St Andrew's Church is in the village of Wanborough in north

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a 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, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England. It is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

, one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire. It has been designated a Grade I

listed building 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

There has been a church at Wanborough since at least the 11th century. In 1091 it was granted by

Saint Osmund Osmund (died 3 December 1099), Count of Sées, was a Norman noble and clergyman. Following the Norman conquest of England, he served as Lord Chancellor (–1078) and as the second bishop of Salisbury, or Old Sarum. Life Osmund, a nati ...

to the Chapter of Salisbury. By the end of the 14th century, the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of Wanborough belonged to Amesbury Priory. In 1541, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the rectory and advowson were granted to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. In 1908 the rights of advowson were transferred to the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. In the 14th century, the

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 ...

was rebuilt, along with the tower and

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

above the crossing. A tower was added to the west in the 15th century; its construction began in 1435. A chancel and porch to the north were also added in the 15th century. Restoration work took place in 1887. When whitewash and plaster were removed from the inside walls, wall-paintings dating from the 15th century were revealed.

Architecture

Exterior

The church sits on an elevated piece of land at Upper Wanborough. It is constructed of chalk-stone rubble with stone tile roofs. Its plan consists of a four- bay

with

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s, and

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

es to the north and south; a very short

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

is apparent internally. The tower to the west has three stages and is

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

. Above its west window, the tower has a canopied niche. Its windows have Somerset

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

. There is a smaller hexagonal tower with a

to the east of the nave. St Andrew's is one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire. The chancel has two bays and a small door to the north. The porch to the south is

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d with flanking

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s with crocketed

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

Interior and fittings

Inside the church there are pointed arcades and

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

s. The north wall of the nave still has one of the paintings discovered in the 19th century, situated to the left of the north door. It depicts Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. There are monuments to Thomas and Edith Polton who both died in 1418. The porch to the south contains 14th-century stone effigies. The church houses a ring of eight bells hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

, and a separate service bell. The first and second (lightest) bells of the ring were cast in 1997 by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

of Loughborough; as were in 1949 the third, seventh and eighth; and in 1950 the fifth; the fourth was cast in 1730 by John Cor, and is regarded as a fine example of a bell from this era; the sixth was cast in 1662 by William Purdue III. The service bell was cast in 1783 by Robert Wells II.

References

Notes

Footnotes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanborough, St Andrew's Church Church of England church buildings in Wiltshire Diocese of Bristol Grade I listed churches in Wiltshire