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The Church of St. James, Draycot Cerne, Wiltshire, England



St. James church at Draycot Cerne is set in a private estate and is in a most beautiful setting beside a lake.   The church is now termed as redundant and is maintained by the  Churches Conservation Trust.  The church is kept locked, but the key can be obtained from a local resident, whose phone number is displayed on the church door and is given on the CCT website page for Draycot Cerne; it is advisable to phone prior to a visit to make sure someone will be available to unlock the door for you.

The church of St. James is a Grade II* listed building - more information about the listing can be found at the  Historic England  website.

We have been inside St. James twice to take photographs and both times we have been given a very informative guided tour – our thanks go to Mr. & Mrs. Couzens for their welcome and their time.  On one visit we were even treated to an organ recital!  Wonderful.

The church has a couple of services each year but there are not enough members to warrant having a service each week.  The CCT keep the building in good repair, no doubt with the help of Mr. & Mrs. Couzens.

There are some wonderful sketches by Edward Kite in the John Aubrey book 'Wiltshire Collections' of objects in St. James as they appeared in the 1660s.  On our first visit we were hoping some were still in existence and looked forward to seeing them.  We were not disappointed.  The brass of Sir Edward Cerne is in wonderful condition.  The tomb of Sir Thomas Long does look worn, but then it is 500 years old!  Even so, there is still plenty of detail to be seen.

Any information given on these pages is taken from either Wiltshire Collections or the history leaflet, written by Tim Couzens, which is available at the church.  Tim has also published a book about the history of Draycot House and the people who lived there - all copies have now been sold but he is happy to take any enquiries about the owners and the estate etc, via email; please email us (using the link) and we will forward it on to Tim.

Please note:  we have been rather confused by some of the surnames on memorials - mainly concerning people's titles and multiple-barrelled names.  If you spot an error, please inform us so we can put it right.  Bearing this in mind, if you are using the 'names search' for a particular person at this church, you might like to look through all the surnames listed not just for a particular one in case we have got it wrong.
Outside
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Draycot Cerne - photo: 0206
Photo No: 0206     Size: 523k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0166
Photo No: 0166     Size: 331k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0178
Photo No: 0178     Size: 647k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0168
Photo No: 0168     Size: 783k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0216
Photo No: 0216     Size: 521k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0179
Photo No: 0179     Size: 689k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0145
Photo No: 0145     Size: 400k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0266
Photo No: 0266     Size: 231k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0213
Photo No: 0213     Size: 331k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0174
Photo No: 0174     Size: 786k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0201
Photo No: 0201     Size: 787k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0205
South Porch
More photos
Photo No: 0205     Size: 898k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0143
Reuben Couzens (left) and Herb Christensen.
Herb is presenting the church and estate with a plaque to commemorate the 3802 QM Truck CP who were stationed on the estate during the 2nd World War
Photo No: 0143     Size: 964k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0217
Photo No: 0217     Size: 874k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0210
Sundial (over porch entrance)
Photo No: 0210     Size: 617k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0181
Photo No: 0181     Size: 744k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0212
Some of the inscriptions on these memorials are just about readable
See Individual Memorials
Photo No: 0212     Size: 912k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0215
Photo No: 0215     Size: 427k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0182
Photo No: 0182     Size: 599k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0164
Photo No: 0164     Size: 962k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0165
Photo No: 0165     Size: 683k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: D0163
Bench mark
Photo No: D0163     Size: 126k
Photo Date: August 2001
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0211
Photo No: 0211     Size: 136k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0214
Photo No: 0214     Size: 190k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0180
Photo No: 0180     Size: 810k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0218
Part of the graveyard
Sadly most of the inscriptions are no longer readable
Photo No: 0218     Size: 936k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: D0162
Old font, found among rubble in the graveyard
Photo No: D0162     Size: 127k
Photo Date: August 2001
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0200
View from the porch
Photo No: 0200     Size: 650k
Photo Date: September 2004
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0191
Photo No: 0191     Size: 364k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0144
Photo No: 0144     Size: 985k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0147
Photo No: 0147     Size: 900k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0148
Taken from Draycot House gardens
Photo No: 0148     Size: 738k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0146
Taken from Draycot House gardens
Photo No: 0146     Size: 972k
Photo Date: October 2007
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0253
Reuben Couzens being interviewed by Herb Christenson and his two sons
Photo No: 0253     Size: 833k
Photo Date: May 2008
Draycot Cerne - photo: 0256
Deep in conversation
Photo No: 0256     Size: 435k
Photo Date: May 2008

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This page was last updated on 29/06/2022 12:50:02
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