Village church may be 'replica of Malmesbury Abbey'

An expert who has been researching the historical significance of a long forgotten road claims he has made a fresh discovery.

Wiltshire historian David Mitchell's fascination with the North Wessex Way began when he stumbled across a 400-year-old map in a book shop in Hay-on-Wye in 2014.

He quickly realised that a road innocuously named "number 79" would have been the main route from Oxford to Bristol for 2,000 years before a diversion added in 1755 saw it fade into obscurity.

Mr Mitchell's latest theory is that St Mary's Church in Purton, which boast both a west tower and a spire, was modelled on Malmesbury Abbey 12 miles away.

Speaking to BBC Wiltshire, Mr Mitchell explained that St Mary's is one of only three churches in England to have both of these features.

He discovered that the land of Purton was granted to the first abbot of Malmesbury in the late 600s by King Cedwella of Wessex.

Excluding a 16 year period between 780 and 796 when the land was seized by the neighbouring King Offa of Mercia, it belonged to the abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII.

"Purton Church was rebuilt in the 1300s and the abbot and the monks would have been involved in the architectural discussions," Mr Mitchell said.

"In the 1300s Malmesbury Abbey had a west tower and a spire, it had a tower taller than Salisbury Cathedral so it would have been an immensely impressive building visible for miles around."

He added: "I think what you see here at Purton Church is like an echo of Malmesbury Abbey - this is what Malmesbury Abbey would have looked like back in the 1300s."

Mr Mitchell believes he is the first to make the connection between St Mary's design and the abbey.

The spire at St Mary's, which is made of stone, has endured much longer than that of Malmesbury's, which collapsed in the 1500s.

Mr Mitchell will be giving two talks on the North Wessex Way in the village hall in Minety, north Wiltshire, on 24 and 25 January.

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.