Easy hikes and walks around Broad Town

On the left hand side of the Altar you will find the tomb of a 13th century Abbess. The slab bears evidence of an attempt to destroy it, probably during the reformation. The tomb was moved from elsewhere in the church during Victorian changes to the chancel area. As the lands at the north of the Benefice were under the control and ownership of Glastonbury Abbey, at which there was a Nunnery, it is entirely possible this Abbess was a significant figure. The tomb slab is remarkable and a very rare example of a slab tomb that is both etched and carved with a face.

The Sir William Wroughton monument on the right in the chancel describes Elizabeth I as Queen of England and France although Mary, her predecessor, had lost Calais, the last remaining English possession in France in 1558 and Elizabeth renounced her claim to Calais in 1559.

Lt. Colonel Francis Glanville, killed fighting for Charles I in 1645 at the battle of Bridgewater in the Civil War, has his helmet, gauntlets and a replica of his sword (the original is in the Royal Armoury) displayed above him. The Latin inscription ends “A greater hero England never saw, happily she did oft produce his equal”. The small reclining figure of a woman in her shroud at the bottom of this monument (usually hidden behind a bench seat) appears in Pevsner’s guide to Wiltshire:“her agonised features are not easily forgotten”. A panel from the Duke of Wellington’s funeral carriage (1851) hangs in the chancel in a glass case because the victor of Waterloo owned land locally.

In the top left corner of the nave is a flight of stone steps which shows there was once a medieval rood screen to screen the chancel off from the laity, probably with a figure of Christ on the cross above. Next to the stone steps are George III’s Royal Arms, painted in 1763 and cleaned in 2008 – note the fleur de lys in the shield. The chancel contains some interesting monuments to the Glanville family. Sir John was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1640. He burned his own Manor House rather than let it be used by Cromwell’s troops. A famous lawyer, he spent three years in the Tower of London after the Civil War for holding illegal Assizes and later served Charles II, as he had Charles I, as Sergeant-at-Law.

The sixteenth century was a bad time for this church. In 1553 parishioners refused to receive communion for fear of falling masonry. The broken stones allowed so many birds into the then chancel that the minister couldn’t stand by the communion table and there was no seat whilst reading the psalms. John Batewell, a vicar appointed in 1576, was officially censured for his inability to preach, neglect of catechizing and failure to wear the prescribed dress. However, a water colour of the church, painted in 1795 has text underneath which says that the church was “new built in the year 1634; brought to perfection in the year 1635; finished and beautified in the year 1636; a new pulpit erected in the year 1672; the first loft in the tower was boarded in 1676; the belfry and church porch paved in 1677”. The wonderful tie and hammer beam roof of the nave belongs to the 1634 rebuilding.

The tower was repaired in the 1870s, when the pinnacles were added, but in 1928 the south pier of the tower arch was found to be bulging inwards and giving way. The tower was shored up with timber while new foundations were laid and survived a gale while standing on only three legs. Walking up the nave towards the altar, on your right is the Sir Thomas Wroughton monument from 1597. The monument reflects the legend that he came home from hunting to find his wife, Anne, reading the Bible instead of cooking his supper. He flung the Bible in the fire and she badly burned her hands retrieving it. His blasphemous behaviour caused his hands to wither away, as well as those of his children. Anne holds a partly burned Bible. Sir Thomas was Sheriff of Wiltshire, yet is listed among poachers of the King’s deer in the records of the Wardens of Savernake Forest!

Turning left as you enter the church, the fifteenth century tower has a peal of six bells, the oldest three being dated 1664. Prior to 1930, the bells were rung from a loft half way up the 61 feet tower. This position was adapted in 2007 when the choir vestry was moved to the ground floor of the tower to facilitate the introduction of a lavatory, and the bellringers were given a new platform above the vestry.

The small Squint Window behind the font (on your left as you enter the church) contains Victorian glass. Originally it would not have done so and may have been a leper’s window in early medieval times. Lepers would gather outside the church during the service and after the consecration the Eucharist would be placed on a slab within arms-length of the lepers. Centuries later, masons failed to take account of the presence of this window until after the majority of the porch had been constructed. At which point someone halted the proceedings and ordered a niche to be made to avoid obscuring the window completely.