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St Michael and All Angels, Teffont Evias.

There are suggestions that there was a church already standing in Teffont Evias in 1100 when Harold Ewyas of Hereford was its overlord. There is no record of a church, however, until 1200, and the earliest known rector was appointed in 1298.

There was no dedication of the church until 1965, when it was decided to adopt the title of the Church of the manor of Ewias Harold in Hereford: St Michael and All Angels. The Church of Teffont Evias was accordingly dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 29th September 1965, The Feast of St Michael and All Angels.

The Church is built of local Chilmark stone. It is similar to the stone used for the building of Salisbury Cathedral, but incorporates re-used material of twelfth century origin. The Chancel retains some medieval walling and the north chapel was added about 1450. The latter is the oldest part of the church which can be dated with certainty. Early scratch-dials are to be found on the buttresses to the south and west walls of the nave; that on the latter is on a piece of re-used ashlar.

As the drawing by J. Buckler (circa 1806), which hangs on the west wall, shows, the church was originally a much simpler building without pinnacles or separate tower. The Church as we see it today is the result of the extensive repairs carried out by the architect, Charles Fowler, from 1821 onwards, under the direction of John Mayne. The work included the rebuilding of the north isle and the south porch together with the removal of the bell tower, the addition of the vestry and the door to the east of it, and finally the tower at the north-west corner of the church. The latter was constructed at the time with two stages. The spire and third stage were added some time between 1830 and 1843 by a budding young architect, George Gilbert Scott, who went on to achieve fame by his ecclesiastical restorations, which included work on Westminster Abbey, Winchester, Ely, Hereford and Salisbury Cathedrals, as well as designing the Albert Memorial, St Pancras Station and other important buildings.

Beneath the tower there is a vault which has three compartments, but this can only be reached by taking up one of the flagstones in the tower. The vault contains coffins and a brass breastplate engraved with the name of John Thomas Mayne. 


THE STAINED GLASS

The windows of the church contain a fine collection of mainly Netherlands roundels of sixteenth - seventeenth century stained glass. There are also a few examples of medieval English stained glass. The roundels are believed to have been brought back from Holland by John Mayne in 1819 when, as a young man, he made his grand tour of the continent. They were not, however, installed until the badly deteriorated nineteenth century glass was replaced between 1951 and 1960.

John Mayne's memorial reads:

         During a long period of years
         he watched with anxious solicitude
         over the interests of the parish
         and it was through his instrumentality
         that this church was rebuilt
         and the tower re-erected
         with the addition of its beautiful spire.

There are some who would regard the destruction of the old part of the church as vandalism but this was not the attitude at the time he lived. It was obviously his sincere desire to preserve and improve the church he watched over with such solicitude. The building he left for us appears today a mellow amalgam of fourteenth century and nineteenth century architectures.