Written by R.D. Richardson. Revised 1967
INTRODUCTION ~ Those who have visited this Church, called the Blessed Mary of Boyton, with its unusual Chantry Chapel, will readily agree with the distinguished antiquaries who have pronounced it one of the most interesting in the Diocese. Situated in the Wylye Valley, under the shadow of the Great Ridge and surrounded by noble trees, the Church attracts alike lovers of the countryside, of architecture, history and beauty.
Almost everything about it is unusual: the plan, the spacious chancel, the Nave with its north and south Chantry Chapels, the North-West Tower, and the Chamber to its right – which once contained a mediaeval oven – where a priest made and baked the Sacramental Bread. That was in the days when the Giffard family – one of the only four families still left who can trace direct descent from an ancestor who came over with William the Conqueror – were Lords of the Manor.
The Church is fortunate too in its Royal connections: with the Houses of Plantagenet and of Windsor. Queen Victoria’s third son, Prince Leopold Duke of Albany, lived in the Manor House and gave the church its present organ; and his daughter, H.R.H. Princess Alice, retains her interest in the Church.
A 13th century Lord of the Manor, Sir Hugh Giffard, instructed the Lord Edward, later King Edward I (1272-1307), in riding and other manly accomplishments, while his wife, the Lady Sibilla saw to the education of the royal children and, as the Court Records gratefully note, assisted the Queen at their birth. These Boyton Giffards, who held the property from the senior branch of the family at Brimpsfield, seem to have lived at Sherrington (see Sherrington); but all set great store by their Boyton property and its Church.
The name Boyton itself is somewhat puzzling. Some would trace it back to the settlement of a Saxon named “Boia.” But it is worth noting that the “Boii” were Celts described by Caesar in the “Gallic Wars”; and considerable Celtic settlements are to be seen around Boyton. Yet again, “Boy” was a name of more than one early Giffard.
THE WHEEL WINDOW ~ The Giffard Chapel, begun in 1270 for remembrance of Hugh and Sibilla, and of the whole family, by two of their sons – Walter Archbishop of York and Godfrey Bishop of Worcester, each in his turn also Lord Chancellor of England – is an “architectural gem” of its kind. The great Round Window, 12 feet across, has no parallel in an English Parish Church. It is of geometrical design, made up of circles of stone which during the recent restoration were found to have been constructed so that the smaller circles could be moved round in grooves, within the main one. The lower right-hand one, which turned a little while being repaired, has been left in that position deliberately to show this point.
Little, if any, of the old glass remains in this window, but its more recent substitutes are interesting for their heraldry. In the top circle are the arms of the See of York as they were when Walter Giffard was Archbishop; the Boyton Giffards’ shield (the lions should be argent, not or) is below on the right; and on the left, that of the Worcester Diocese with its 10 red roundels or seals (torteaux), which some have thought goes back to the time of Godrey Giffard.
Other heraldic glass in the Round Window includes the arms of the Lamberts and the Fanes, connected families who acquired the Boyton estate in the year 1572 from the Earls of Norfolk, to whom it had eventually passed after the disgrace of the Giffards described in the next paragraph.
THE CHAPEL ~ On the floor before the Altar of the Chapel is a series of memorial slabs of the Lambert family, seven of them with fine armorial cartouches.
The Fanes are commemorated by two fine panels of glass, dated 1484, and inserted in the centre and right hand lancet windows. They represent the first and last scenes of a series which illustrated the story of the Virgin Mary, and they were bought in Munich by Sir Edmund Fane, whilst Ambassador to Denmark. The whereabouts of the remainder of the series is not known. Mrs Annette Fane preserved these two, and her son, Captain Edmund Fane of the Coldstream Guards, had them inserted “in memory of the Fanes of Boyton.” The one in the right-hand lancet window represents the Assumption, which, according to the legend took place in the presence of the Disciples. Visitors may be intrigued to look for the twelfth disciple and to realise why he is represented as he is.
