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 History
The church building dates back to the 13th
Century. This early church building included a chapel used by the Knights Hospitallers. They were an order of Knights founded in
the 12th Century to help sick pilgrims going to the Holy Land. Chippenham was an important site for the Hospitallers,
who had one of their preceptories here, with an
infirmary, hall, chapel, etc. Most of these buildings were opposite the
church, where the School House now stands. Parts of the Norman church are
still visible. You can see the outlines of early windows in the North part of
the choir and behind the main altar.
The church plays host to a number of
beautiful murals
that can be seen throughout the building.
After a disastrous fire in 1446, much of
the church was rebuilt. The South porch dates from this time, as well as some
of the poppy-headed pews. The aisle and clerestory windows were rebuilt in
Perpendicular style after the fire. The wall-paintings are also 15th Century.
For a plan of the church click here.
On March 23rd 1643, during the purges by Puritans, the church was
visited by William Dowsing who destroyed the stained glass windows and
covered the frescoes with whitewash. Internal alterations during the 17th
Century included the addition of a gallery across the West (Tower) end of the
aisle, since demolished.
Further major restoration was carried out
in the 19th century. In 1885 the chancel was rebuilt, a new East window
installed and the floor tiled. The choir-stalls date from this restoration.
The nave was restored in 1893, including replacement
of the pillars along the South side (the North pillars are original). The
font also dates from 1893.
In the 20th century, the Tharp Chapel - the
old Knight's Hospitallers' chapel - in the North
aisle was constructed by the Tharp family. It was dedicated by the Bishop of
Ely in 1948. The inscription round the chapel walls records the memory of
John Tharp, killed in Algiers
in 1943.
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Cleaning and restoration of the
wall-paintings began in the 1970s. A rough patch of North wall in the Tharp
Chapel shows where one of the wall-paintings once hung. This was a large
figure of St. Michael which had been carefully restored and was in the
process of being replaced when it accidentally fell and smashed into
pieces.
Our church tower was restored in 1994,
when the old stucco-work was removed and replaced with a fine
honey-coloured finish. The tower itself is a mixture of clunch,
flint and pebble rubble, there being no hard local stone available nearby.
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About St. Margaret
The story of our patron saint, St. Margaret
of Antioch, begins in the 4th Century around the region now
known as Syria. She was the daughter of a Pagan priest, who turned
her out when she became a Christian. The governor of Antioch fell in love with her and forcibly carried her off
to his palace where she refused to marry him. She was tortured and tempted in
various lurid ways, in particular being swalled by
a dragon. She escaped from the dragon by bursting out of it, and survived to
preach and convert many people to Christianity. She is the patroness of
childbirth and pregnant women.
St. Margaret was beheaded by Diocletian in
the 4th Century. At the time of the Crusades she became a very popular saint,
with many churches named in her honour. We celebrate her patronal
day on July 20th.
A window in the south aisle depicts St.
Margaret with the dragon at her feet.
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