Features to Look for
When You Visit
Situated in the High Street at the centre of the market town of Warminster, the Chapel is an oasis of calm in the midst of the traffic and commerce.
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The Chapel forms part of the Blue Plaque Trail in Warminster and is opened every day to enable the community to take the opportunity to drop in and sit in quiet contemplation.
The tower is the oldest part of the Chapel, dating back to the 13th century, and is accessed by an anti-clockwise spiral staircase. ​
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After almost 700 years of use the steps are understandably worn, so care is needed when ascending/descending.
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The Tower
Access to the tower is limited, but it can be visited on Warminster Independent Market days, Imber Bus Day, Heritage Days, or by prior arrangement with the Chair.
Photo by Douglas Hay
The Tillum Rudd Clock
On the way up you pass the clock room which houses a wrought-iron clock built by Tillum (also known as Tilliam) Rudd in 1765 and paid for by public subscription at a cost of £30.9 .0 (replacing an even older clock highlighted in documents from 1694). The clock has no face. When it was installed, the front of the Chapel was obscured from the High Street by a row of cottages (since demolished in the 1850s). The clock was originally wound by hand, but an electric winding mechanism was fitted in 2005.
Photo by Douglas Hay
The Curfew Bell
Climbing higher you reach the belfry, which houses the curfew bell cast by John Lott in 1657. Lott's foundry was just over the road in The Close. The bell weighs approximately 16.5 cwt (838 kilos) and measures 453.8 inches (123 cm) across the mouth. It is made of bronze and tuned to the note E. The bell was freshly hung in 1783 at a cost of £24 15s 9d. Residents are grateful it no longer sounds at 4 am, which was the original 'wake-up' time!
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History of the bell founder: Click here
Photo by Douglas Hay
Rooftop View
The rooftop offers a spectacular panoramic view of the town which can be seen in a series of photographs exhibited in the Chapel.
In 1897 the spire was struck by lightning and considerable damage caused. Significant work has been undertaken from the mid-1990s onwards. This includes repairs to the oak roof frame, new leadwork and new stonework (the crenelations were in a very poor state of repair and needed stainless steel pins installed, along with replacement gargoyles).
Photo by Douglas Hay
The Scudamore Organ
Inside the Chapel there is a Grade 1 listed Scudamore organ, built in 1860 by Nelson Hall, an organ maker of the town, to a design by the vicar of Upton Scudamore, the Rev John Baron MA.
Photo by Douglas Hay
Our Feoffees
At the west end of the Chapel are boards recording the names of the Feoffees since the Chapel was donated to the townsfolk right up to the current time.
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Meet the Feoffees: Click here
Photo by Douglas Hay
Stained Glass Windows
Dating from 1855, the window in the north end celebrates Easter. The new south window (shown here) was designed by a local resident and funded by the Friends at a cost of £9219.60. It was made and installed by Salisbury Cathedral Glass in 2014 and replaced a plain window that had suffered from bomb damage in WWII in 1944.
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Salisbury Cathedral Glass: Click here
Photo by Douglas Hay
Matthew Burt Chair
The rather unusual chair to the north by the altar was donated by the late Geoffrey Butcher because the original was stolen! This chair was made by Matthew Burt of Sherrington.
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Matthew Burt website: Click here
Photo by Douglas Hay
Don't Forget to Look Up!
A visitors' book is always open for you to record your visit. It’s wonderful to see from where you have come, so please do leave a comment in the book. If you would also like a prayer said for a loved one, please fill in a prayer slip and post it in the prayer box.
Before you go, as you walk out through the door, look up to view the ‘horrific’ gargoyles sneering down at you – enough to frighten the devils they are protecting the worshipper from!
Photo by Douglas Hay
A Focal Point for the Town
The Chapel acts as a focal point for many activities in the town, including the cross raised on the front lawn at Easter and the Field of Remembrance in November.
In 1997, follwing the tragic death of Princess Diana, people laid flowers in the garden. A Liverpool scarf was laid by someone to commemorate the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. From 2009 until 2012 the Chapel housed condolence books for the 13 locally based soldiers who died helping others on foreign soil, and more recently flowers were laid by the local community to pay their respects for our late Queen Elizabeth II on her death in 2022.