Buried under the wall which contains these windows are Edmund Lambert, d. 11 March, 1802, Elizabeth, his daughter, d. 4 January, 1797, Thomas Edmund Benett, d. 20 October, 1829, and Lady Isabella Fane, d. 28 April, 1855.
The centre roundel of the left-hand lancet window of the Chapel is all that survives whole of the original glass of the Church. The “made-up” roundels above and below it contain mediaeval glass from the Baker collection.
Miss Ella Giffard and other members of the Giffard family helped to restore the Chapel, and an inscription commemorating the Plantagenet-Giffard friendship is placed suitably in this window, for the centre roundel contains the arms of Thomas Plantagenet – the Leopards of England differenced with the Lilies of France. Thomas, who was the grandson of King Henry III (1216-72) and was Earl of Lancaster and Salisbury, took part in the baronial rebellions in the time of King Edward II (1307-27) and was executed by that monarch in 1322 – as was also his confederate John Giffard II.
A pot of coins, none later than 1316, found in 1935 between the old Rectory (Chantry House or Presbyteratus) and the Church, and another pot, found under the floor of the Chapel in 1958, empty and broken but showing traces of contents that appear to have been coins, are thought to be part of Giffard’s hidden treasure. Salisbury Museum has the pots and some of the coins.
It is also believed that a headless skeleton, described in 1860 as lying beneath the enormously long tombstone now on the floor at the entrance to the Chapel, is that of this just and splendid Knight, called “John le Ryche,” who had fought at the Battle of Bannockburn, (although the indent on the slab rather suggests the figure of a woman or high ecclesiastic). He was the son of John Giffard I, himself a heroic and exciting figure, who counterbalanced some of his lawlessness by acts of piety – including the founding in 1283 of Gloucester College, Oxford, the precursor of the present Worcester College.
The fine early 14th century stone sculpture of St. Martin on horseback dividing his cloak with a beggar, and no doubt indicating the dedication of the Chapel, has been mounted on its pedestal with the appropriate shields and a Latin inscription – worded by the Public Orator of Oxford University – to mark the connection with Worcester College. The Founder’s wife, Margaret Neville, is buried in the central tomb; and under the floor close by, on its south side, was recently found a shell which had been used as a palette and still contains some of the paint used in decorating the tomb after the Lady Margaret’s death in 1338.
On the tomb – where now is a surmounting slab of last century’s date covered with a handsome pall – must once have lain a sculptured figure; and figures were in the canopied niches below. The discovery of the palette and paint, together with some clear traces of the original colouring on the sarcophagus itself, made it possible to re-paint the tomb afresh in 1962. Once it had a richly carved oak casing; and charred wood, and other traces of fire, were found below the Chapel floor in 1958, together with fragments of old glass.
The circular design is again in evidence in the stonework of the east window of the Chapel, and the two carved heads appear to be portraits. Victorian glass commemorating Canon Arthur Fane, Vicar of Warminster, who was Chairman of the Committee responsible for the restoration of 1860, and which no doubt saved the Church from total ruin, has been transferred, along with other of the family Victorian glass, to the dependent Church at Cortington, where it is in character and looks well. The east window of the Boyton Chapel has now been filled with varied and interesting glass of 15th to 18th century date; a notable act of piety by Captain and Mrs. Edmund Fane – with an apt allusive quotation from Eccles. i.4 – to mark the return of the family to its ancestral home.
Other gifts in memory of, or made by, the Fanes are recorded in the paragraph on “Other Furnishings.”
THE PRESBYTERATUS ~ The Chapel, like the main Church, has three sedilia (of unusual design), which show that its Services included celebrations of special splendour. An entry of the year 1279 in the Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, prescribes the daily Services (including four Masses, of which one was sung); all to be celebrated “according to the use of the Church of Salisbury” by the Rector and three other Priests “of holy conversation,” who were to live together “under one roof.”
By 1412 A.D. the portion of the three Chantry priests had been merged in the Rectory; and the historian of Chantries, Dr. K. Wood-Legh, who supplied this information, states that Boyton is the only place known to her where this happened. She has honoured Boyton by making a photograph of the Chapel the frontispiece of her notable Birbeck Lectures (Cambridge U.P.) entitled Perpetual Chantries in Britain.
