Sandy Lane Church

 ... or to give it the correct name, The Church of St Mary the Virgin & St Nicholas.

It was built as a mission church in the 1890s and is unusual in that it was build of timber and thatch, whereas most mission churches of that era were built of iron and are now known as the 'Tin Tabernacles'. The cost to build was £175 and it was originally planned to seat a congregation of about 50 people. The timbering is in an A form with 6 pairs of trusses resting on brick sleeper walls and the double-walls are filled with six inches of sawdust. It has a steep thatched roof which was last re-thatched in 2013.  It is now a Grade 2 listed building and is in the village of Sandy Lane, which is designated as a Conservation Area. It is believed to be unique in that it is the only thatched, wooden building built as a place of worship in all of England.

The church was originally dedicated to St Nicholas, the church opened on the Feast of Saint Nicholas. In 1981 it was re-dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and St Nicholas on the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary to perpetuate the dedication of its mother church, St Mary's of Chittoe. The church is now a Chapel of Ease in the Parish of Bromham and Sandy Lane, and holds services twice a month. The church at Chittoe was originally part of this Parish, but it has been decommissioned and its organ and bell were moved to the Sandy Lane church. There is a 5 mile pilgrimage trail from Sandy Lane, via Bromham to Rowde.

Here's some more photos of the exterior ...

and here's some of the interior ...

The man seated at the organ is Ben Maton who happened to be visiting the church at the same time as me. He is known as 'The Salisbury Organist', and he travels round to record rural parish church organs and investigate their histories. His web page is here and his YouTube channel is here, if you are interested. We were lucky enough to hear him play, and it was a real pleasure to meet him.

And an interesting fact to finish ...back in 1982 this church was featured in Channel 4’s Treasure Hunt programme with Anneka Rice.

Sources: Wikipedia, Trip Advisor, St Nicholas Centre, Small Pilgrim Places Network, YouTube,