Church of St Mary and St Melor, Amesbury

The 1086 Domesday Book did not record a church or priest at Amesbury. The church stands close to the River Avon, on the western edge of the modern town. Around 300 metres to the north is the presumed site of the earlier priory and abbey. The church is built in flint rubble and limestone ashlar and has a nave with clerestory and south aisle, central tower, north transept with east chapel, south transept and chancel. The south transept also had an east chapel which was later removed. The nave is from the second quarter of the 12th century and retains its original height and width, but may have been shortened at some point; the crossing, transepts and chancel are all from mid-13th century…

The north-west window of the chancel has some 14th and 15th-century glass. Wall memorials range in date from 1683 to the 20th century, among them several in marble and gilt for members of the Antrobus family from the late 19th century onwards. In the nave is a brass memorial to Sir Edmund Antrobus, 2nd Baronet (1792–1870). The 12th-century Purbeck marble font is on a 15th-century limestone base; there is a second medieval font at the west end. In the south transept is a 15th-century clock mechanism, in use until the early 20th century. Three galleries were removed during 19th-century restoration. The 15th-century oak chancel screen was removed by Butterfield and reinstated in 1907.…