The Presbyteratus, built under the Bishop’s Will dated 1301, was the gabled building still visible behind the Church. Its beams are trees with the bark still on them and its Refectory is now a store-room of the Manor House, the handsome stone building which was joined on to it in 1610. Until that time the “set-up” had been purely ecclesiastical: Church, Rectory and Fishpond – although there had been a Boyton farm since Saxon times, the weir of whose Mill, mentioned in Domesday Book, can still be seen on the nearby River Wylye. When the Rectory was built, with grounds to the river, opposite where the present (19th century) Rectory stands. The school was close to it, and a Church right-of-way through the east gate of the Manor was in regular use. In the opposite direction (called the Bride’s Path), it runs to Sherrington.
THE EFFIGY OF THE KNIGHT ~ The most striking feature of the Chapel is the effigy of the Knight in armour, usually considered to be Sir Alexander Giffard, brother to Archbishop Walter and Bishop Godfrey, and hero of the Battle of Mansourah fought in Egypt in 1250 during the Sixth Crusade. Sir Alexander died sometime after 1262, when he gave land at Salisbury for the building of de Vaux College, an offshoot of Oxford University.
The effigy dates from before the building of the Chapel and is not in its original position, so that presumably it was in the Church before the Chapel was built. Possibly it represents Alexander’s father, Hugh, Constable of the Tower of London; and this has been argued too from the Latin of Bishop Godfrey’s Will.
The chief point of interest is the figure’s shield: gules, three lions passant argent, with a cadency label of five points azure. The “label” in Heraldry differentiates either the eldest son of a nobleman in his father’s lifetime or the cadet branch of a family; and its form here has recently awakened lively interest at the College of Heralds, for it reveals what was no longer known, namely how the device was first shown on a shield. It is quite clearly a cord with five flying ribbons tied round the top of the shield. In course of time the cord and ribbons came to be shown by broad stylized bands, as may be seen on the notable Funeral Hatchment, that of the Duke of Albany, hung in the Chancel.
At the feet of our Knight lies, most unusually, an otter – possibly symbolic of Sir Alexander’s escape from Mansourah by swimming; but otters are a feature of the River Wylye. The effigy was once richly painted. Traces of gold under the feet suggest that it had gold armour, and there are indications that the cloak, or surcoat, was red lined with white; but colours and the gesso coating (on which the pattern of the mail was stamped) were scraped off during the restoration by Wyatt in 1860 – when many other features of the Church were destroyed, among them the Rood stairs and some tombs in the North Chapel, which is now furnished as a Vestry. Traces of the Rood-screen can be discerned in the Chancel-arch, whose condition necessitated it being whitened at the last Restoration.
THE ALBANY FUNERAL HATCHMENT ~ On the north wall of the Chancel hangs the Albany Hatchment already referred to; and this also is of special heraldic interest. Among other fascinating details, the gold star on the right side of the hatchment belongs to an Escutcheon of Pretence, the Duchess having been a Princess of the house of Waldeck-Pyrmont.
THE EAST WINDOW AND THE WOODWORK~ At the east end of the church, (as well as of the chapel), the Victorian glass has been removed, and lovely old glass of varying dates placed in its stead. Some in the bottom left-hand roundel is that found in 1958 under the floor of the Giffard Chapel. A few fragments at the bottom of the central light are from Chartres Cathedral; they were among the effects of a soldier who lost his life in the Second World War and were presented by his relations. The bulk of the glass, however, is part of that collected, as a life-work, by the late Reverend Dr. Stanley Baker, a Vicar-Choral of Salisbury Cathedral, who, being determined to trace the missing Cathedral glass, ultimately found much of it buried in – of all places – that land given by Sir Alexander Giffard for the building of de Vaux College. The window now forms a memorial to the parents of the Rector responsible for the 1956-67 restorations.
