Salisbury: Churches

CHURCHES

ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH.

The church of St. Martin stands on the south side of Milford Hill, which formed part of the demesne of the bishops of Salisbury, and was an area of settlement before the removal of the cathedral from Old Salisbury in 1220. (fn. 1) The oldest part of the present church dates from the early 13th century, but there is evidence to suggest that it stands upon the site of an earlier church (see below), which presumably served this settlement. The earliest mention of the church occurs in the 15th-century account of the removal of the cathedral from Old Salisbury, where it is stated that the canons visited St. Martin's at Rogationtide in 1217. (fn. 2)

In 1228 Bishop Richard Poore granted St. Martin's, described as being 'of our manor of Salisbury', with the chapel of Stratford (fn. 3) to Master Harvey. This in effect conveyed the vicarial tithes to Master Harvey and expressly excluded the rectorial tithes, which had already been granted by the bishop to the chapter for the common fund. (fn. 4) It is probable that in 1269 the vicarage was annexed to the collegiate church of St. Edmund, the vicarial tithes apparently being given to the newly founded college in return for the discharge of parochial duties either by the provost or by one of the chaplains of St. Edmund's. (fn. 5) The relationship between the two churches was clarified in the mid-15th century when the provost claimed the tithe of hay from a certain meadow. It was then awarded that the chapter, as rectors, should have the great tithes, and the provost, as vicar, should have the small tithes. (fn. 6) The benefice remained a vicarage until 1635 (see below), after which time the incumbents were instituted as rectors.

The original parish of St. Martin possibly included most of the area between the Rivers Avon and Bourne from Harnham in the south to the neighbourhood of Old Salisbury in the north. (fn. 7) This area may have been curtailed in the south by the foundation of St. Nicholas's Hospital, for the prior is known to have exercised parochial rights over an area around the hospital. (fn. 8) Presumably a considerable diminution in the area of the parish occurred with the creation of St. Thomas's parish to the west some time before 1246. (fn. 9) With the formation of St. Edmund's parish in 1269, a large area to the northwest was allotted to the newly-founded college. (fn. 10) From that date until the 19th century no changes occurred in the parish boundaries. In 1899 St. Mark's parish was formed out of the northern part of St. Martin's parish. (fn. 11)

In 1546 the advowson was granted with that of St. Edmund's to William St. Barbe. (fn. 12) Three years later St. Barbe conveyed both advowsons to John Beckingham, who later sold the advowson of St. Martin's to the vestry of that church. (fn. 13) A presentation by the vestry is recorded in 1606. (fn. 14) Shortly after this John Bailey, the lessee of Bishopsdown Farm, (fn. 15) was engaged by the vestry, of which he was a member, to purchase a patent to establish the right of the vestry to the small tithes. Bailey, however, acquired both the tithes and the advowson for himself, and in 1610 presented John Sebastian Carpenter to the living. (fn. 16) Upon the death of Carpenter in 1632 the king presented Anthony Hillary as vicar, (fn. 17) but his right to do so was contested by John Bailey, son of the above John Bailey. In the ensuing dispute, which went before the Exchequer and the Privy Council, it was awarded that Bailey had acquired the advowson, but not a right to the tithes, but since St. Martin's was a rectory, Hillary had been wrongly instituted and should be re-instituted as rector. (fn. 18) In 1635 Hillary was presented by Bailey, presumably as rector. (fn. 19) The advowson remained with Bailey until 1664 when he conveyed it to Francis Hill, of Lincoln's Inn. Hill exercised the patronage until 1687, after when it passed to Edward Hearst, of Salisbury. In 1768 it passed to Henry Penruddock Wyndham upon his marriage with Caroline, daughter of Edward Hearst. (fn. 20) In 1882, in accordance with the scheme prepared by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, (fn. 21) an exchange was made between the advowson of the church of Cherhill, which belonged to the Bishop of Salisbury, and the advowson of St. Martin's, then in the hands of the executors of Wadham Wyndham. (fn. 22) Since then the bishop has exercised the patronage.

In 1291 the church was valued at £30. (fn. 23) For much of its history the rectory was farmed. In 1334, with the church of Stratford, (fn. 24) the farm was £40. (fn. 25) In 1461 the farm of the same two churches was £36 13s. 4d. (fn. 26) In 1448 St. Martin's was farmed by certain bakers of Salisbury, who paid their annual rent in bread to be distributed by the communar of the cathedral to the poor. (fn. 27) The farm of the rectory of St. Martin's alone was £20 in 1535. (fn. 28) In 1649–50 the rectory, with glebe, was valued at £160, and was farmed for £40. (fn. 29) In 1676 it was farmed for the same sum by Christopher Willoughby. (fn. 30) At the beginning of the 18th century the discharged living was valued at £30 11s. 8d. (fn. 31) All the great tithes from the district of Milford were paid to the chapter. In 1843 these were commuted for £480. (fn. 32)

In 1535 the vicarage, as an asset of St. Edmund's, was valued at £17 1s. This included the small tithes assessed at £11 13s. 4d. (fn. 33) In 1649–50 the vicarage, exclusive of tithes, was worth £7. (fn. 34) In 1831 the annual gross and net incomes were £188. (fn. 35) In 1878 application was made to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for an endowment for the living. This was refused on the grounds that the population of the parish was less than 4,000 persons, and the advowson was in lay hands. (fn. 36) In 1882 the advowson was transferred to the Bishop of Salisbury (see above), and the following year the Commissioners endowed the living with £100, and made grants of £1,500 towards a rectory house, and £120 for a curate. (fn. 37) All the small tithes in the district of Milford were paid to the incumbent of St. Martin's, and in 1843 these were commuted for £165. (fn. 38) In the 17th century Anthony Hillary (incumbent 1632– 45) claimed a plot near the church as glebe, but he apparently failed to establish his claim. (fn. 39) In 1887 there was an acre of glebe in Alderbury belonging to St. Martin's. (fn. 40)

In 1379 there were 2 chaplains and 2 unbeneficed clerks attached to St. Martin's. (fn. 41) In 1380 there were 4 chaplains and a sub-deacon. (fn. 42) In 1394 there were 5 chaplains, one of whom was the 'parochial chaplain'. (fn. 43) The other four presumably celebrated in chantry chapels, but there is no record of any endowment for chantries in St. Martin's. A bequest to the fraternity of St. John (fn. 44) at St. Martin's suggests that this guild had a chapel in the church at the end of the 14th century, and in 1492 an obit for Richard Vesey was celebrated in the chapel of the Holy Ghost (see below). (fn. 45) In 1535 offerings at the altar of Corpus Christi in a chapel at the west end of the church (see below) amounted to 12d. (fn. 46) This chapel is mentioned in the mid-17th century when a reduction of £8 for offerings in it was made in the total assessment of St. Martin's in the 'King's Books'. (fn. 47) An obit for Thomas Vesey founded in 1332 had an income of 8s. from a tenement in Winchester Street in 1548. (fn. 48)

