The Parish Church of St Margaret of Antioch
COMMUNITY – HISTORY – FAITH
St Margaret of Antioch is the patron saint of our parish church in Chippenham, and bears her name. Why she is our patron saint, and where she came from are interesting and relevant points, and without pushing too hard, please do come the church and find out why!
We recognise that the church, and its building, have played a significant role in the parish, for many hundreds of years, and so we work through three principles as we manage the building and churchyard, and build Christian fellowship in the village.
Community – the understanding that the church and its building are part of the lives of each parishioner
History – the rich detail of many hundreds of years of existence within the village
Faith – the ‘living and breathing’ prayer and worship, at church services and in the community
In any case, St Margaret’s welcomes all, and amazingly, as recorded in our guest book, has visitors from East Anglia, around the UK and from over the world. The good news is that with a loyal group of volunteers, we ensure the building is open almost every day of the year, during daylight hours.
We meet for worship every Sunday at 11am, usually alternating between a communion service using Common Worship or the Book of Common Prayer, and Morning or Evening Praise or Prayer. Please also check the village newsletter for details. Whilst many of our services are quite formal, there are several that are suitable for all ages, but the bottom line is everyone is welcome to all our services.
We are fortunate to have an excellent voluntary choir, which rehearses on Wednesday evenings (very accepting, local and relaxed!), and ‘ups the ante’ for occasional special services, such as the annual Christmas Eve Carol Service, and Sung Compline for feasts i.e. Remembrance and All Souls. We have always been noted for our hospitality, and are particularly glad to serve refreshments after services, and on village occasions from the kitchen (and bar), in our North Porch extension.
We welcome enquiries about baptisms and weddings and are glad to conduct funerals for those resident in the parish, or with a significant family connection. Please contact the Group Administrator, by email in the first instance for further information:
The parish is part of the Three Rivers Group, within the Diocese of Ely. The 3RG website offers further information about worship and other activities at St Margaret’s and in the other churches (Fordham, Isleham, Kennett & Snailwell).
There are no clergy living and ministering in the village, and so all the day to day work is done by the Churchwardens and Parochial Church Council (PCC). The vicarage is rented out to tenants or officers of the Diocese of Ely. The Rector of our parish, Reverend Stephen Day and of all parishes in the Three Rivers Group, lives in Fordham. Steve is supported by a Lay Minister, Mark Walsh, and from time to time other visiting clergy.
There is a hard-working and dedicated volunteer team that look after the church on a daily basis. We warmly welcome anyone who would like to help us with this work, which covers cleaning the church, managing the fabric and fittings, administration and help setting up services. Please contact the PCC, and the churchwardens through the group email . More contact information can be found in the church.
History
Chippenham has a lovely church – St Margaret’s . The church building dates back to the 13th Century and included a chapel used by the Knights Hospitallers. The Knights Hospitallers 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 them and they had one of their preceptories here, with an infirmary, hall, chapel, etc. Sadly, these buildings no longer survive, but parts of the cellars are believed to remain below the Georgian School House which is nearly opposite the church. Parts of the Norman church are still visible and you can see the outlines of early windows in the North part of the choir and behind the main altar.
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 south arcade was rebuilt, new square-headed aisle windows were inserted, and a clerestory was added, its windows having two cinquefoil lights on the north side, three on the south side. The west tower is also 15th-century, as is probably some of the woodwork, including benches with poppyheads.
Four 15th-century wall paintings plastered over with psalm texts in the mid 17th century were uncovered during the restoration of 1884-87. One on the north wall of the north aisle, showing St. Michael and the Virgin at the Last Judgement with the arms of Sir Robert Botyll, prior of the Hospitallers 1439-69, was damaged during restoration work in the 1970s. It was barely visible by 1997, along with one of St. George and the Dragon in the south aisle. Fragments of the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus then survived at the north aisle east end. The painting of St. Christopher further west, facing the south door, was in good condition.
In 1643 William Dowsing destroyed two paintings, and stained glass. In 1745 the chancel had a thatched roof, and its screen was adorned with emblems of the monarchies of the British Isles and France, with inscriptions for Charles II. The manorial pew, possessed successively by Lord Sandys and the Tharp family, faced the pulpit at the east end of the south aisle until the Second World War, but was then removed to create an open area. In 1876 a gallery still stood across the west side of the tower arch for singers and an organ, and in the late 19th century the congregation still turned to face the gallery when singing hymns. In 1883 only the lower panels of the 17th-century chancel screen survived. In 1885 the chancel was rebuilt to designs by Finch Noyes, with a new floor, screen, pews, and arch, and its east window was glazed in memory of J. S. Tharp (d. 1875). In 1893 a new timber roof was placed over the nave, and three years later the old gallery at the west end was pulled down. From the late 19th century the Tharp family had a vault underneath the south chapel, with access from the south side of the altar. A wooden screen, erected in 1943, enclosed the east end of the north aisle to form a memorial chapel for the Tharp family. That also serves as a War Memorial chapel.
The west tower of three stages, constructed of clunch, flint, and pebble rubble, with its embattled parapet and moulded plinth, was restored in 1994 with a loan from the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust. There are six bells in the tower: one, cast at King’s Lynn (Norf.) c. 1325-50, bears a dedication to the patron St. Margaret, and one was cast in 1703. In 1898 two others were recast and rehung, and a sixth bell was given by the tenant of the Cottage.
On the north wall of the chancel there is a monument to Sir Thomas Revett (d. 1582). The south chapel contains seven memorial plaques for members of the Tharp family, and at the western end of the south aisle wall there are marble tablets for Dr. Clement Tookie (d. 1748) and his family.