St Mary's Church, Purton

St Mary’s Church stands in the quiet village of Purton, north of Swindon in Wiltshire. Built largely in the 13th century, it is one of only three churches in England with both a western tower and a central spire. Nikolaus Pevsner called its setting ‘beautifully placed’, for it sits apart from the village, beside a 16th-century manor house. The church began as part of Malmesbury Abbey’s estate before the Norman Conquest, though no record appears in the Domesday survey. By 1151 it was listed among the abbey’s possessions and grew wealthy enough to support elaborate stonework. The nave was raised early in the 13th century, and later additions included a crossing tower, transepts and a tall spire. The building’s architecture shows careful craftsmanship. The walls are of coursed rubble limestone under slate and lead roofs, with a three-bay nave, aisles and a south porch that once had an upper room with a fireplace. The west tower has three stages, crocketed pinnacles and a stair turret, while the central spire rises octagonally above the crossing. Inside, coloured patterns on the arcade arches were restored in 1872, revealing traces of medieval wall paintings. Fragments of old stained glass, including a 17th-century Flemish Last Supper given by the dowager Countess of Shaftesbury, survive in the chancel and chapel windows. Visitors step into a space that feels older than its outward Perpendicular style suggests. The plain octagonal font dates from the 13th century, and the chancel holds an Early English piscina. In the Lady Chapel a 14th-century painting shows the Death of Mary, while the south transept contains three wall monuments to the Maskelyne family, including the fifth Astronomer Royal. Outside, a limestone chest tomb marks his grave beside the transept wall. The church also keeps parish registers back to 1558, with gaps during the Civil War years.