On Bishop Capon's visitation in 1552 the chancel was found to be so ruinous that the clergy could not stay in it in times of storm. (fn. 49) At the beginning of the 17th century a new communion table was bought, and a kneeling form for communicants was provided. (fn. 50) In 1603 the Paraphrases of Erasmus were purchased, and in the following years service books, including one containing the Thirty-nine articles, were acquired. (fn. 51) Like the other Salisbury churches, St. Martin's had a member of the Westminster Assembly as incumbent when Stanley Gower was appointed rector in 1648. (fn. 52) Gower was succeeded after a few months by William Eyre, another presbyterian, who received £150 a year from the committee of plundered ministers. (fn. 53) In 1649 a house in the Close was bought by the corporation for the incumbent of St. Martin's, but it was not lived in by any rector, and was lost to the church at the Restoration. (fn. 54) Eyre left St. Martin's in 1653 to become vicar of St. Thomas's, and was succeeded by William Troughton, who was granted an additional £33 a year by the Trustees for the Maintenance of Ministers. (fn. 55) Troughton was said to have continued to preach privately after he was 'silenced' in Salisbury. (fn. 56) Nathaniel Spinckes, the scholar, and non-juring 'bishop at large' was also a Rector of St. Martin's for a short time after 1687. He is said, however, to have served the parish by a curate. (fn. 57)

In 1649 two sermons were preached every Sunday. (fn. 58) In 1785 a Sunday school was established. (fn. 59) In the second half of the 18th century there appear to have been morning and evening services at St. Martin's, for an organist was paid to play at both. (fn. 60) The evening service was discontinued some time after 1777, for when in 1856 it was proposed to install gas lighting, the condition was made that no increase in salary should be claimed for the evening service which could then be held. (fn. 61)

In 1879 it was felt that St. Martin's was far from the centre of population in the city, and the possibility of forming a new parish was considered, but rejected. (fn. 62) In 1880 the mission church of St. Mary Magdalene was opened in Gigant Street. There were 250 sittings, all of which were free. There were week-day services as well as full Sunday services. The church was served by a curate from St. Martin's. (fn. 63) It was closed in 1940, (fn. 64) and since then has been used as a Deaf Centre. Two years after the opening of St. Mary Magdalene's, in 1882, the expansion of the city northwards made it desirable to erect an iron church in Wyndham Park. (fn. 65) In 1884 Holy Communion was celebrated there once a month. The number of services increased gradually until by 1894 Holy Communion was celebrated every Sunday and there were morning and evening services on Sundays. (fn. 66) That year St. Mark's Church was dedicated and the iron church was closed. (fn. 67)

In 1895 a Baptist chapel in Guilder Lane was bought by subscription and re-erected in the Friary as an iron mission church for the parish. (fn. 68) It was closed in c. 1925. (fn. 69)

The church of ST. MARTIN consists of an aisled nave, a chancel flanked by north and south chapels, a south-west tower with a spire, and a porch and chapel adjoining the tower on the north. The tower and part of the west wall are slightly out of alignment with the rest of the church. The building is chiefly of flint, but the tower and parts of the west end are faced with ashlar. (fn. 70)

Excavations carried out in 1956 suggest the existence of a 12th-century church, bearing, however, no relation to the present building. (fn. 71) So far as can be seen, the oldest part of the present church is the chancel. This was built early in the 13th century, apparently as an addition to an existing building, which must have succeeded the 12thcentury church of the 1956 excavation. The tower appears to date from the 13th and early 14th centuries, but it is thought that it may be 12th century in origin. A bequest in 1318 of 2s. from Reynold of Tidworth for work at St. Martin's may have been connected with the building of the tower. (fn. 72) A raked weather course on the east wall of the tower indicates an earlier and smaller lean-to south aisle housed under the same roof as the nave.

The north aisle was probably built in the early 15th century with a chapel of the Holy Ghost at its east end. Later in the 15th century the south aisle was rebuilt to its present dimensions, its easternmost bay forming a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Other important alterations of this date appear to have included the raising of the north aisle and its arcade to match the south aisle, the construction of a new chancel arch further west, and the erection of a rood screen right across the church at this point, having a rood loft stair at its south end. The two easternmost arches of the arcades, now east of the chancel arch, slightly predate the reconstruction of the nave and aisles. At the west end of the church the founding of the chapel of Corpus Christi, now a vestry, may be connected with a mid-15th-century altar tomb, which stands in the porch between the chapel and the tower. The stone facing of the tower dates from 1791.

The clergy vestry was added at the north-east corner of the church in 1897, and at the same time the east end of the north aisle was converted to form a choir vestry. Extensive restoration was carried out about the middle of the 19th century. (fn. 73) The entire church was reseated, and the gallery along the west and north of the nave was removed. (fn. 74) The present three lancet lights were inserted in the east end of the chancel to replace a Perpendicular window. In 1884 the 15th-century pulpit was replaced by a new one. (fn. 75) A year later the vestry authorized the expenditure of £2,400 on a thorough restoration. (fn. 76) Remains of an aumbry were then found in the chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and a 15thcentury alabaster group of the Annunciation, found in the south aisle, was restored. The 13th-century Purbeck marble font was moved to the west end of the church. (fn. 77) The chancel screen and rood loft, designed by C. E. Ponting, were placed in the church in 1919, and the reredos, designed by W. H. Randoll Blacking, with panels painted by Christopher Webb, was erected in 1936.

There are a number of notable wood and stone roof corbels of 15th-century date in the nave and north aisle. Some female heads with horned and heart-shaped head-dresses are of special interest. The royal arms of Elizabeth I and James I are in the south aisle and the nave respectively.

There was an organ in the church in 1567. A new one was bought in 1603 for £3 6s. 8d. and was demolished in 1653. Another organ built by Samuel Smith was bought for £100 in 1778. In 1824 185 guineas were paid for an organ built by Blyth of Isleworth. (fn. 78) The present organ by William Hill & Son was installed in 1869.

St. Martin's has a peal of eight bells. (fn. 79) The 5th and 6th are by Richard Florey, a Salisbury founder, and are dated 1675. The 7th, dated 1582, and the tenor, dated 1624, are by John Wallis, also of Salisbury.

The earliest piece of plate surviving is a covered Communion cup and paten of about 1575 and inscribed ex dono Gulielmi Wickham Episcopi Vintonia. (fn. 80) Among the other pieces is a large rosewater dish now used as an almsdish. It has a richly decorated border, and the arms of Edward Hyde, Lord Clarendon, engraved in the centre. It is dated 1662 and was given to the parish by Alice Denham in 1686.

