Parish church [15]

Image: © Michael Dibb Taken: 14 Feb 2023

Part of the churchyard. The Anglican parish church of St Mary the Virgin has been described as ‘One of the finest Perpendicular churches in the country, its wealth coming from Steeple Ashton's woollen industry.’ The church is mostly late 15th century, with some rebuilding in 1670 when the former spire collapsed. The chancel was rebuilt in 1853 and most of the fittings were replaced at the same time. The church is constructed of limestone ashlar under lead roofs. Listed, grade I with details at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1252395 The village of Steeple Ashton is a former market town, having been granted a weekly market in 1266. It lies some 3¼ miles east of Trowbridge and some 7 miles southwest of Devizes. The town became wealthy from its cloth industry, but there was a great fire in the early 16th century, and when it came to rebuilding the industry moved to the nearby town of Trowbridge, where the River Biss provided power for fulling mills. The first part of the village name comes from the former church spire, which collapsed in 1670.

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