This section contains information on both current and disused churches and chapels. Only a brief history of each is included and we may have little information about the church in the latter half of the 20th century. Additional information from churches would be most welcome. Where possible we have provided images, both old and new, of the church. Parish registers, churchwarden’s accounts, overseers’ books and other documents for Church of England parishes are held in the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre. At the end of each church history we have stated the date from which parish registers for that church survive. There are a large number of non-conformist churches and chapels in Wiltshire and, although some archives are held in the Record Office, registers for these may not have survived, or may be held outside Wiltshire. The Record Office do hold a list of names from non-conformist christening, marriage and burial registers held at the National Archives.
Until the early to mid 20th century churches and chapels played a major role in every Wiltshire community and were often largely responsible for local education until the end of the 19th century. We can usually say the parish church, although much altered over the centuries, would be the building most likely to be recognised today by anyone who lived from the 14th to 19th centuries.