The registers begin in 1599 and, except for some seventeen years at the beginning of the 17th century, are complete. The churchwardens' accounts date from 1567 and the vestry books from 1637. Most of these records are in the Council House, Salisbury.

In the 17th century the churchyard was enclosed by a mud wall. (fn. 81) A brick wall was built in 1667. (fn. 82) The first churchyard walk was made in 1757. (fn. 83) In 1792 an avenue of limes was planted leading from the church to the turnstile in the south-east corner. The churchyard was closed for burials in 1854. (fn. 84) A churchyard cross was demolished in 1653, but was restored and moved from the north to the south side of the church in 1871. (fn. 85)

A tithe barn stood on the north side of the churchyard. It was sold in c. 1881 to the then incumbent, (fn. 86) who pulled it down and used much of the timber for the rectory he built in 1890. (fn. 87)

ST. THOMAS'S CHURCH.

The church of St. Thomas lies in one of the first areas to be settled when the city began to grow up to the north of the new cathedral during the first half of the 13th century, (fn. 88) and there is no reason to doubt the tradition (fn. 89) that the foundation of the church dates from the time of this settlement. The first mention of any chapel or church dedicated to St. Thomas (fn. 90) occurs in 1238 when Robert, Rector of St. Thomas's chapel, Salisbury, appears as witness to a deed. (fn. 91) A parish of St. Thomas existed in 1246, for that year an agreement had to be reached between the treasurer of the cathedral and the Rector of St. Thomas's about the allotment of funeral candles of persons dying within that parish, but wishing to be buried in the cathedral. (fn. 92) The extent of the parish was said, in 1269, when the bounds of the newlyformed parish of St. Edmund and the existing parish of St. Martin were defined, to comprise all the area within the city outside the Close and not included in either of the other two parishes. At the same time the church of Stratford with all its appurtenances was said to form part of the parish, (fn. 93) but no other reference to any connexion between the two churches has been found.

In 1363 permission was granted for the appropriation of the church for six years by the dean and chapter. The proceeds were to be applied to the repair of the fabric of the cathedral, which was then causing concern, (fn. 94) and a vicarage was to be endowed for St. Thomas's. (fn. 95) The advowson at this time belonged to the Bishop of Salisbury, and was not included in the grant of the rectory to the dean and chapter. (fn. 96) In 1387 a presentation by the king was contested by Walter Mabely, clerk. (fn. 97) The bishop did not dispute the king's right to present on the occasion in question, and the matter was finally settled in 1394, when an exchange was made between the incumbent of St. Thomas's and the incumbent of Ivinghoe (Bucks.). (fn. 98) In 1399 permission was granted for Richard Metford, Bishop of Salisbury, to grant the advowson to the dean and chapter, and for the dean and chapter to appropriate the rectory permanently to the fabric fund. The chapter was to provide a secular chaplain to serve the church, and the chaplain was to distribute a 'proper sum' among the poor of the parish (fn. 99) — a payment still being made at Easter, in 1535. (fn. 100) The Pope confirmed this grant in 1401. (fn. 101) No provision was made for any endowment for the incumbent, and henceforth the church was served by a curate, who was often a member of the chapter, or became a member after his appointment to St. Thomas's. A connexion with the dean and chapter is apparent even before the church was appropriated for the first time in 1363, for in 1269 the Rector of St. Thomas's was the succentor of the cathedral. (fn. 102) The living remained a perpetual curacy until 1875 when the incumbent assumed the status of titular vicar. (fn. 103)

In 1291 the church was valued at £10. (fn. 104) In 1535 the annual value of the rectory was said to be £34 17s. 7d. gross, and £30 0s. 9d. net. It was then the most valuable single asset belonging to the fabric fund. A payment of £2 4s. was made to a priest, also described as a collector and receiver. (fn. 105) At the same date an annual pension of 13s. 4d. was being paid to St. Thomas's from the priory of Easton Royal. (fn. 106)

In 1400 a dispute arose concerning the tithes due to the incumbent of St. Thomas's from the bishop's mill, which lay in the parish. (fn. 107) The bishop had compounded for these at some earlier date with an annual pension of 6s. 8d., but in 1400 the incumbent claimed the actual profits and tithes instead of the rent. The dispute was referred to the treasurer of the cathedral, who awarded that in future the bishop should pay the incumbent 20s. a year. (fn. 108)

Since tithes formed only a very small part of the church's income, it depended upon various other sources of revenue. In 1545 collections made at Easter and during the special festivities held in Whitsun week brought in a large part of the annual income. (fn. 109) Fees for the use of the font taper, the cross candlesticks, and the pall were also a source of revenue in the middle of the 16th century. In the second half of the century these ways of collecting money gave way to the 'Easter Book', (fn. 110) in which were recorded the graded sums payable by all parishioners at Easter. In 1567–8 this brought in £26. (fn. 111) In 1579–80 the sum was £100 11s. 11½d. (fn. 112) At the beginning of the 17th century the 'Easter Book' was replaced by a special rate to meet the cost of church repairs. (fn. 113) After 1638 rates were levied nearly every year. In 1641–2 there was a rate for the church amounting to £32 11s. 7d., and a parish rate of £20 8s. 10d. (fn. 114) In 1663–4 the vestry ordered that every parishioner contributing to the poor rate should make a payment for bread and wine on behalf of himself, his family and his apprentices, and every parishioner should pay 4d. as Easter dues. (fn. 115)

Other sources of revenue were charges for banns, weddings, churchings, christenings and graves, bequests, donations from guilds and pew rents. In the 16th century pews were rented sometimes for life, sometimes for a fixed period. A fine was charged for changing pews. (fn. 116)

For much of the 16th and 17th centuries the vestry farmed the rectory from the chapter, and paid all expenses including a salary to the incumbent. In 1567–8 the farm was £6. (fn. 117) In 1583–4 it was raised to £10. (fn. 118) In 1637 and again in 1641 the vestry tried to obtain a new lease, (fn. 119) but this was not achieved before the chapter lost its authority in the 1640's. Soon after the Restoration a new farm was negotiated. By this the chapter leased all the profits of the benefice to the vestry for 21 years in return for a rent of £2 a year. (fn. 120)

Between 1545 and 1637 the salary paid to the curate by the vestry rose from £10 to £13 6s. 8d. (fn. 121) In 1645 when John Conant was curate (see below) an attempt was made to get a fixed endowment for the incumbent from Parliament, (fn. 122) and in 1649 he was said to be receiving £150 a year allowed him by the Committee of Plundered Ministers. (fn. 123) This was apparently augmented by voluntary subscriptions collected throughout the parish. (fn. 124) In 1663 when the new lease of the revenues was made the vestry agreed to pay the curate £13 6s. 8d. a year. (fn. 125) In 1812 the living received a grant of £200 from the Parliamentary Fund, and in 1818 another grant of £1,000 from the same fund. (fn. 126) In 1831 the annual gross and net incomes were £118, and the curate's stipend was then £50. (fn. 127) At the instigation of Bishop Denison subscriptions were again collected in the parish in 1851 in an attempt to provide a more adequate salary. (fn. 128) In 1862 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners endowed the living with £100 a year. (fn. 129)

