Built 15th century Phone +44 117 929 1766 | Reference no. 1365565 Designated as world heritage site 27 February 1958 | |
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Location Berwick Bassett, Wiltshire England Address St. Nicholas' Church Berwick Bassett, Marlborough, Avebury SN4 9RQ, United Kingdom | ||
St Nicholas's Church in Berwick Bassett, Wiltshire, England dates from the early 13th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant on 30 June 1972, and was vested in the Trust on 12 December 1973.
The church can only be approached by a pedestrian footpath. The red brick chancel was built between 1199 and 1221, with the nave being added in 14th century and built of sarsen stone. On the south wall is a scratch dial. The interior includes a font from the 13th century and a rood screen from the 15th. The pulpit, altar rail and pews are from the 19th century. There is a trefoiled piscina, which is a shallow basin used for washing the communion vessels. The monuments include four wall tablets including those to Henry Webb, who died in 1776, John Nalder, a 1794 death, and Elizabeth Nalder, dating from 1835.
In the 1660s the church was visited by John Aubrey who described the memorials and tombs he saw. In 1857 the church had a major restoration by Thomas Henry Wyatt. This included replacement of the original wooden structure with the current stone tower which contains three bells dating from the 17th century. At this point the walls were rendered and whitewashed. The parish joined with Avebury and Winterbourne Monkton in 1970 and is now part of the benefice of Upper Kennett.