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St John the Baptist, Ebbesbourne Wake, Wiltshire

Location
(51°1′1″N, 2°0′46″W)
Ebbesbourne Wake
ST 992 242
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Wiltshire
now Wiltshire
medieval Salisbury
now Salisbury
  • Allan Brodie
28 Jul 1995

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Feature Sets
Description

The church mostly dates from the early 14thc., and is unusually wide, with no arcades. The single sedile with a low, crocketed gable in the chancel is an interesting well-preserved feature of this build. In 1874 the church was restored by Ewan Christian, when the walls were largely rebuilt and the roof and most of the windows were replaced. The only feature which could be said to date from the Romanesque period is the font.

History

A rector is recorded surviving Ebbesborne by the early 13thc. In 1222 ownership of the advowson was disputed between Breamore Priory and Matthew Wake, probably then lord of the manor. The priory retained its estate, but the later ownership of the advowson is obscure. The rectory was valued at £8, 13s, 4d in 1291, below average for Chalke Deanery.

Features

Furnishings

Fonts

Comments/Opinions

Fonts of a similar type and made of Purbeck marble are found at other churches in the south of the county (Amesbury, Dinton, Downton, Heytesbury (destroyed), Kingston Deverill (removed 1847), Maiden Bradley, Rushall, Stratford sub Castle, Steeple Langford) and they seem to date from the late 12thc. However, this form appears to be later and may be as late as the second quarter of the 13thc. Pevsner claims the bowl is Romanesque but that the stem is C13.

Bibliography

N. Pevsner and B. Cherry, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire. Harmondsworth 1975, 2nd edition, 234.

A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 13, South-West Wiltshire: Chalke and Dunworth Hundreds. Victoria County History, London 1987, 52-60, esp. 58-9

J. Buckler, Unpublished album of drawings. Devizes Museum, vol. 8, pl. 2.