In the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries the vestry paid a rent to the city chamberlain for the curate's house. (fn. 130) In 1649 the corporation bought four canonical houses in the Close for the four presbyterian ministers then in the city. John Conant lived in the house allotted to the incumbent of St. Thomas's until his death in 1653. (fn. 131) After the Restoration the city churches failed to retain these houses and no residence was provided for the curate until Bishop Denison secured another house in the Close for him. (fn. 132) In 1646 the parish clerk was also allowed the rent for a house, which in fact he had been receiving for some years already. (fn. 133)

In 1380 there were 26 chaplains and 11 unbeneficed clergy attached to the church. (fn. 134) In 1394 in addition to the parochial chaplain, there were 14 chantry chaplains. (fn. 135) The earliest mention of a chantry in the church occurs in 1380, when Amesbury Priory was licensed to alienate an annual rent of 10 marks from its manor of Bulford to support a chaplain celebrating daily for the souls of the king and Robert Godmanstone (mayor 1355) and his family. (fn. 136) The following year the canons of Maiden Bradley were licensed to alienate a similar rent from lands in Homington for the support of another chaplain celebrating for the souls of Robert Godmanstone and his family. (fn. 137) In 1535 these two endowments were still supporting two chaplains. One of the chaplains had a lodging next the churchyard, for which he paid 2s. to the Bishop of Salisbury. Both chaplains received 13s. 4d. tithes from an unknown source. (fn. 138) In 1545 the net value of the two chantries was £14 9s. 4d. Both chaplains then lived in a house with garden in the churchyard. (fn. 139) Presentations of a chaplain by the dean and chapter were made to a chantry of St. Bartholomew in 1404 and 1408. (fn. 140) In 1410 a chapel of St. Stephen had been in existence sufficiently long to need repairing, for in his will, dated that year, George Meriot left money for its rebuilding. (fn. 141) A chapel of the Holy Trinity is mentioned in 1447 when Robert Warmwell (mayor 1380) left 8 marks annually for a chaplain to pray there for his soul. (fn. 142)

In 1448, as part of the rebuilding after the collapse of the chancel roof (see below), William Swayne (mayor 1445, 1454, and 1477) founded two chantries in the newly-built south chancel aisle. (fn. 143) One with an altar to the Virgin was for himself and his family, and the other with an altar to St. John the Baptist was for the tailors' guild (see below). In 1472 Swayne presented a chaplain to his own chantry, but all other recorded presentations were by the chapter. (fn. 144) In 1535 the chaplain of this chantry had property in Salisbury worth £16 13s. 4d. and tithes from an unknown source worth £1 5s. 10¾d. He paid a rent of 7s. 10d. to the Bishop of Salisbury, and distributed £2 11s. 8d. in alms. He also paid 15s. to Reynold of Tidworth's chantry in St. Edmund's Church. (fn. 145) In 1545 his salary was £13 6s. 7d. and the net value of the chantry was £14 3s. 10d. (fn. 146)

In 1447 the tailors' guild moved its chantry chapel from St. Thomas's to St. Edmund's. (fn. 147) In 1449, however, the guild resumed its connexion with St. Thomas's (fn. 148) and established its chapel in the south chancel aisle built by Swayne. (fn. 149) In 1545 the tailors had one chaplain in St. Thomas's receiving £5 6s. 8d., and the chantry's income from lands and tenements was £9 3s. 2d. (fn. 150) Lights of the fraternity of the barber-surgeons in St. Thomas's are mentioned in 1458 when John Winchester, a member of the craft, bequeathed money for their upkeep, and property in the city for an annual obit. (fn. 151)

In 1535 the chaplain of a chantry founded by William Warwick received £10 13s. 4d. a year from lands in the city. Out of this he paid 6s. 2½d. rent to the bishop, 16s. to Reynold of Tidworth's chantry in St. Edmund's, and 8s. alms to the poor and imprisoned. (fn. 152) In 1545 he received £6 13s. 3d., and the net annual income was £9 16s. 9½d. (fn. 153) In 1548 there was a chantry of 'Jesus Mass' endowed with lands devised by Thomas Brodgate and valued at £7 2s. 7d. (fn. 154) At the same date two obits were endowed. One had an annual income of 13s. 4d. for a chaplain to celebrate on St. Luke's day, (fn. 155) and the other had 40s. a year from a tenement in Butcher Row to pay for prayers for one William Harold. (fn. 156)

Pews were allotted for the mayor and corporation and their families as they were in the other two city churches. (fn. 157) There is no evidence that the fraternity of St. George, the guild of the mayor and corporation, had its chapel in St. Thomas's, but 'the George' taken down in 1547–8 may refer to the emblem belonging to that guild. (fn. 158) In 1556 the three annual dirges, for which the mayor and corporation paid, and which had previously been celebrated in the church, were revived. (fn. 159) In 1579 the mayor was elected in St. Thomas's instead of in St. Edmund's on account of the plague then prevalent near St. Edmund's. (fn. 160)

The only two churchwardens' accounts surviving for the reign of Henry VIII (fn. 161) suggest that little change took place in that reign in the form of service. There is evidence of some change early in the reign of Edward VI, although many of the preReformation ceremonies and rituals persisted. After a visit by the commissioners in 1547–8 the church was cleared, and 'images' were defaced and removed. (fn. 162) In 1549–50 two communion books called 'the ordinal' were bought for the curate and clerk. (fn. 163) No fault was found with the fittings or fabric of the church on Bishop Capon's visitation in 1552, although it was presented that the choir talked during services. (fn. 164) In 1557–8 the rood was taken down, and 'rubble' was removed from around the altar. (fn. 165) In 1560–1 a book of Paraphrases was bought and texts were painted on the walls of the church. (fn. 166) 'Moyse's tables' were set at the High Altar. (fn. 167) In 1572–3 two books of prayer for use at morning service were bought. (fn. 168)

In 1600 there was a complaint that no sermon was preached at St. Thomas's. (fn. 169) By his will dated 1617 Christopher Eyre, merchant of London, son of Thomas Eyre, alderman of Salisbury, left £20 a year to provide for a weekly lecture to be given in the church. The money was vested in the city chamber, and the mayor and corporation with Eyre's executors were to approve the lecturers. (fn. 170) The first lecturer was John Davenant, Bishop of Salisbury (1621–41). (fn. 171) In 1851 the delivery of this lecture on Sunday evenings made St. Thomas's the only church in the city to have an evening service. (fn. 172)

