Church Of St Swithin

Church of St Swithin, Compton Bassett

Anglican parish church of 12th and 13th-century origin, with 15th-century external appearance and 19th-century chancel and side chapels designed by H. Woodyer in 1865. The building is constructed of ashlar with squared rubble stone used for the 19th-century work, and is roofed with stone slate and some Welsh slate.

The west tower is a three-stage structure dating from the 15th century, built on a plinth with full-height diagonal buttresses. It features dripcourses, two-light bell-openings and an embattled parapet. A canted stair-tower rises on the north side. The west doorway is a low four-centred arch set beneath a deep-set three-light hoodmoulded window, with a small two-light window of similar design in the second stage above.

The nave retains a 15th-century clerestorey with three flat-headed three-light windows, all but one having cusped heads, and a coved cornice. It has a coped east gable. Lean-to embattled aisles flank the nave, each with coved cornices and buttresses at both ends.

The north aisle features a 19th-century squared rubble porch, coped with crocketed angle pinnacles and a cross finial. The entry has a four-centred arch, and within is a doorway of similar design with a cusped niche above. A 19th-century four-centred arched three-light window stands to the right, while a 17th-century long two-light with arched heads occupies the left. The south aisle contains two windows, one a 19th-century four-centred type and one a cusped flat-headed three-light.

The chancel, added in 1865, has a coped east gable and an eaves corbel table. It is lit by a three-light east window and two-lights flanking the east end. North and south lean-to additions run the length of the chancel, with slate roofs. The north side has an east two-light and a cusped-headed door with a cross beneath the hoodmould, plus two two-lights. The south side has four narrow cusped lancets, a cusped-headed door and an east two-light. The tracery of the 1865 work is generally composed of foiled circles above the lights.

Interior

The nave has a three-bay 15th-century panelled cradle roof with timber wall shafts rising from carved corbel heads. A line visible in the west wall marks an earlier roof. The moulded 15th-century tower arch opens into the nave.

The three-bay arcades feature two-chamfer arches with round piers, round bases and varied capitals. The south arcade is distinguished by moulded round capitals, while the north arcade has square capitals with varied scallop and scroll mouldings.

A finely moulded 14th-century chancel arch is largely obscured by a superb 15th-century verandah-type stone screen. This screen is carried on three four-centred arches, each supporting four renewed figures beneath crocketed ogee canopies. The screen displays rosettes in its mouldings, pierced fretwork to the arch heads, carved spandrels, a foliage frieze, a fleuron frieze and brattishing. Above the screen is a panelled stone roof sloping down to the screen itself. The arch above opens to three ogee over-lights and three ogee-headed single lights on each side. Spiky painted iron gates dating to 1865 hang at the screen entrance, with a door providing access to the rood stair.

The aisles have lean-to roofs, plastered to the north and retaining 15th-century timbers to the south. The chancel features unusually sharply pointed three-bay arcades on each side, supported on round piers. The third arch on the north side incorporates a vestry door with good lettering above. The sanctuary windows are marble-shafted. A five-bay stone reredos with gabled niches, a central cross and angels bearing emblems of the Passion on each side decorates the chancel wall. A south-side pointed arched recessed seat completes the interior.

Fittings

Stained glass by Hardman (dating to circa 1865) adorns the east window, though it is badly faded. A north two-light dates to circa 1878 and a south window to circa 1885. Additional south-east stained glass dates to circa 1886. The south aisle contains stained glass of circa 1875 and circa 1901, while the north aisle retains faded glass of 1856.

Oak stalls were provided by Woodyer, as was a large stone pulpit and a fine painted iron lectern. A 19th-century octagonal font is present, and an octagonal font of the same period occupies its traditional position. A small plaque by E.H. Baily in the north aisle commemorates A. Walker Heneage, who died in 1828. A large early 19th-century family pew of the Walker Heneage family occupies the west end, fronted with reused 15th-century bench ends featuring tracery.