooms, and an

apsidal In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In Byzant ...

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

behind the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

, instead of a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. The tall nave windows have shaped heads. On the south side of the church is a tower, high. The building was designed by the architect Robert Potter. It is structurally concrete with brick cladding and infill, and artificial stone surrounds to the doors and windows. The roofs are of reinforced concrete covered with asphalt. The building was designated as

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1990. There was a major renovation in 2006. A single-storey flat-roofed extension, providing a new entrance, was added on the south side in 2017–2018.

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

in the ''Buildings of England'' series notes that the building's details are similar to the work of Swedish architect

Ragnar Östberg Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall. Biography Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 an ...

, and calls the white interior "quite impressive". Julian Orbach's updating of Pevsner's work compares the red brick to the power stations designed by

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and de ...

. At first the church had no bells. One source states that by 1960 the bells of St Giles' in the evacuated village of

Imber Imber is an uninhabited village and former civil parish within the British Army's Salisbury Plain Training Area, training area, now in the parish of Heytesbury, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. It lies in an isolated area of the Plain, ...

had been acquired, although another states that four of those had been sold for scrap and the fifth sent to Edington after they were removed from Imber in the 1950s. The parish registers for christenings from 1930 and marriages from 1940, other than those in current use, are held in the

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorse ...

Worship and activities

The church is affiliated to the

Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a UK organisation of evangelical individuals, organisations, and churches, which is itself a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the Evangelical Alliance aims to promote evangelical Chr ...

and the evangelical

New Wine New Wine is a not-for-profit Christian charismatic evangelical organisation based in England, United Kingdom. It equips Christian churches and leaders in spiritual renewal, worship and church planting. Overview The purpose of New Wine is "loc ...

organisation. Services are designed to appeal to families and young people, and in 2013 the separate church hall was reconfigured as a community facility which also houses a pre-school.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, Saint Francis 20th-century Church of England church buildings Churches completed in 1940 Church of England church buildings in Wiltshire

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

Grade II listed churches in Wiltshire