In 1641 the vestry wished to appoint the pronounced puritan, John Conant, curate, but were unable to do so while the chapter retained its authority. In 1645 Conant, then a member of the Westminster Assembly, was appointed, and remained at Salisbury until his death in 1653. (fn. 173) During this period the pulpit was moved to a place near the curate's seat, (fn. 174) and the font re-erected in full view of the congregation. (fn. 175) Both were restored to their former position in 1660. (fn. 176) Conant preached twice every Sunday. (fn. 177) During his incumbency he acted as chaplain to the mayor and corporation, and in 1649 was invited to attend and bless council meetings. (fn. 178) Conant was succeeded by William Eyre (incumbent of St. Martin's 1649–53), who was a member of the Wiltshire Committee for Scandalous Ministers. In 1660 Eyre was replaced by Thomas Henchman, although he retained the lectureship (see above) until 1662. (fn. 179)

Between the Restoration and the middle of the 19th century chapter dignitaries as well as minor canons and vicars choral held the curacy. In 1696 the precentor, Daniel Whitby, the writer on religious toleration, held it. (fn. 180) When Bishop Denison came to Salisbury in 1837 he found that the curate never visited the church except to collect his fee. (fn. 181) After Denison's arrangement for increasing the stipend (see above), and the appointment of a full-time curate, which followed, an improvement in church affairs began.

The church of ST. THOMAS is built of stone and flint and consists of nave and chancel, both with aisles, and a south tower with its lower stage forming a porch. A cruciform church built in the first half of the 13th century is thought to have formed the core of the present building. (fn. 182) A chapel was built against the south side of the chancel in the second half of the 13th century, and this may have been St. Stephen's chapel (see above). The next addition to the structure was the Godmanstone chantry (see above), which was built on the north side of the chancel in the later 14th century.

In 1400 Thomas de Boyton bequeathed 20 marks for work on the bell tower then being built on the south side of the church. The dean and chapter lent 12 marks for the same work in 1404. The tower at this date stood away from the church.

In 1447 the roof of the chancel collapsed. An agreement was then made between the chapter, who as rectors were responsible for rebuilding it, and a number of wealthy parishioners including William and Henry Swayne, John Hall, and members of the Godmanstone family. The parishioners undertook to rebuild and lengthen the south side, and the chapter to do exactly the same on the north side. (fn. 183) At the same time the south chancel aisle was rebuilt and lengthened by William Swayne (see above) to correspond with the new chancel. The lengthening of the north chancel aisle was undertaken by members of the Godmanstone and Hungerford families. The roof of this aisle was provided by William Ludlow of Hill Deverill in c. 1450. (fn. 184)

The whole body of the church was evidently remodelled in the late 15th century giving a lofty clerestoried nave of five bays with richly carved roof, and north and south aisles forming a continuation of the chancel aisles. The north side of the bell tower then became part of the south wall of the south aisle. Traces of 15th-century wall paintings were found inside the porch beneath the tower at the beginning of the 20th century, but were beyond restoration. (fn. 185) A detailed plan of the completed church as it was before the alterations and restoration of the 19th century was made by John Lyons in 1745, who also made drawings of the north-west and south-east views of the church at that date. (fn. 186)

Soon after the completion of clerestory and nave roof about the end of the 15th century the wellknown Doom painting was executed over the chancel arch. (fn. 187) In 1593 the arch was whitewashed, and a few years later the royal arms were placed above it. (fn. 188) In 1880 the whitewash was stripped, and the royal arms moved to their present position over the south door. The Doom painting was considerably retouched with oil paint in the 19th century. In 1958 the easternmost truss of the nave roof was repainted in accordance with the original colours found in 1953. (fn. 189)

Traces of the original wall paintings remain in the south chancel aisle. On the north wall are paintings of the Annunciation, the Salutation, and the Adoration. Pots of lilies and the badge of the Order of the Garter form part of the decoration. The Garter was probably used in honour of Bishop Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury (1450–81), Chaplain and Chancellor of the Most Noble Order. The decorations on the beams of the roof include Swayne's merchant mark and his arms, and the inscriptions 'Pray for the soul of James father of William Swayne', and 'Pray for the souls of William Swayne and Chrystian his wife'. The stained glass of the east window, which is contemporary with the building of the aisle, was re-arranged and re-leaded at the beginning of the 19th century. Much of the glass is missing but a representation of the Assumption, and the merchant marks of William Swayne, John Webb and other prominent members of the tailors' guild can still be distinguished. Two painted alabaster monuments to members of the Eyre family were removed from the chancel to the south chancel aisle in 1724, and reset above a carved reredos enclosed by wrought iron railings, beneath which was a new family vault. Moved from the south porch to the south aisle is a memorial to Humphrey Beckham, chamberlain of the joiners' guild in 1621, and warden in 1635, carved by himself. The churchwardens' accounts show Beckham to have undertaken other carving and joinery work in the church. (fn. 190) There are fragments of a Jesse window in the north chancel aisle.

The three-storied vestry to the north of the north chancel aisle was built in 1465–7, possibly as a house for the chaplain of Swayne's chantry (see above). Beams moved from the lower room at the beginning of the 20th century bore the inscription 'Pray for the souls of William Swayne and his wife'. This room was used as a skull house until 1687. A threelight window in the east wall contains 15th-century glass. A bier house stood on the west of the bell tower in 1530. In 1620 it was converted into a house for the sexton. (fn. 191) This is shown on Lyons's plan but was destroyed early in the 19th century.

In 1835 a north porch with room above, shown on Lyons's plan was removed, but its stair turret still remains. Between 1850 and 1860 the chancel floor was raised, the high pews removed from the chancel, and the alabaster altar piece and oak screens added. In 1875 the nave was restored, and the high pews replaced. (fn. 192) Ten years later the chancel screen was erected, and the south chancel aisle prepared for daily services. (fn. 193) Many repairs were carried out between 1902 and 1905 at a cost of over £5,000. (fn. 194) In 1568–9 a new organ was purchased for £7 13s. 5d. raised by a special collection among parishioners. (fn. 195) This was replaced by another in 1738. In 1877 the organ presented to the cathedral by George III in 1792 was given to St. Thomas's. It has subsequently been reconstructed. A font of late Norman date, and believed to have come originally from St. Thomas's, was retrieved from a neighbouring garden in 1895. A new font was erected in memory of a former vicar W. G. Birkbeck (d. 1900). The pulpit with sounding board above was replaced by the present one in 1877.

