The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Heytesbury is the

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 ...

for the parish of

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small nei ...

with Tytherington and

Knook Knook is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies to the north of the River Wylye at the edge of Salisbury Plain, about southeast of Warminster, close to the A36 road to Salisbury, Wil ...

, Wiltshire, England. It was a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

from the 12th century until 1840. The present building is largely 13th-century and is designated as

Grade I 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, Hi ...

History

A church was mentioned at ''Hestrebe'' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The church was given to

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

by Henry I in about 1115, together with the church of

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

, Surrey, and lands lying beside the two churches, to form a

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

. Shortly after this the church became

collegiate Collegiate may refer to: * College * Webster's Dictionary, a dictionary with editions referred to as a "Collegiate" * ''Collegiate'' (1926 film), 1926 American silent film directed by Del Andrews * ''Collegiate'' (1936 film), 1936 American musi ...

, with the head of the college the canon who held the prebend at the cathedral. A charter granted by bishop Josceline (or Jocelin) between 1150 and 1160 established four canons at Heytesbury. Their income included

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via onli ...

from Tytherington, where there was a chapel, and from Horningsham; the churches of

Hill Deverill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall unde ...

and Swallowcliffe; and land at Wilton. From about 1220 the prebend of Heytesbury was annexed to the deanery of Salisbury, thus the Dean of Salisbury was also Dean of Heytesbury. Most collegiate churches were abolished in 1547 as part of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

but Heytesbury continued until it was suppressed, along with the other remaining non-residential deaneries, by the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840 The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorised to determine the distribution of revenues of the Ch ...

Architecture and interior

The large

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

church dates from the 13th century, although a fragment of earlier work survives: one pier of the north aisle, with a scalloped capital, is partly from the late 12th century. The low tower over the crossing was completed in the 14th century and the clerestory was added in the mid-15th. The south chapel, founded c. 1316, is dedicated to St Catherine. In the north transept, Walter Hungerford founded a chapel in 1421; the 16th-century stone screen survives. The tower has six bells: the tenor is from c. 1460, alongside two from the 17th century and two from the 18th. The vestry and the gabled south porch are from the 19th century. Restoration in 1864-7 was by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

and included rebuilding of the north and south aisles; interior work included the addition of a coloured marble font in the south aisle, new pews, a polychrome tiled floor, and stained glass by

Alexander Gibbs Alexander Gibbs & Co. was a British stained glass studio founded in 1858 by Alexander Gibbs when he split off from the family firm founded by his father Isaac Alexander Gibbs in 1848. The studio continued until 1915. It was first located at 38 B ...

. Pevsner criticised the restoration, describing the buildings as "A large and impressive church, but an over-restored one ..which makes it externally more rewarding from a distance than from near by and internally disappointing in spite of its undeniable grandeur". However, he added that "Most of the glass of Butterfield's restoration is good and characteristic. Pale colours, good leading." The organ was installed in 1854 by J.W. Walker, having been moved from St Mary's, Bermondsey, London. It was taken down during Butterfield's restoration and reconstructed in 1867 in a new position, with new case fronts in deal. The building was designated as Grade I listed in 1968.

Parish

Dependent churches and chapels of Heytesbury were those nearby at Tytherington, Knook, Hill Deverill, Horningsham, and the more distant church at Swallowcliffe, some to the south. In 1885 the benefice of Heytesbury-with-Tytherington was united with Knook, and this union was reaffirmed in 1970. In 1976 the parishes of

Sutton Veny Sutton Veny is a village and civil parish in the Wylye valley, to the southeast of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England; the village is about from Warminster town centre. 'Sutton' means 'south farmstead' in relation to Norton Bavant, on ...

and

Norton Bavant Norton Bavant is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, southeast of Warminster. Geography The village is on the River Wylye and at the edge of Salisbury Plain. To the north lies Scratchbury & Cotle ...

were added. Since 2000 the church has been served by the Upper Wylye Valley team. Currently, the position of Team Rector is vacant, as is the position of Vicar following the departure of Rev'd. Clifford Stride in February 2024. Parish registers survive from 1653 and are held by 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 ...

at Chippenham.

Services

The benefice holds a Eucharist service in at least two of its churches every Sunday. The curren
A Church Near You page
suggests that Communion is celebrated in Heytesbury on the first Sunday of the month. Choral

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

is held on the third Sunday of each month.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heytesbury, Church of Saints Peter and Paul Church of England church buildings in Wiltshire Grade I listed churches in Wiltshire 13th-century church buildings in England Former collegiate churches in England