Another link with Salisbury Cathedral is the woodwork: the handsome choir stalls, the officials’ pews, the front benches of the nave with fine 17th century carved finials and the carved stalls in the chapel, all of which came out of Salisbury Cathedral, the generous gift of the Dean and Chapter. Four carved 15th century bench-ends, and eight later “Poppy-heads,” are original Boyton woodwork.
The splendid wooden pulpit of 17th century design is the gift of the late Mr. John J. Dewhurst of Boyton Manor, whose tenure of the Manor was marked by interest in, and generosity towards, the Church, as is now witnessed by a tablet to his memory, again with an allusive Biblical text. Now used for pew-ends are some carved panels of 15th to 17th century date, collected last century – probably from the Continent – by the owners of Creeksee House, Essex, and acquired from Mrs. B. McCall in 1962.
The figures of Christ, His Mother, St. Paul, Saint Bridget of Sweden (?), a dancer with a tabor and four of St. Peter will be easily identified. Most interesting are those of the Emperor Maximillian and his Empress at the entrance to the choir and those of members of the Boleyn (Bullen) family on the front pews of the Nave. Notice the family crest – a bull’s head. The other pew-ends are original Boyton work.
OTHER FURNISHINGS ~ There are splendid embroideries and soft furnishings. The altar cloth at the east end, which came from North Italy, was largely the gift of the Women’s Guild. On the Holy Table stands a beautiful wooden altar set, the stands of which are said to have come originally from Fordham Abbey (now demolished) near Ely. It was bought in her memory from the bequest of Mrs. Mabel Courtney Lye, who died at Corton in 1959. One can distinguish that the cross is an addition of Florentine work. The figure of the Crucified, with upturned face, came from Verona.
The frontal in the chapel, carrying the Boyton Giffard’s arms (in not strictly heraldic colours) is the work of the Royal School of Needlework, whose Patron is H.R.H. Princess Alice. It is dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Lilian Newall, to whom the old Brussels lace, given by her daughter, Mrs. D. Berry, once belonged. Other Brussels lace was originally the gift of the Empress Dagmar of Russia, sister of Queen Alexandria, to the latter’s Lady-in-Waiting, Countess Stoneke – grandmother of Mrs. McCall, who gave it to the Rector of Boyton in 1962. This has now been made into an alternative altar covering and veil for the chalice, and is not exhibited.
The Chapel Communion Kneelers represent a bequest by Mrs. Susan Cornick, to whom also the Vestry round-table belonged. The embroidered stools by the Chapel Altar represent incidents, mentioned in paragraph 1, in the lives of Sir Hugh and Lady Sibilla Giffard.
The shields in the corner of one stool are those of the dioceses of their sons Walter and Godfrey, while the Seals are those of Shaftesbury and Wilton Abbeys, of which their daughters Mabille and Juliana were respectively Abbesses. Three of the shields on the other stool are those of King Henry III; of his Queen, Eleanor of Provence; and of the writer as Canon of Birmingham, which diocese was carved out of Worcester. Note the torteaux on this shield – thus unwittingly brought back to the place associated with the original. The fourth shield, showing a castle, is taken from the seal of the Rector’s wife’s family, de Castelvecchio.
The banners were made and given by Lady Wingfield. Those in the chapel were copied from the famous Wilton triptych and were given by Lady Wingfield in memory of her brother, Major Henry Fane, and of his son Charles. In further memory of the Fane family are the flower vases on the chapel altar, the gift of Mrs. Purcell C. Jeans.
The fine cross on the altar, of original design, was given by Mr. Purcell C. Jeans, Church Warden of Boyton for thirty years at the time of writing these notes (1961) and a principal agent in keeping the church repaired during those years. The cross is in keeping with the handsome candlesticks, which were the gift of the Lady Giffard and General Sir George Giffard, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O., and which carry an inscription recalling the presentation of the Manor of Boyton to the Giffards soon after 1066. Their distinguished descendant, during an illness, turned embroiderer and worked the tapestry cushion bearing the Giffard arms for the Great Chair in the Chancel.