No early inventories of plate exist for St. Thomas's. A silver gilt chalice was bequeathed with other church goods to the altar of St. Michael there by William Warmwell (d. 1399). (fn. 196) The 16th-century churchwardens' accounts show that on several occasions after 1546 church goods were sold, and in 1584–5 new communion cups were made. In the 17th century the church received a number of gifts of flagons and salvers. In 1867 all the plate was remodelled. Two patens bear the inscription 'Recast from previous gift of Henry March 1689', and a flagon is inscribed 'Recast from previous gifts by Augustine Abbot 1597, and Richard Eyre 1682'.

St. Thomas's has a peal of eight bells. (fn. 197) The 5th was the gift of John Wyndham in 1683, and was recast by Wells of Aldbourne in 1771. Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 were all cast by Wells, and all except number 3, which bears no date, are dated 1771. The 8th was cast by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester in 1716.

Two quarter-jacks, removed from their place under the clock beside the quarter bells on the tower in 1896, stand in the south porch. They were first put up in 1582.

The registers date from 1570 and are complete. The series of churchwardens' accounts begin in 1545 and those between this date and 1689–90 have been printed. (fn. 198)

In 1646 the churchyard was closed for burials for seven years, and the vestry asked for permission to use their 'ancient burying ground' within the Close. (fn. 199) In the 18th century the churchyard was said to be a disgrace and a scandal, and the ground to be raised so high by the numerous burials that the lower windows of the church were partially obscured. (fn. 200) In 1713 the churchwardens were ordered to lower the level by the removal of ½ foot of earth every year. (fn. 201) The churchyard was finally closed for burials in 1854.

ST. EDMUND'S CHURCH.

The church of St. Edmund of Abingdon was founded by Bishop de la Wyle as a collegiate church in 1269. (fn. 202) Building had begun, however, at least five years earlier, for Robert de Kareville, treasurer of the cathedral, made a bequest to the fabric of St. Edmund's Church in his will dated 1264. (fn. 203) From the outset it appears that it was intended that the college with its priests and provost should serve the newly-created parish of St. Edmund. (fn. 204) Probably at the same time the vicarage of St. Martin's was annexed to St. Edmund's and thenceforth until the Dissolution either the provost or a priest of St. Edmund's served the church of St. Martin. (fn. 205)

In 1536, ten years before the college was dissolved, the rectory was leased by the provost to John Beckingham, a Salisbury merchant. (fn. 206) After the Dissolution the college buildings and possessions were sold in 1546 to William St. Barbe, a royal servant, but the rectories of both St. Edmund's and St. Martin's (see below) were expressly excluded from the sale. (fn. 207) In 1549 William and Thomas St. Barbe conveyed the college premises to John Beckingham, who was already leasing the rectory (see above). (fn. 208) In 1611 Henry Beckingham, son of John, conveyed the rectory to Bartholomew Tooker, John Ivie, and others in trust for the parish, (fn. 209) but three years later a similar conveyance was made by Stephen Beckingham, Henry's son, to Giles Tooker, Salisbury's first recorder, and John Puxton. (fn. 210) The descent of the rectory over the next 50 years is obscure, and since it was linked with the claim of the vestry to the advowson (see below), was a matter of controversy. By 1650 it had passed to Sir Giles Estcourt, the younger, whose father of the same name had acquired the college premises from Henry Beckingham in 1575, (fn. 211) for that year Estcourt conveyed the rectory to three persons apparently trustees for the parish. (fn. 212) The right of the parish to the rectory was not, however, finally established until 1663 when a new conveyance was made. (fn. 213)

Until the dissolution of the college the provosts were appointed by the Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 214) When the college premises and property were sold to William St. Barbe in 1546, the advowsons of St. Edmund's and St. Martin's, unlike the rectories, were included in the sale. (fn. 215) In 1549 when William and Thomas St. Barbe conveyed the college premises to John Beckingham, (fn. 216) who already held the rectory of St. Edmund's (see above), both advowsons were also granted to Beckingham. In 1555, however, the bishop presented to St. Edmund's as void by lapse, (fn. 217) but in 1562 and 1584 John and Henry Beckingham respectively presented. (fn. 218) Shortly after this last presentation the validity of the original grant of the advowson to St. Barbe was questioned, (fn. 219) and in 1606 and 1622 the bishop presented. (fn. 220) In 1614 Stephen Beckingham tried, without success, to re-establish his right to the advowson. (fn. 221) Soon after this an attempt was made by the vestry to purchase the advowson, for in 1617 it was agreed that parishioners who had lent money for this purpose, should be repaid even though the advowson had not been acquired. (fn. 222) In 1640 the vestry appointed the presbyterian John Strickland (see below) and, after his removal from office in 1662, elected John Sedgwick as his successor. (fn. 223) Sedgwick, however, claimed that he had accepted his presentation from the bishop. Thenceforth the advowson remained with the bishops of Salisbury, although the vestry only finally relinquished its claim at the end of the 17th century. (fn. 224)

It is impossible to tell what was the value of the rectory leased to John Beckingham in 1536, and excluded from the grant of the college and its possessions to St. Barbe in 1546 (see above). It presumably included any great tithes, which had survived the growth of the town, and may have included some of the rents in Salisbury, which were the most substantial source of income belonging to the college.

In 1629 the vestry affirmed that the tithes of all gardens and orchards in the parish should be paid to the incumbent. They also claimed that he should have all the 'taxes' of the Greencroft and Town Ditch, and profits of the fair held there, and of the butchers' shambles, the tanners' standings, and the cornmarket, as all these lay within the parish. (fn. 225) Whether these claims were substantiated or not is unknown. In 1649–50 the small tithes were said to be worth £5. (fn. 226) In 1831 the average income of the benefice was £181 gross and £176 net. (fn. 227) In 1878 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners made a grant of £60 a year for the employment of a curate. (fn. 228) In 1952 the gross income was £656 and included £200 from rents and £447 from the Church Commissioners. (fn. 229)

In 1649–50 the Committee of Plundered Ministers ordered that the minister's salary should be £150 a year. (fn. 230) In 1835 the incumbent, who also held a cathedral prebend, received a salary of £100. (fn. 231) In 1649 the incumbent was allotted one of the houses in the Close provided for the ministers of the city churches by the corporation. (fn. 232)

