Church of St. Swithin, Compton Bassett
The Church was built in the late 12th century and was given to Bicester Priory which received an income from it until the Dissolution. Before the church was built, inhabitants of the village were buried in Calne. In 1220, under an agreement with Bicester Priory, the Bishop of Sailsbury held the advowson of the rectory. From 1220 to 1228 land was assigned to the rector who was now entitled to all the tithes except two-thirds of the grain tithes. In 1291, Bicester Priory took some of the church revenues which made it one of the poorer livings in the Avebury Deanery and was valued at £5 which meant the rector's income was reduced.
In 1337, Andrew Blunt presented a rector as the bishop did not collate and in 1341 the rector held a messuage and two yard lands. Robert Holghan, who was the rector from 1414 until 1432, held livings in Ireland and might have lived there. In 1432, the Prior of Bicester made presentations as the bishop did not collate. The tithes were above average in 1535, at £13 6s 9�d and Bicester Priory's portion went down to £4. The rector also now received all tithes except for those taken by the vicar of Calne. In 1552, Nicholas Snell made a presentation as the bishop did not collate. From 1641, William Eyre was the rector at St.Swithin church and in the 1650s he assisted the commission for rejecting the 'scandalous clergy'. He was known as a Congregationalist minister but was succeeded by James Nesbiett in 1650. James Nesbiett was succeeded in 1653 by John Frayling who was deprived of the living for non-conformity. The church suffered by having no cover for the communion table and no carpet. In 1671.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lord of Compton Bassett claimed the church but no Lord is ever known to have presented rectors. Also in these centuries, the Glebe included nineteen acres of meadows, thirty-two acres of arable and enough pasture for sixty sheep. The arable and pasture rights were replaced at an inclosure in 1725. Between 1743 and 1750, Charles Moss became rector at the church and then later on he became the bishop of St. David's in Bath and Wells. In 1783, the church provided a service on each Sunday in the winter and two services on each Sunday of the summer. There were also additional services made for Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Easter Monday. During this same year at the church, they celebrated communion at Easter, Whitsun and Christmas which was received by sixteen parishioners. The rector was sometimes absent for this as he served in Calne and also in Yatesbury. The rectory house also needed to be repaired in 1783 and it was not again fit for residence until 1832.
In the later 18th and 19th centuries, the rectory was sometimes held in plurality and the church was served by a curate, as the rector was absent. In 1830, the rectory was valued at £497, among the wealthiest livings locally. In 1838, the rector had 46 acres of land, also in this year; all tithes were taken from 2,542 acres of the parish while tithes from the 228 acres of the cowage had been replaced by a payment of £1 6s.8d. The rector's tithes were valued at £576 in 1838. In 1842, a large new house was built by using part of the old one and was made of sixteenth Century style stone. In 1851, the rector refused to answer questions in the Ecclesiastical census which was considered to produce deceptive results. In 1864 there was a successor for the rector but there is no record of who this was. During this time however, there were morning and afternoon services held each Sunday, one on each Friday of Lent, one on Christmas Day, Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, and feasts of circumcision, the Ascension, and All Saints. The average congregation for each Sunday this year was 170. Communion was celebrated 15 times in the year and was receive by 40 parishioners at festivals and 30 on other occasions.
In 1968, the house which was built in 1842 was sold and from this year onwards, there was no resident incumbent. Between the years 1968 and 1978, a living was held in plurality with Himarton and Highway benefice. In 1968, advowson was conveyed by the exchange to the Crown which was not a member of the Patronage board set up for the new Oldbury benefice in 1983. From 1983 onwards, Compton Bassett church was served by a group ministry.
The chancel, side chapels, and vestry were re-built in 1865 by H.Woodyer. This consists of 19th century ashlar, squared rubble stone, stone slate roofs and Welsh slate. The west tower is 15th century as is the rest of the church. Internally the nave is 12th and 13th century, the clerestory is 15th century and the aisles were rebuilt in the 15th century. There is a north porch of 1865.
The three stage tower has a plinth with diagonal buttresses, drip courses, two light bell-openings and an embattled parapet. On the north side there is a canted stair tower. A low, four centred arched door is under the west window which is similar to the bell-openings above. There is a three window clerestory of three light windows and a coved cornice. The embattled aisles include the north aisle, which has a 19th century square rubble porch with pinnacles and a cross finial, a four centred arched entry and doorway. To the right of the north aisle is a 19th century centred and arched window, whilst to the left there are two long, light windows with arched heads. South of the aisle, there are two windows like those north of the aisle. The chancel has a coped east gable, eaves corbel table, and there are three light windows to the east and another two light windows adjoining at the east end. On the north side the lean-to has two lights to the east, and a north cusped-headed door with a cross under hood mould above with two lights. The south lean-to has four narrow cusped lancets, a cusped headed door and east two-light. There is a slate roof on both sides and the tracery of 1865 work with the foiled circles above the lights.
The interior of the church has a 15th century panelled cradle roof with timber wall shafts from the corbel heads. The western wall shows the line from an earlier roof. There is a moulded 15th century tower arch. There are three-bay arcades with two chamfer arches, round piers, round bases and varied caps. The south side has moulded round caps and the north side has square caps with varied scallop and scroll mouldings. There is a finely moulded 14th century chancel arch which is obscured by a very finely carved 15th century veranda-type stone screen with a deep panelled cove carried on three, four centred arches each with four renewed figures under crocketed ogee canopies. Rosettes in the mouldings pierced fretwork to the arch heads, carved spandrels, foliage frieze, and fleuron frieze and bratticing. Inside, the panelled stone roof slopes down to the stone screen and there is an arch with three ogee over-lights and three ogee-headed single lights on each side. It believed that this came from Salisbury Cathedral in the 17th century, but there is a faint possibility that it might have come from Winchester. The spiky painted iron gates were made in 1865 and there is a door to the rood stair. The aisles have lean-to roofs which are plastered to the north and 15th century timber to the south. The chancel has unusually sharply pointed three-bay arcades on each side, both on round piers. The third arch on the north has a vestry door with good lettering over it. The sanctuary windows are marble shafted. There is a five-bay stone reredos with gabled niches, cross to centre and angels with emblems of the passion on each side. On the south side there is a pointed arched recessed seat.
The fittings in the church consist of a badly faded window to the east, built in 1865. There is also a north two-light from 1878 and a south two-light of 1885. There are oak stalls by the wood dyer and a finely painted iron lectern by the wood dyer. The south aisle has stained glass of 1875 and also of 1901 and the north aisle has faded glass of 1856. There is a 19th century octagonal font and a small plaque in the north aisle. The Walker Heneage family pew is early 19th century fronted with reused, traceried 15th century bench ends.
The parish registers from 1563 (baptisms) and 1558 (marriages and burials), other than those in current use are held in the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre at Chippenham.
For the cache :- At the Co-Ordinates find the Grave of Jack Fell
Jack Died :- ABCD
He Was Church Warden For EF Years
The Cache can be found at N51 26.(F+A)C(D+A) W001 57.EB(C-D)
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