SOME visitors to Calne will barely touch
the surface of its history, thinking only of its rise and fall at the
time
of the Harris bacon and sausage factory.
But delve a little deeper and the real heart of the community becomes
apparent.
St Mary's Church, in Church Street, has been at the centre of Calne
for 900 years. The Grade 1 listed building, the oldest in the town, houses
the only organ of its kind in the south of England.
On July 1, 1907,
sausage magnate Henry George Harris contracted Huddersfield organ builder
Peter Conacher to design and build a five-manual organ. The case was
carved by Alec Miller, who was later to have some of his work destroyed
in the Second World War bombing raids on Coventry Cathedral.
The organ cost the grand sum of £2,048, without the
casing. This was made of grey oak, the design was hand carved and was
a much larger version of one the Harris family had at Castle House. The
organ was presented to St Mary's Church by the Harris family and installed
at the height of their success in 1908. Like the church, the
Harris factory was an integral part of the community but, unlike St Mary's,
it did not last and was closed in 1983 and demolished two years later.
Church warden Lucette Rees said: "We are very privileged in Calne
to have such an ancient piece of history as St Mary's Church. "As
the only Grade 1 listed building in Calne, it is an important feature
and full of beautiful carvings we are very privileged to have
here."
The organ remains a legacy of the wealth created by clothiers bringing
the woollen trade to Calne in the 14th and 15th centuries. But the Harris'
weren't the only family to give something back to the church. Throughout
its 900-year history, families have altered and extended the church,
from 12th century repairs to the stonework to the 20th century
organ and choir stalls.
Mrs Rees, who lives at the foot of the church's Proclamation Steps,
said: "There are some wonderful family stories linked to the church
and many interesting characters buried there." Beneath the floor
of St Mary's lies the body of Dr Jan Ingen Housz, the Dutch physician
and scientist who discovered photosynthesis in 1779.
He lived in Calne in the 1700s while researching into smallpox inoculation
and died at Bowood.
The churchyard's most interesting plot belongs to Inverto Boswell, otherwise
known as the King of the Gypsies, who died of smallpox in Calne in 1774.
For years after his death his loyal subjects would travel to his grave
on the anniversary of his death to pay their respects. The church now
has a warden scheme which allows it to open to visitors on Wednesday
and Friday afternoons.
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