Church Of St Peter Ad Vincula

Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Broad Hinton

An Anglican parish church of 13th-century origin, substantially rebuilt and enlarged over subsequent centuries. The church comprises a nave with south porch, chancel, and a 15th-century west tower, with a north vestry added in 1843. It was extensively restored in 1879–80 by the architect C.E. Ponting.

The exterior is constructed principally of graded sarsen boulders and stones, with the chancel built of coursed squared sarsen and the tower of limestone ashlar. The roofs are covered with stone slate and some lead. The south porch dates from the 17th century and was restored in the 19th century; it features side lights and a sundial set in the gable above a 2-centred arched door. The inner door is 13th-century, with a 2-centred arch and hood moulding decorated with flattened leaf terminals. The nave and chancel contain lancet windows of 17th-century date, though some incorporate reused stone, with paired windows and 19th-century hood mouldings; stepped triple lancets occupy the east end. The organ chamber, which was formerly a chapel, contains a re-set 13th-century round-arched door. The west tower stands three storeys high with angle buttresses and a west door surmounted by a large 3-light window. It terminates in a crenellated parapet with crocketed pinnacles, and a stair in the south-east angle rises above the parapet.

The interior is notable for its wide and richly appointed nave. Five-bay tie beam trusses date to 1634–5, featuring hammer beams at collar level and many carved pendents. A rood stair is positioned in the north wall, with a piscina in the south wall. Re-set architectural fragments throughout include a 12th-century carved window head, a moulded 13th-century arch, an impost capital with leaf decoration, and a further arch head to the west. A 19th-century chancel arch leads to a 3-bay chancel with a fine pine roof of arched braced collar trusses and heavy windbraces. The window sill has been lowered to form sedilia, and a large painted piscina occupies the wall. The original chancel arch has been re-set as an opening to the organ chamber. Four floor slabs remain, two bearing indents.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1879, with a south organ chamber added in 1880. The church's architectural heritage is further enriched by various fittings and monuments. A 19th-century octagonal stencilled font stands in the nave. The pulpit dates to 1843 and incorporates an earlier rail and linenfold panels, with a painted inscription. Simple unfixed low chair screens are present, alongside 19th-century pews and choir stalls. An organ by Bryceson Bros is installed, and a reredos of inlaid marble dates to the 19th century. Furniture includes an 18th-century three-drawer dresser in the nave and a carved 19th-century seat in the chancel, alongside two late 17th-century basket-backed chairs and a stool. Four chancel windows were created by Clayton and Bell.

The church contains an exceptional collection of monuments and memorials. In the nave's north wall stands an 18th-century marble aedicule with pilasters supporting an open pediment and arched panel with putto, erected to Ann Hughes (died 1786). An inlaid limestone tablet commemorates John Smith (1879), and a Gothic wall monument by Osmond of Sarum (1832) honours Mary Ruddle Brown and her child. On the south side is a limestone 6-poster monument of 1597 to Sir Thomas Wroughton, sheriff. The monument depicts him without hands kneeling, with his wife behind in a widow's hood upon the tomb table, and their eight children shown on the frieze below. Asymmetrical arches with angels in the spandrels support an entablature and crestings. Three early 19th-century tablets are present: one to Rev. William Andrews by Franklin of Purton, and two to members of the Hughes family by King of Bath.

The chancel contains further significant monuments. On the north side is a 17th-century white marble wall monument—a tablet flanked by pilasters supporting a segmental pediment and bearing coloured arms—commemorating William Glanville (died 1680) and his wife, who lived "26 years sine querela actos" (without complaint). A recessed monument with rounded top and bottom contains the full-size armed alabaster figure of Col. F. Glanville, speaker of the House of Commons, killed at the Battle of Bridgewater in 1645. He is flanked by his helm and gauntlets and holds a metal staff and cloth banner, with his actual helmet, gauntlets, and sword mounted above his arms. At the east end is a limestone tablet with an open ogee pediment and scroll supports, bearing arms and commemorating John Glanville, servant at law to Charles I and II (died 1673).

An important wall tomb of 1559 occupies the south side of the chancel. It comprises a chest with three quatrefoiled panels, each displaying arms, surmounted by an arch with panelled soffit containing incised emblems of the Passion. Pilasters flank this arch and carry an entablature with a ligatured inscription reading "ELISABETH BE THE GRACE OF GOD QUENE OF ENGLAND THE OF FRANCES". Pea pods flank the central arms, which are supported by an angel. The rear of the monument, now in the organ chamber, bears a strapwork panel with an inscription to Sir William Wroughton.

An early 18th-century white marble wall tablet, flanked by pilasters supporting a segmental pediment and bearing arms, commemorates Mrs Frances Stone, née Gibbs. A wall tablet of 1866 by King of Bath honours William Brown. Brasses of 1826 and 1682 commemorate the Paris family and ancestors, the latter positioned behind the pulpit. The nave's west end displays two commandment boards and three hatchments, with a further hatchment beneath the tower. Also beneath the tower are three benefaction boards of the 18th and 19th centuries, recording charities of 1614, 1741, and 1848–50, alongside a mid-18th-century Royal Arms. In the organ chamber is a re-set 13th–14th-century wall tomb, and in the porch lies a coffin with a head recess.