Church Of The Holy Trinity

Church of the Holy Trinity, Combe Down

Anglican parish church built between 1832 and 1835, with major extensions added in 1883–1884. The original church was designed by architect H E Goodridge, with the later extensions by W J Willcox. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with slate roofs.

The church comprises a nave, west tower and porch, north and south aisles with east chapels, a north porch, and an octagonal chancel. The architectural style is Early Gothic Revival—Pevsner described the original work as "fanciful and crazy"—while the substantial 1880s additions follow serious 14th-century Decorated detail.

The west front features a broad tower base with four prominent square buttresses that rise to octagonal shafts with pinnacles. The central pair of buttresses continue upward as supporters to the octagonal tower and spire, which is furnished with lattice fliers and an open parapet. The plank door has carved spandrels incorporating a scroll with the 1834 date. Above the door sits a three-light window with a rose, topped by a stone foliate cross at the centre light's base. A lancet window with stone diagonal tracery lights the bell-chamber above. The west wall of the original nave is set back on each side with two-stage corner buttresses, and the aisle beyond features a two-light window and diagonal buttress. A chamfered plinth, hollow-mould cornice, blocking course, and high saddle-back parapet run around the entire building.

The south side shows a single bay of the nave with a two-light window, two paired shallow two-light clerestory windows above, the aisle with three three-light windows, and a corner buttress rising to an octagonal pinnacle. An added vestry stands to the right with a door in a flat four-centred arch to the west and two two-light windows to the south. The east end has a projecting chancel with three deep two-light windows beneath hood-moulds, a cornice decorated with gargoyles and leaf ornament, diagonal pinnacles, and a high double plinth. A foundation stone inscribed with the date 21 July 1883 and the names of the vicar and churchwardens is set into the chancel exterior. To the left are an aisle and vestry with two two-light windows and paired octagonal chimney-shafts; the right side is similar but lacks chimneys. The north side mirrors the south; it includes a four-light window with a square head and a gabled porch near the east end with a pair of plank doors in a deep reveal to a double chamfered pointed arch, flanked by octagonal turrets with pinnacles.

The interior has plastered and painted walls throughout. The broad nave is spanned by three-bay arcades with octagonal piers supporting double wave-mould arches beneath paired clerestory lights. All of this is covered by a very flat coved plaster vault with thin ribs forming large lozenge panels; the ribs descend to small corbels, and wall arches sit below the clerestory window heads. A wide moulded chancel arch with short shaft responds opens to the chancel. On each side of this arch are lower arches within the nave, with moulded arches at the east end of the aisles beyond. The chancel itself has two-bay arcades with octagonal piers supporting carved capitals, beneath a flat panelled ceiling. The aisles are roofed with lean-to timber roofs on principals carried on long posts to corbels. Floors are tiled, with wood block to the pewed areas.

The church's furnishings include late 19th-century pitch-pine pews with plain ends, and the chancel stalls and fittings appear contemporary with the 1880s extensions. There is an octagonal stone pulpit and a small octagonal font; some windows contain coloured glass.

The church was built through the efforts of George Steart, a paper manufacturer of Bally, Ellen & Steart, proprietors of the De Montalt Mill.