St. Mary's Church, Salisbury

St Mary’s Church occupies a site with religious connections dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period. A church was already standing here in 1229, when Robert de Bingham was consecrated Bishop of Salisbury before the completion of the new cathedral. The surviving building was largely rebuilt during the 15th century and later became the main parish church.

Most of the church was demolished in 1845 after the opening of St Mary and St Nicholas. The chancel and one bay of the nave were preserved, while the remaining arches, fragments of the nave arcades and former tower arch were left as open ruins. These remains show the scale and arrangement of the medieval building.

Inside the small surviving chapel are memorials recording the lives of local residents, together with an 18th-century plaster ceiling. A figure of Bishop Robert de Bingham can still be seen on the west gable. The church was restored during the 1930s with support from Robert Worth Bingham, a former United States ambassador who believed he was descended from the medieval bishop. The Grade II* listed building is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.