Rightly holding a place in 'England's Thousand Best Churches' a visitor to St Mary's in the village of Alton Barnes can't but be convinced of the rightness of this Wiltshire village church. Its Saxon nave and Georgian joinery sitting in contented harmony.
Alton Barnes, the name probably derives from 'the farm by the river source' (Alton) of the Barnes family. An area rich in evidence of human habitation since the neolithic period, though its surrounding countryside is not renowned for the richness of its chalk based farmland. This has always been one of Wiltshire's smallest communities, sitting a scant few stones throws from the similarly sized village of Alton Priors.
The church sits on a small cul de sac in the corner of a pasture. Through this pasture leads a footpath to the redundant church of All Saints at Alton Priors. There is a well kept, largely flat and reasonably sized graveyard partly surrounded by mature trees.
The building consists of a Saxon nave, an 18'th century chancel built after the collapse of the former structure. The chancel arch and east wall were rebuilt towards the end of the 19'th century and the church as a whole was restored by C.E Ponting at the start of the 20'th century. It is the interior of this church which commands attention with its obviously well loved intimacy. The fine standard of the joinery, the old Harmonium, the compact gallery with its winding stair.
Have I recommended this church to the interested visitor, do I really need to?. It would negligence indeed to pass by without pausing to enjoy this gem.
Photographed in June 2010 for theChurchPhotographer by Nick Temple-Fry.
