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Church of St Thomas à Becket, Box

TheChurch of St. Thomas à Becketis theChurch of Englandparish church ofBox, Wiltshire,in south-west England. It is one ofa number of churchesnamed afterThomas Becketfollowing his martyrdom. The church has 12th-century origins[2]and was substantially remodelled in the 14th, 15th, 18th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade Ilisted building.

Church of St Thomas à Becket
Map
51°24′54″N2°15′21″W/ 51.4151°N 2.2558°W/51.4151; -2.2558
DenominationChurch of England
Previous denominationRoman Catholic
Websitewww.boxchurch.org/churches/stab
History
DedicationSt Thomas Becket
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Heritage designationGrade I
Architectural typeChurch
Administration
DioceseBristol[1]
ArchdeaconryMalmesbury[1]
DeaneryChippenham[1]
ParishBox[1]
Pyramidal tombstone(right)

History and description

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The church is adjacent to a ruined Roman villa.[3]There was evidence ofSt Aldhelmworking in the area and an Anglo-Saxon church was built, then replaced with a Norman church. There it was given the parish name of Ditchridge. Following theNorman Conquest,King William Igave the land and church toWilliam De Ow.[4]It was rebuilt in 1158–1169 using stone from the nearby Hazelbury quarry.[5]

The church was at first dedicated to theVirgin Marybut following the martyrdom of theArchbishop of Canterbury,Thomas Becket,a small chapel dedicated to him was constructed in 1190.[5]As Box was on the pilgrims' route to the shrine of Becket atCanterbury Cathedral,by the end of the 13th century, the church had been rededicated to him.[5]The chapel was renamed Hazelbury Chapel following the church's re-dedication.[5]

The tower arches and north arcade are 14th-century, as are the two-storey vestry (which was perhaps a priest's house)[6]and therib vaultedchapel roof. In the 15th century, the tower was heightened and a bell installed; restoration in 1713 included the rebuilding of the chancel.[6]

In 1831, due to the church being too small to meet demand, the Victorians enlarged it;[5]the Bath architectJohn Pinch the Youngerdesigned the south aisle.[6]In 1896–7Harold Brakspearcarried out a renovation. A porch was added to the vestry, and inside the high pews were removed and lowered, along with the floor. Plaster was removed to reveal hidden memorials and 14th-centuryencaustic tilesin the chancel, which were also restored.[5][7]Brakspear designed the reredos and installed the stone pulpit.[2]The restoration cost £3,500[5](£510,000 in 2023). The Hazelbury Chapel was restored in 1926.[5]In 1960,English Heritagegranted the Church of St Thomas à Becket Grade I listed status.[2]

Julian Orbach, extendingNikolaus Pevsner's description of the church, calls the north-east Hazelbury Chapel "highly unusual". He places thereredosin the east wall of the nave in the 13th century, comparing it to that of c.1240 atSalisbury Cathedral.[6]

The octagonal font is 15th-century.[2]The tower has four bells, one from the same century and another from the 16th.Ellacombe apparatusis fitted to allow them to be rung without a team of bell-ringers.[8]The royal arms of Queen Anne are dated 1714. Monuments include a large garlanded urn and obelisk to Margaret Blow (died 1755), which Orbach calls "exceedingly charming" and states is attributed to the renowned sculptorHenry Cheere.[6]

Churchyard and cemetery

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Grave markers in the churchyard date to the seventeenth century.[9]There are numerous mounds in which bodies were buried one atop the other; in keeping with medieval custom, these double burials were always on the south side of a church "as no-one wanted the shadow of the Church to fall on his grave".[9]According to legend, a pyramidal tombstone in the churchyard was contrived to prevent the deceased's wife from dancing on his grave.[9]

Burials in the churchyard slowed to a trickle after the opening of the Box cemetery in 1858.[9][10]The 1857 cemetery chapel, rectangular in plan with a north-west needle spire, is described as "unusually elaborateGothic"by Historic England; it has stonework in contrasting colours and highly carved window tracery.[11]The lodge at the entrance to the cemetery is of the same date and in similar style.[12]

Parish

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At some point the benefice was united withHazleburyandDitteridge,although the parishes remain distinct.[13]Today the parish is part of the Lidbrook Group, which also covers St John's church atColerne.[14]

Rev. I. W. W. Horlock, vicar, built Box House c.1810–1820 for his own use: a substantial three-storey house with a pair ofIoniccolumns in front of an arched front door, surrounded by gardens.[15]His son Rev. H Horlock continued to use it as the vicarage until his retirement in 1874;[15]the house and later extensions are now used as offices.[16]A mid-19th century house on Church Lane, also with three storeys, was then bought and continues in use as the vicarage.[17]

Notable burials

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References

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  1. ^abcd"St Thomas a Becket".A Church Near You.Retrieved10 December2019.
  2. ^abcdHistoric England."Church of St Thomas a Becket (1180500)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved10 December2019.
  3. ^Historic England."Roman villa 500m south east of Hill House Farm (1019189)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved26 January2022.
  4. ^Lewis, Harold (1876).The Church Rambler: A Series of Articles on the Churches in the Neighborhood of Bath.Vol. 1. Hamilton Adams. p. 222.ISBN9780666719393.
  5. ^abcdefgh"Church of St. Thomas a Becket, Box".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved30 January2022.
  6. ^abcdeOrbach, Julian;Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget(2021).Wiltshire.The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:Yale University Press.pp. 154–155.ISBN978-0-300-25120-3.OCLC1201298091.
  7. ^"St Thomas à Becket, Box".Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust. 2 November 2017.Retrieved24 March2020.
  8. ^"Box, Wiltshire, S Thomas à Becket".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved29 January2022.
  9. ^abcdDevon, Martin and Elizabeth (September 2014)."Guided Tour and Brief History of St Thomas à Becket Church, Box".Box People and Places.Retrieved29 January2022.
  10. ^"Cemetery".Box Parish Council.Retrieved6 February2022.
  11. ^Historic England."Box Cemetery Chapel (1022730)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 February2022.
  12. ^Historic England."The Cemetery Lodge (1363634)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 February2022.
  13. ^"St Thomas à Becket".A Church Near You.The Archbishops' Council.Retrieved29 January2022.
  14. ^"Churches".Box Churches.Retrieved29 January2022.
  15. ^abHistoric England."Box House (1363633)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 February2022.
  16. ^"Box House".boxhousebath.Retrieved6 February2022.
  17. ^Historic England."The Rectory (1363637)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved6 February2022.
  18. ^abGeorge Edward CokayneComplete Baronetage, Volume 3,1900, pp.36–37 – via Internet Archive
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