Opposite is another of Lady Wingfield’s embroideries, now the Mothers’ Union banner; whilst that on the wall of the Nave was copied from the most famous icon in Russia, in the Monastery of Zagorsk near Moscow, the frame being the gift of Mrs. S. Dewhurst. The embroidery represents the “Old Testament Trinity,” in other words the visit of the Three Angels of Abraham. Notice Abraham’s house and the terebinth or “oak of Mamre.” (Genesis XVII).
The brass Eagle Lectern, which came from St. James’ Church, Poole, was acquired as a memorial to Mr. John Coombs, Church Warden, 1894-1913, from a bequest left for that purpose by his daughter, Mrs. Mabel Lye.
GENERAL ~ The date of the first building on this site is difficult to assess, but Boyton Church was given to St. Peter’s Abbey, Gloucester, by Elias Giffard II in 1159. Part of the south wall of the chancel is of 12th century date, and the rest of the building is mostly of the 13th and 14th centuries. (See The Buildings of England in the Penguin Series). The records state that Norman work still remained at the West end in 1860; but it was destroyed when the Perpendicular window was transferred there from above the main altar to make room for a construction with Victorian glass.
Among the arms in the Perpendicular window are those of Magdalen College, Oxford, which once had the alternate patronage of the living; and various Fellows of Magdalen became successively Rectors. Cardinal Bona ventura Giffard was President of Magdalen in the time of King James II (1685-88). A later President, the famous Dr. Routh, composed the prayer on the small brass beneath the lancet window to the left of the High Altar, in memory of his brother Samuel Routh, who had been Rector of Boyton and Rodden. (The Rodden parish, on the nearest outskirts of Frome, was at that time still assigned to Boyton, having been appropriated for the upkeep of the Chantry in 1289). Tombstones to another Rector and his wife, that of the former with a very strangely allusive text, were also removed from the Chancel in 1860 and placed by the west door.
The striking 16th century armorial glass in the window near the font, inserted in gratitude to the staff and employees of the 9th Duke of Newcastle, is another acquisition from the Creeksee collection.
The bowl of the old Font, found under the floor of a cottage and now remounted in lieu of a Victorian square one, belongs to a very early form of the Church. And among the paving stones of the porch, found under its floor, is a dark sepulchral slab which some have thought to date from before the Norman Conquest, in which case it was re-used, since a small brass was evidently once inserted in it and brasses are not known before the 13th century.
A fragment of tombstone found beneath the pulpit, and now set low in the wall, throws light upon the poignant past. The figures indicate that eight previous children had died stillborn, and were remembered only by a number, not a name.
The strap-hinge exhibited in the Church was found under the floor, and is that of the 14th century door.
The little room off the Porch was rebuilt last century; its corbels held a second-storey floor, and the rooms were inhabited by a priest before the Chantry House was built. Remains of a mediaeval oven are thought to be still there.
A point concerning Rectors, which may interest some, is that three of them in this century have been former Principals of educational establishments: Salisbury Training College, Cuddeston Theological College, and Ripon Hall, Oxford.
OUTSIDE FEATURES ~ The outer Doorway to the Porch, although restored, is a fine example of 13th century work. There was once a door in the south wall of the Nave, where there is now a small window. To the right of this window, viewed from the outside of the Church, is a “Scratch Dial,” for reading the time by the sun – but built-in upside down. High above this are a series of stone coffin lids, probably from the tombs of mediaeval Rectors or Chantry Priests, which have been used at some time to repair the wall.
In the adjoining wall containing the “Wheel” window, the outside view of which from here is striking, are indications which suggest an ancient doorway. Another Scratch Dial is on the S.E. buttress of the Chancel – opposite the Presbyteratus (or old Rectory).
THE BELLS ~ There are five bells, of rich tone, and two carried notable coats of arms. One of these, cut out when the bell was recast, now hangs in the Chapel. The fifth bell is a war-memorial and should always be tolled on Remembrance Sunday. When funds permit, the bells will be repaired, and it is hoped that a chiming apparatus can be installed.
