St Martin's Chapel, Chisbury is a mediaeval former chapel next to the

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

in the hamlet of Chisbury, in

Little Bedwyn Little Bedwyn (also spelt Little Bedwin, and sometimes called Bedwyn Parva) is a village and civil parish on the River Dun in Wiltshire, England, about south-west of the market town of Hungerford in neighbouring Berkshire. The parish includes ...

parish in the east of

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. The chapel was built in the early part of the 13th century, on the edge of Chisbury Camp, an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

. There are written records of it from 1246 onwards and its surviving architecture is contemporary with that period. The walls are faced with flint. The windows have the remains of good-quality

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

tracery that suggests they were added in the latter part of the 13th century. By 1496, the chapel was dedicated to St Martin. Because Chisbury manor was linked to

Froxfield Froxfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The parish is on the Wiltshire-West Berkshire border, and the village lies on the A4 national route about west of Hungerford and east of Marlborough. Froxfield vil ...

church, the rector of Froxfield received the

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 Chisbury; sometime before 1246 he assigned this income to St Denys Priory, Southampton. However, Chisbury was within

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunt ...

parish, and from 1247 the chapel was treated as dependent on St Mary's church at Great Bedwyn, although the priory continued to receive the tithes and appoint chaplains. Between 1496 and 1518 St. Martin's lacked a priest, but it was served again from then until 1547. Thereafter, the building lapsed from use for worship and was re-used as a barn. It was re-roofed with

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

in the 19th century. The hillfort, including the chapel, was designated as a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

in 1925. The chapel is in the guardianship of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

References

{{Coord, 51.3901, -1.5986, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB-WIL English Heritage sites in Wiltshire Former churches in Wiltshire Scheduled monuments in Wiltshire