In 1380–81, in addition to the provost and 9 priests in the college, there were 11 other priests attached to the church. (fn. 233) In 1394 there were the rector or provost, a parochial chaplain, and 8 chantry chaplains. (fn. 234) The earliest chantry mentioned is that founded in 1305 by Reynold of Tidworth (mayor 1306). (fn. 235) All recorded presentations to this were made by the bishop, except in 1508 when the Abbot of Abbotsbury (Dors.) presented. (fn. 236) In 1535 the chantry had £5 6s. 8d. from rents in Salisbury, 10s. 7¼d. in tithes from an unspecified source, (fn. 237) and a contribution from the chaplain of Swayne's chantry in St. Thomas's Church. (fn. 238) In 1545–6 this chantry had a chaplain and was valued at £6 6s. (fn. 239) Other chantries in existence in the 14th century were one founded by Henry Burry in 1330, (fn. 240) another for two chaplains founded in memory of Robert of Woodford c. 1362, (fn. 241) a chantry of St. Edmund, and one at the altar of St. Nicholas. (fn. 242) At the beginning of the 15th century a chantry chapel of St. Katharine was founded in the graveyard, (fn. 243) and in 1448 a chantry to Walter Scammell, Bishop of Salisbury, 1284–6. (fn. 244) Lights were maintained before altars, or in chapels, dedicated to the Virgin, the Trinity, St. Christopher, St. Sebastian, St. James, and St. Nicholas. (fn. 245) Early in the 15th century there was a fraternity of Jesus Mass for brethren and sisters. This fraternity was responsible for the celebration of mass daily before the altar of the Holy Cross in St. Edmund's. It owned property in the city, and was administered by two stewards. (fn. 246)

Among the guilds maintaining lights in the church the weavers seem to have had a special place. The light of their craft in the church is mentioned in wills of 1410 and 1415, (fn. 247) and their fraternity of St. Mary there in 1417. (fn. 248) In 1491 John Briggs, a clothier, left cloths and money for a daily mass at the altar dedicated to the Virgin, sometimes called the Wreffyn altar, on which the weavers' light stood, and near which Briggs was buried in a marble tomb. (fn. 249) In 1545–6 the weavers maintained a chaplain in a chantry then valued at £12 7s. 1d. (fn. 250) In 1624 a contribution from this guild was applied to the repair of the chancel. (fn. 251) The weavers, and also the taverners, had pews reserved for them in the church. (fn. 252) In 1447 the tailors moved from St. Thomas's and founded a chantry in the chapel of St. John, (fn. 253) but two years later they returned to St. Thomas's, although they apparently retained an interest in St. Katharine's chapel in the churchyard. (fn. 254) In 1485 John Ashford left property in Minster Street to the tailors' fraternity to endow an obit for himself and his family and the fraternity in St. Edmund's. (fn. 255)

Besides contributions for the maintenance of lights, income came from much the same sources as at St. Thomas's. Between 1495 and 1524 the vestry received rents from the stall-holders at the fair held in the churchyard, (fn. 256) and payments from cheese-mongers standing by the churchyard walls were received until towards the end of the 16th century. (fn. 257) By the middle of that century annual payments to the church by the parishioners, graded according to means, were recorded in the 'Quarter' or 'Easter Book'. (fn. 258) In the 17th century rates, based on the assessments in the Quarter Book were levied for special purposes. In 1650, when the condition of the tower was causing anxiety (see below), a ten-year-rate was proposed, but was later amended to a three-year rate. (fn. 259)

Special collections were made for the purchase of bread and wine. In 1591–2 this amounted to £1 4s. (fn. 260) In 1603 the parish was divided into three districts for the collection of this money, (fn. 261) but in 1626 it was arranged that all wishing to take communion should purchase in advance communion tokens costing ½d. each. (fn. 262) In 1633 it was re-affirmed that money for the bread and wine should be raised by the collection of a rate, and that the contribution known as the Holy Loaf should cease. (fn. 263) Shortly before this it was ordered that muscadine only should be used for the communion wine and no more claret was to be bought. (fn. 264)

Seats in the church were paid for from at least as early as 1456, prices varying from 2d. to 20d. As in the other city churches seats were reserved for the mayor and corporation. In the 15th century there were four churchwardens, but after 1510 only two were appointed. Four sidesmen were chosen to assist the churchwardens after 1662. (fn. 265)

In the 15th century the parochial chaplain received extra payment for reading the bede-roll. (fn. 266) The High Altar and other altars were pulled down in 1550–1, and the church was cleared of rubble and stones. In the same year communion tables and forms for communicants to kneel upon were made. (fn. 267) In 1602 the vestry decided to devote £2 a year to pay for four sermons to be preached after the communion service on Easter Sunday, Whit Sunday, All Saints' Day, and Christmas Day. (fn. 268) In 1603 the minister refused to say morning prayers at 6 a.m., as had been customary, and it was agreed to pay the clerk 20s. a year to read the prayers. Some twenty years later the clerk was receiving this sum, and the minister was excused from saying morning prayers on the ground that he was a preacher. (fn. 269) A small retiring room was built for the preacher in 1628. (fn. 270) In 1624 more accommodation within the church was required, and new pews were installed on the north side. (fn. 271)

In 1622 the vestry, supported by Giles Tooker, succeeded in having the presbyterian Peter Thatcher appointed rector. (fn. 272) This appointment was also supported by Henry Sherfield, a later recorder, and a member of the vestry, who in 1638 demonstrated his puritan views by breaking a painted window in the church showing the Creation. (fn. 273) In 1638 Thatcher refused to pay first fruits, and the vestry retained a solicitor for his defence in the suit brought against him. (fn. 274) Thatcher was succeeded in 1641 by another presbyterian, John Strickland, who was elected a member of the Westminster Assembly in 1643. (fn. 275) During Strickland's absences from Salisbury the vestry paid a deputy £1 to serve the cure. In 1645 the vestry petitioned Parliament for a more adequate stipend for the rector, and in 1649 Strickland was persuaded to return to Salisbury with a salary of £150. He was said to preach twice every Sunday. (fn. 276) In 1662 he was disqualified by the Act of Uniformity, but he continued to live and work in Salisbury.

In 1894 an iron church was erected in Winchester Street as a mission room for St. Edmund's, and was later used for Sunday school and other meetings, and occasionally for services. In 1921 the room was sold, and eight years later part of the proceeds were used to buy a house for the curate. (fn. 277)

The church of ST. EDMUND is built of stone and has an aisled nave, west tower, and chancel with a north sacristy and south chapel. (fn. 278) Nothing remains of the collegiate church built in c. 1264. A church, said to be newly built in 1407, (fn. 279) was a cruciform building with a central tower, an aisled nave, and an aisled chancel with a south Lady chapel and a north chapel of St. John the Baptist. (fn. 280) The nave, which presumably served as the parish church, was separated from the chancel, used by the priests of the college, by a rood loft with screen and doors. (fn. 281)

During the first quarter of the 17th century the state of the tower was causing concern. In 1624 the roof of the chancel was slipping away from the tower, and was shored up pending more permanent repairs. (fn. 282) The east window also required attention. (fn. 283) In 1638 three buttresses were built to support the north wall of the church. (fn. 284) To pay for the extensive repairs special rates were levied. (fn. 285) In 1653 to ease the strain on the tower it was agreed to remove all but two of the bells and the weather vane. (fn. 286) Some days later, however, the tower fell, demolishing the nave. (fn. 287) Work was begun at once on clearing away the whole damaged western portion of the church, and repairing and probably altering the chancel and aisles to form the nave and aisles of the present church. (fn. 288) The tower at the west end of the new nave, built in the late Perpendicular style, was completed in 1655. (fn. 289) Money for these works was raised by donations within the parish, by contributions collected in the other two city parishes, and help was given by the corporation. (fn. 290)

