A History of the Church in Stanton Fitzwarren

Roman Times:-

      The first Christians in this area to follow Jesus were probably Roman citizens .

      The Romans went from persecuting Christians, then tolerating them, to adopting Christianity as the official religion of their Empire.

      A temple in the Roman Villa here, may have been converted to Christian use,

Anglo Saxon Times:-

       The present church building is on the site of a simple rectangular Anglo-Saxon building, the existing walls were probably there long before the Norman Conquest.

     Alfred the Great, became the first King of England in 871 and made laws that were fair even to the defeated Vikings .The Church was influential and became rich. The wealthy paid tithes to the Church as well as taxes to the king.

     Successive waves of viking invaders were converted to Christian faith.

Norman Times:-

       Soon after 1066 the conquering Norman`s changed the existing church building.

       They made the stone walls thick and added a semi-circular Apse, for the altar. .The Norman arch remains.The north door is very early Norman (Romanesque)style

      The Doomsday Book records that in 1086 `Stantone` was held by `Grimbald Goldsmith from the King and records 16 families living here .

     The Font dated about 1170 (Henry 2nd, Richard Lionheart `s father, was King). It has rare beauty and tells the story of Good triumphing over Evil .-

Robin Hood Times:-

     Here in `Stantone ` Fulke Fitzwarren was outlawed by King John(1199-1216) and lived with his followers in Baydon forest (a huge area around Cricklade).

      When his estates, fortune and Manor were re-instated,the church building was restored and re-dedicated to St Leonard-patron of forests and of prisoners.

      Men from here carved marks in the stone walls before they joined the Crusades,

Mediaeval Times:-

     The people of Stanton Fitzwarren suffered many ups and downs as England was affected by plaques wars and famines .During these the building often was neglected and then repaired or enlarged during prosperous times.

     A terrible fire in the 1200`s left only the walls and the Norman arch, The building was restored and the existing chancel (where the choir stalls and organ are) was built to replace the apse.

     Throughout the Middle ages the main part of the building would be in everyday community use for any purpose.

      The  Font was kept locked to prevent theft of the holy water for witchcraft.

:-

The English Ci vil War:-

     The Tower was built in 1631 just before the civil war . We know that there were battles round about between Roundheads and Cavaliers but no record of damage to the church here.

      After the execution of King Charles the first