RESTORATION ~ The Restoration of 1956-62, following a partial one in 1949-51, in the time of the Rev. Martin Pierce, was carried out when Canon R.D. Richardson, D.D., B.Litt., M.A. (Oxon) was Rector and Mr. Purcell C. Jeans and Mrs. Lilian Pickford were Church Wardens. Mr. A.N. Howard was Secretary and Treasurer and gave glad and many-sided help. The Archdeacon of Sarum, the Venerable F. McGowan, was a staunch friend throughout. Invaluable and expert guidance and assistance were given freely and constantly by Mr. G.E. Chambers, F.S.A., of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, through whose knowledge and influence also it became possible to acquire some of the old glass and carved panelling.
The glass work was carried out by Messrs. John Hall & Sons (Bristol) Ltd., Mr. E. Wintle being chiefly responsible. The Pulpit was planned by the Rector and Mr. Chambers, the carving being done by Messrs. F. Keevil & Sons of Bath, and other work by Mr. T. Benham of Batheaston. The recolouring of the tomb and corbels and the preservation work to the floor-memorials in the Chapel were executed by Messrs. H.H. Martin & Sons, Salisbury, in particular by Mr. G.H. Martin. Messrs. Ralph Fry of Martock mounted the Sculpture of St. Martin and the Beggar, the heraldic shields being made by Messrs. Gardiner, Sons & Co, Ltd. Bristol. The Altar Cross in the Chapel, designed by the Rector and Mr. Chambers, was begun by the Frome Metal Workers’ Guild, and finished by Messrs. Meadowcroft and Sarle, of London. The electrical work was carried out by the Southern Electricity Board and Messrs. Moore & Bush of Trowbridge.
At the Service of Thanksgiving at 3 o’clock on Palm Sunday (April 15th) 1962, H.R.H. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was represented by The Lady Sybil Phipps, sister to H.R.H. The Duchess of Gloucester. The then Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt. Reverend W.L. Anderson, D.S.C., D.D., conducted the main parts of the Service and preached.
The Restoration of the Chapel in the first place, at a cost of more than £2,000, was made possible by the munificence and kindly interest of the Pilgrim Trust, who, because of its artistic importance, were able to regard it as a special unit in the Church. This encouraged the Parish to restore and renovate the main Church. We are very grateful to the Historic Churches’ Preservation Trust for a donation of £900; to an anonymous donor for £500; to the Church Commissioners and Diocesan Societies for other grants; to many generous friends of the Rector and Parish, and to those who in addition have made splendid gifts in kind. The total raised in money and gifts was in the region of £12,000. And then, in 1962, extensive dry-rot was discovered to have spread under the floors since the main work of restoration – due, it is believed, to the changed conditions of ventilation and heating. To remedy this has cost nearly another £2,000, of which the Historic Churches’ Trust has subscribed £300.
The Parish has a very small population for the care of a building so important and costly to maintain. A mile further away is the delightful, entirely different, but also extremely interesting Church of SS. Cosmas and Damian at Sherrington. Once a separate parish, although from time to time served by the same Rector, it was finally united to the Mother Church in 1910. A third Church in the United Benefice is that at Cortington (or Corton), built last century to replace a one-time parish church which has totally disappeared. This mediaeval building had another unusual dedication, that of St. Modwen. Its successor, St. Modwen and the Holy Angels, also has been attractively restored and refitted. With so many and great financial burdens, and so few to bear them, we beg the generous gifts of all who can help us.
HERALDIC NOTES ~ (1) Those interested in Heraldry will find four illustrations in Wagner’s guide, in the King Penguin series, which bear on the Boyton treasures; Plates I and II (Plantagenet) and III and IV (Giffard). Sir Richard Colt-Hoare’s Wiltshire has interesting articles on Boyton and Sherrington. See also Volumes II and IV of The Ancestor; The Sarum Charters; various papers on the Proceedings of the Wiltshire and Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Societies; the Dictionary of National Biography; Matthew Paris’ Chronicle V and VI; the Inquisitiones post mortem, Calendars of Court, Close and Patent Rolls, etc.
R.D. Richardson. (Rector 1952 – 67). Boyton Rectory, St. George’s Day, 1961. Revised in 1963 and again, on Holy Cross Day, 1967.