Church Of St Thomas A Becket

TILSHEAD HIGH STREET SU 04 NW (north side) 1/267 Church of St. Thomas a Becket 18/2/58 GV I Anglican parish church. Early C12 nave and arcades, mid-C13 chancel, C17 and C18 renovations, restoration of 1845-6 by T. H. Wyatt and D. Brandon, of 1904 by Medlicott. Roughly chequered flint and limestone, Welsh slate roofs and tiles to conical tower roof. Consists of chancel, nave, north and south aisles, central tower, south porch and north vestry, the latter two are of 1845. South porch is gabled with coped verge and diagonal buttresses, pointed door with hoodmould and foliated terminals. South aisle has C19 square-headed window with 2 lights and quatrefoil and hoodmould to either side of porch, plain parapet. Clerestory with two C19 quatrefoils. To right is 2-stage tower, buttressed and with C17 3-light round-arched window with relieving arch to ground floor, to left is lancet with shutter, bell stage has moulded offset and louvred round-arched lancet, C17 conical tiled roof with plain Cl9 parapet. South side chancel has small low lancet to left, pointed chamfered doorway and two lancets to right, east end has diagonal buttresses and three lancets with ogee trefoil heads of c1350, north side has two lancets and small low lancet to right. North side of tower has C19 2-light C16-style window with hoodmould, one square-headed window to bellstage. C19 lean-to vestry has pointed door with foliated terminals to hoodmould and 2- light C16-style window. North aisle has 3-light C16-style window with lancet either side, clerestory has two quatrefoils. West end has diagonal buttresses and trefoiled lancet to north aisle and 3- light Perpendicular-style window to nave. Interior: C15 inner south doorway has double-chamfered Tudor arch, above is ogee-headed niche. 3-bay nave has C19 king-post roof, braced onto corbels, with arch-bracing to principals, round-arched arcade on square chamfered piers with plain capitals, C14 ogee- headed piscina on south wall, Cl9 pointed doorway to vestry in north aisle. Double-chamfered pointed arches to base of tower from nave and chancel have square chamfered responds. C17 collar and tie-beam roof to chancel. Stone floors throughout. Fittings include cylindrical stone font with zigzag carving of c1100 in north aisle. C18 Communion rail with turned balusters, stone pulpit and north aisle pews of 1845, Royal Arms of 1805 above arch to tower from nave. Fine pair of wall tablets in tower, both pedimented with carved aprons, on north wall to Margaret Edwards, died 1755 and on south wall to Rev. John Edwards, died 1782. Classical marble tablets in nave; to Richard Norris died 1826, to Margaret Hayward died 1846 and one to Mary Lawes died 1834 and signed by Osmond of Sarum. The plan and Cll importance of Tilshead suggest that a Saxon church may have preceded this one. (Unpublished records of RCHM (England),Salisbury).

Listing NGR: SU0347647988