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St Mary's, Potterne, Sunset IV

The National Churches Trust describes St Mary's in Potterne as a “an Early English church of exceptional purity and austerity.”

 

A priest, and land held by the Bishop of Salisbury, was recorded at Potterne in Domesday Book of 1086, and in Victorian times, a 10th Century font was found on the site of the present day Church of England parish church of St Mary. It was built in the 13th century and has survived with little change, beyond work to the tower in the 15th century and restoration by Ewan Christian. Pevsner describes it as, “An Early English parish church of exceptional purity and indeed classicity” and linked this to the Bishops’ ownership of the manor.

 

The church is cruciform, with a substantial tower over the crossing, and original lancet windows. It is built of rubble stone, with ashlar to the upper tower. The south porch was added in the 14th century, and in the 15th the tower was made higher and given an elaborate battlement. Restoration in 1870–2 included re-roofing and the removal of galleries, and the stained glass is from various dates in that century.

 

From the 11th century, the church had been linked to All Saints at West Lavington as tithes from both churches endowed a prebendary at Salisbury Cathedral. From 1967 the benefice was held in plurality with Worton and since 2017 the parish has been part of the Wellsprings benefice, which extends to Seend, Bulkington and Poulshot.

 

Potterne is a village with a population of 1,544 (2021), 2 miles/3 km south of the Wiltshire market town of Devizes.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

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Uploaded on April 22, 2024
Taken on March 20, 2024