At an unknown date, but not long before 1843, (fn. 291) a small chancel without aisles was extended eastwards. (fn. 292) Between 1865 and 1867 restoration was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The chancel was rebuilt with sacristy on the north and chapel on the south, the former east walls of the 15th century aisles being taken down and re-erected to form the east end of the new extension. At the same time the box pews, galleries, and a three-decker pulpit were removed. (fn. 293) In 1913 the south chapel was converted into a chapel in memory of the Revd. F. W. Folliott (d. 1901) and the Revd. A. T. Douglas (d. 1911). (fn. 294) In 1954 the chancel was re-modelled, to provide more space, by W. H. Randoll Blacking. (fn. 295)

Traces of painting remain above the arch in the middle of the south wall. (fn. 296) There is a panel of Swiss glass dated 1617 showing the story of the Creation, (fn. 297) and an 18th-century mace stand. (fn. 298)

In 1475 there were 'a pair of organs' in the church. (fn. 299) New organs were bought for £16 in 1517. (fn. 300) In 1567 the building of a new organ by an organ-maker from South Molton (Devon) was completed. (fn. 301)

An inventory, which from internal evidence has been dated 1476, shows that St. Edmund's then possessed as many as fifteen chalices with patens. (fn. 302) By 1531 there were apparently only five, and Edward VI's commissioners left the church with only one. By 1554, however, St. Edmund's had acquired a silver-gilt chalice with paten, and this paten, which can be dated 1533, was still in the church in 1960. (fn. 303) It is thought to be one of the latest pieces of preReformation plate to have survived. Besides two silver chalices, bearing the date 1687, the parish now possesses a number of 17th- and 18th-century pieces including an almsdish dated 1732 given in memory of Richard Naish, Purveyor of the Royal Navy, who was born in the parish. Most of the plate was remodelled in 1867.

As early as 1500 St. Edmund's had six bells. A new ring of six was cast in 1656, three years after the fall of the tower, and four of these are among the eight bells which make up the present peal. (fn. 304)

The registers begin in 1561 and are complete. There is a set of churchwardens' accounts beginning in 1443 and extending in an almost unbroken series until the beginning of the 18th century. These have been printed, partly in full and partly in abstract. (fn. 305) The early registers and churchwardens' accounts are kept in the Council House, Salisbury.

The churchyard was evidently included in the sale of the college premises by William St. Barbe to John Beckingham in 1549, and this led to protracted disputes between the vestry and the successive owners of the premises. In 1551 the vestry brought a suit against Beckingham for felling trees in the churchyard. (fn. 306) Between 1625 and 1638 it made several vain attempts to reach a settlement either by friendly negotiation or by litigation. (fn. 307) It was complained that cattle grazing in the churchyard strayed into the church, and trees, which should have been used for the repair of the church, were felled by Sir Giles Estcourt, then owner of the college premises. (fn. 308) In 1638 Estcourt agreed to convey the churchyard to the parish. (fn. 309)

ST. MARK'S CHURCH.

With the growth of the city northwards in the later 19th century the need arose for another church for the residents of the newly-developed area. (fn. 310) In 1899 the district chapelry of St. Mark was formed out of the northern part of St. Martin's parish. (fn. 311) The living then became a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 312)

Temporary churches had been built in Gigant Street and in Wyndham Park in 1880 and 1882 respectively, (fn. 313) and in 1892 the building of a permanent church at the junction of St. Mark's Avenue and the London road was begun. (fn. 314) The architect was J. A. Reeve, (fn. 315) and the foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Canterbury assisted by three other bishops. (fn. 316) The first part of ST. MARK'S Church comprising chancel, Lady chapel, transepts, and one bay of the nave was opened in 1894, (fn. 317) and was consecrated five years later. (fn. 318) In 1914 work was begun on completing the nave, and this was finished in 1915. (fn. 319) The First World War prevented the addition of the porches and central tower needed to complete the building. After the war a chapel was built on the north side as a war memorial, and in 1922 a south porch was added. (fn. 320) The tower has not been erected. The building is of stone with a rustic finish externally and is in the Perpendicular style.

When the church was opened in 1894, a 17thcentury pulpit was presented by St. Martin's Church, and many furnishings were provided by subscriptions and gifts. (fn. 321)

ST. FRANCIS'S CHURCH.

The church of St. Francis was founded in 1930 to meet the needs of the residential neighbourhood which grew up to the north of the city in the 20th century. (fn. 322) Much of the planning of the new parish was done by Bishop Donaldson. (fn. 323) Parochial work was begun early in 1930 with the consent of the Vicars of Stratfordsub-Castle and St. Mark's, Salisbury. A temporary wooden church was built with much voluntary help on a site on the east side of Stratford Road, and was dedicated in November 1930. (fn. 324) In 1937 the new district, taken partly out of the parish of Stratfordsub-Castle, and partly out of that of St. Mark's, was established and a vicar was instituted. (fn. 325) A payment formerly made by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to the Vicar of Stratford for the employment of a curate was transferred to the incumbent of the new church. An additional sum was also paid by the commissioners from benefactions deposited with them. (fn. 326) The living then became a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 327)

A building committee was formed in 1937. Mr. Robert Potter was appointed architect, and £2,000 were raised for building. The site on Stratford Road was abandoned because it appeared that the town was not developing so fast along that road as along the road leading to Old Sarum. A new site at the junction of Beatrice Road and Castle Road was bought in 1938 and building begun that year. The foundation stone was laid by the bishop in January 1939, and the church was consecrated in 1940. (fn. 328)

The church of ST. FRANCIS, built in a modern style, consists of a wide nave, lit by tall clerestory windows and flanked by passage aisles. (fn. 329) There is no chancel but there is an apsidal Lady chapel at a raised level behind the sanctuary. Beneath the Lady chapel there is a parish room. The choir sits in a western gallery. There is a small projecting baptistry at the western end of the north aisle. On the south side of the church, towards the west end, is a 70 ft. tower with entrance beneath into the church. The principal entrance is by a west door, on either side of which are cloakrooms for the congregation. The outer cavity walls of the church are faced with variegated light red bricks, and the dressings to windows and doors are of reconstituted stone. The roofs are of reinforced concrete covered with asphalt. Internally the walls are plastered but undecorated. The ceiling of the nave has been specially panelled to improve the acoustics. The church is centrally heated. All plate is modern and much of it has been presented by parishioners. The church had no bells in 1960, but the bells from the church at Imber had been acquired.