The church of St Bartholomew (St Barts) at Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire is perhaps most widely known as a landmark after the long haul along the M4 from Chippenham. The small hilltop town sits tantalising to the South of the motorway, and over the town can be seen rising the tower of the church.
Sited at the West end of the town's long main street, St Bartholomew's is an imposing structure, with its characteristic 'broken backed' roof line. Exactly when a church was first built in Wootton Bassett is uncertain, certainly one existed in 1264 when permission was given to a local landowner to build a private chapel stating as justification the distance of his property from the parish church. It is likely that the church was built in the first half of the 13'th century, one window from this building remains reinstalled in the South Aisle.
The church as we see it owes most to a rebuilding in 1470; from this we have the Chancel, Nave, South Aisle, decorated porch and parvis. The lower courses of the tower also date from this rebuilding. A glance through the door might suggest that the church then remained largely unchanged, but as liturgical fashion moved on the interior was re-arranged (1710), the pulpit relocated on the South wall with the pews rearranged to face it. With galleries erected the interior of the church would have had a very different appearance and character.
Come the Victorian era and the church was again in the hands of the builders. Under the guidance of George Street the interior of the church was restored much closer to its 15'th century origins with a new (but matching) North Aisle. Subsequent restoration and repair has maintained the church in this form with its fine nave ceiling. This church presents a surprisingly majestic appearance to the visitor.
The relatively small graveyard is well maintained. Photographed in September 2011 for theChurchPhotographer by Nick Temple-Fry.
