St Mary the Virgin

Getting here

"One of the most astonishing churches we have ever come
across - quite by chance - for architecture, written history and
social spirit"
(Pete & Elaine, Bristol)

" I had never been to this church before so I naturally went to
Nettleton and started wandering about the lanes looking for a
church until fortuitously I was turned back by a cow in the road
and found a church on a hill in Burton...."
(Bishop Mike of Bristol)

The oldest parts of St Mary's Church, date from
about 1290 although little remains from that
period. The external walls of the nave and aisle
date from the l4th century. The l5th century tower
is one of a superb group in this area.

Inside the church, the earliest feature is the
circular Norman font. The north aisle, with
Georgian boxpews, is a l4th century copy of
Norman work. The arches of the nave rest on the
round columns which have sculptured capitals, all
of them different. Here is a fine array of thirty or
forty figures and faces below the roof and on the
arches. However, even more striking is the
considerable outward tilt of the columns, which
may even have happened at the time of
building. The stone bench on the inside of the
north wall probably dates from the l3th century.
The carved stone pulpit is l5th century, but the
stone steps up to it are 600 years
old.

In 2009 we removed the Victorian pews from the
west end of the church, revealing the marvellous
proportions of the arches between the nave and
the north aisle.

The church has a small but very friendly
congregation, who welcome all comers. If you
have difficulty getting to any of our services,
please ring the Churchwarden on 01454 218072
and we will be happy to arrange a lift.

The Church is normally open, but if you are
making a special trip, please contact the
Churchwarden to make sure you will not be
disappointed. If you are a wheelchair user, we
have some portable ramps we can put in place for
you if you let us know you are coming.

After your visit, why not log on to our Facebook
page and let us know what you think - especially
how we might improve the Church and our
services.

Church Hill, Burton
Nettleton
Chippenham
SN14 7LS

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