Christ Church, Derry Hill
Christ Church is a light and airy Victorian church built in 1840. It is in excellent condition and easy to maintain and stands in the heart of the village between the vicarage, the primary school and the village hall. The church is open every day and the handsome spire is often lit at night through sponsorship and can be seen from many miles away. The lighting of the spire can be sponsored in memory of a loved one, or indeed for happier occasions such as baptisms, wedding anniversaries, etc. The core congregation is very loyal and the church is filled to capacity at all the major Christian festivals. The excellent Church of England Primary School has close links with Christ Church.
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St Martin’s, Bremhill
St Martin’s Church was built c.1200. It was altered in 1850 and 1864 with only the tower and other perpendicular work left untouched and has a square 14th century tower. William Lisle Bowles (24 September 1762 – 7 April 1850) was an English poet and critic and in 1804 became vicar of Bremhill.
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St John the Baptist, Foxham
The parish church of Saint John the Baptist was designed by the Gothic Revival architect William Butterfield and built in 1878-81. It includes a stained glass window made in about 1855 that was part of the east window of St Martin’s parish church, Bremhill.
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Holy Trinity, Quemerford
This truly delightful church is set behind three rows of lime trees just off the A4, to the east of Calne.
History
Holy Trinity was built in 1852-3 to meet the needs of the growing community of Quemerford and to act as the Chapel of ease for a new churchyard for the parish, because St Mary's churchyard had become overfull. The building cost was met by the then vicar of Calne, Canon John Guthrie, largely at his own expense, the land having been donated by Lord Lansdown.
A chalice and a paten both hallmarked 1866 were given to the church by J R A Chinnery-Haldane, the assistant curate appointed to serve Holy Trinity by the vicar of Calne, and they are still used today. In 1864 morning and afternoon services were held in Holy Trinity church. In 1870 holy communion was celebrated monthly. A surpliced choir was introduced in 1888, though it is not used today. The church was first licensed for marriages in 1990.
Architecture
The church was designed by C.H.Gabriel and is tall, of coursed rubble and in the Decorated style. It has a west bell cote and spirelet and consists of a chancel with north vestry and a nave with south porch. The chancel is long, has tall south windows and diapering in relief on the sanctuary's walls and is separated from the vestry by a traceried screen. The chancel arch is high and wide, and the nave has an open timber roof with cusped trusses and windbracing. There is a boiler room, which is no longer used, entered from the north side of the church. Heating being now by electric radiant heaters. There is a separate coursed rubble shed which is the home for our composting toilet and for the storage of maintenance items.
Originally there was stained glass in the east window but in February 1970 there was a fire in the church which caused major damage to the roof, destroying windows and the organ. The church was rededicated on 25th January 1972. The replacement organ is an 1825 Flight & Robson (London) chamber instrument which is positioned at the north west end of the nave adjacent to the font..
Follow this link to see more about Holy Trinity: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/calne-holy-trinity/
St Mary the Virgin, Calne
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin stands proudly on the site of an earlier Saxon Minster. Its outer appearance, a skillful blend of stone masons’ art of five centuries, is Perpendicular, a feast of embattled parapets and pinnacles. A mighty 17th Century North Transept Tower replaces the fallen crossing tower. Exploring the interior reveals a transitional Norman Nave surmounted by the 15th Century clerestory covered by a superb wooden roof of the same date. The many treasures of the church range from an early Elizabethan chest to fine early twentieth century Art and Craft screens. In 1994, the Parish celebrated the 750th anniversary of St. Edmund, a former Vicar of Calne, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1234.
Edmund Rich was born at Abingdon when the 12th century was nearing its end. He was the eldest of four children. He enjoyed the privilege of a truly Christian home. It is claimed that he once received a clear vision of the Christ- child who smiled and beckoned him to a life of prayer and service.
Edmund’s education began at a school in nearby Oxford. From there he went to Paris, begging his way there in spite of the wealth which had given his father the name of Rich. Eventually, he returned to Oxford as an eminent leader of learning. It was in 1222 that Edmund became the devoted treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral. The work of building our great cathedral was then in full swing and, by a freak coincidence, Edmund Rich found himself serving as treasurer under a Bishop whose name was Richard Poore! During this period as treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral he was also the vicar of Calne in Wiltshire. In 1233 he was called to the tremendous responsibility of the highest office in the Church of England as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Edmund was no foreign Saint. He was English to the backbone. He loved freedom and hated oppression. In 1240 he left England for the Abbey of Pontigny in France where his predecessors St Thomas of Canterbury and Stephen Langton had found refuge before him. Within a month on November 16th 1240 he died. In 1246 his name was placed among the Saints of the church.
Beneath the high altar in the Abbey of Pontigny is the shrine where rests the holy remains of Edmund Rich. The Abingdon boy, the Oxford scholar, the treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral, the parish priest of Calne, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Saint of God.
The organ case and Reredos screen in St Edmund's Chapel were both designed by C.R. Ashbee and carved by Alex Miller. Click here to find out more about Alex Miller.
Follow this link to see more about St Mary the Virgin, Calne: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/calne-st-mary-the-virgin/
St Peter, Blackland
St Peter’s Church dates from at least the 13th Century. There was a church here at the time of the Domesday survey, when it was described as being in very poor condition. The oldest visible part of the church is the chancel which still has its original trussed rafter roof. The bell that tolls at St Peter’s today has done so for over 300 years. Many of the windows have Stained Glass designed by Charles Kempe (1837-1907). Kempe was a devout Christian and a Master of Glass. He operated out of a factory in London, and his influence spread far and wide across the UK (with windows in Gloucester Cathedral) and across North America. At one time the church stood in the heart of a village community. That original farming community has disappeared, ousted by the needs of sheep farming; but the church lies within the lovely setting of Blackland Park. The Parish of Blackland was joined to the Parish of Calne in the 1990’s. Walking or cycling to the Church is the better approach, since car parking is very restricted.
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