St John the Baptist, Devizes

The market town of Devizes is known for having one of the largest concentrations of listed buildings in the country - the historic centre boasts over five hundred. Among this impressive array of architecture and history, St John's holds its own: an example of Norman architecture of outstanding quality.

Built - along with the nearby castle - around 1130, both were the legacy of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury. Of Roger's church, the chancel and tower survive virtually intact; the transepts are also clearly Norman but with later additions. The nave of 6 bays was rebuilt in 1450 (albeit the westernmost bay and West front dates from 1863) in the Perpendicular style, to which two chantry chapels were added, flanking the chancel: the grander Beauchamp Chapel to the south, in 1492, and the Lamb chapel to the north,  around 1483.

Looking from the west end, the interior is one of clear contrast: the slender Perpendicular nave arcade draws the eye to the low, Norman crossing arch, barely half the height of the east nave wall: the space above the arch - now blank and scraped - must surely have once hosted a wall painting, presumably a Doom? Passing through the arch, we enter an intimate and purely Romanesque space, and one of very high quality: the chancel has ribbed stone vault, its arches carrying an abundance of dogtooth and zig-zag. The capitals mirror this quality and include a splendid Green Man, but best of all is the intersecting blind arcading of the Sanctuary, with scale pattern above the spandrels. Sympathetic furnishing adds to the atmosphere. The East window, although in the same style, is in fact a Victorian replacement.

The furnishings include a fine array of 18th century memorials, and a Jacobean brass to John Kent (d. 1630), the Town Clerk, and his wife - oddly set into a later memorial stone dated 1788.

The church today remains the centre of a busy parish life, with concerts and talks, in addition to the pattern of regular Worship.

St John the Baptist, High St / Long St, Devizes SN10 1PA

St Cyriac, Lacock

Many visiting the wonderfully preserved and atmospheric village of Lacock and the adjacent Lacock Abbey never make it as far as the church. This is a pity, as it has much of interest.

The present building replaced an earlier Norman church, and oldest parts are its transepts, and date from around 1300. The rest of the church was rebuilt on the back of the area's wool wealth in the 15th century, in the Perpendicular style. The impressive Lady Chapel was added around 1430; and in the 17th century a peculiar "church cottage" of three storeys was attached to the south transept. Restored by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1861, the chancel was remodelled in 1902 as a memorial to the photographic pioneer (and owner of nearby Lacock Abbey) William Henry Fox Talbot. A more recent claim to fame is that in 2006 it hosted the wedding of Laura Parker Bowles, daughter of the Queen Consort.

The interior comprises a three-bay with aisles, and is impressive throughout for its height, including the transepts which are unusually lofty and impressive, and match the nave and clerestory combined. The most impressive part is, however, the Lady Chapel, which has a splendid vaulted ceiling, still bearing traces of original paint. Here lies the church's most important monument, to Sir William Sharington (d. 1553). His tomb chest is dated 1566, and is early Renaissance in style: Pevsner regards it as "one of the finest 16th century pieces of decoration in England".  It combines delicate strapwork, arabesque and shell decoration, and two putti. Again, traces of colour survive.

The church has another monument of interest, a brass to Robert Baynard (d.1501) and his wife and eighteen children - fifteen boys and five girls. It appears from the brass that all the children survived infancy.

The church is open during daylight hours for visitors, and has regular services as part of a combined benefice with Corsham.

St Cyriac, Church Street, Lacock SN15 2LB

St Michael, Melksham

Like many churches in this part of Wiltshire, St Michael's size and architecture testifies to the wealth derived from wool in the late Middle Ages. It sits apart from the town centre in a spacious churchyard, with an enclave of charming period buildings.

Although the church's Perpendicular appearance reflects rebuilding in the 15th Century, there are traces of Norman frieze and arcading in both the chancel and the west wall, indicating the original Norman church was of similar size. The nave arcades of five bays are late 13th century work, although the clerestory, two-storey North porch and the impressive Lady Chapel date from the 15th century. The tower was moved in during the restoration in 1845 from its original crossing position to the west. The result is a spacious church with many attractive wall tablet monuments, and some nice glass by Kempe, although the walls are sadly scraped of plaster. An oddity is the offset chancel arch; the east nave wall around it contains a painting of the Transfiguration, painted in 1921, in the sentimental style typical of the period.

The parish today comprises the churches St Michael's, St Andrew's and St Barnabas, and offers a range of worship styles with a growing congregation. On our visit, we were warmly welcomed and offered a guide to the church, tea and biscuits!

St Michael, Canon Square, Melksham SN12 6LX

St Andrew, Chippenham

St Matthew, Rowde

St Paul, Covent Garden

St Giles, Cripplegate