Imber

The Antiquary (Dec. 1882: 272) reports a communication by A. Farquharson on dates and styles of churches in Wiltshire which includes a mention of an ancient Norman font inside Imber St. Giles'. Ponting (1889) writes: "the oldest feature is the font, the bowl of which appears to be Norman work of about the middle of the twelfth century. This would indicate the probability of an older Church than the present one having stood on this site, and this probability receives support from the extreme narrowness of the aisles". Mee (Wiltshire, 1939) notes the large Norman font and its 17th-century wood cover. The Wiltshire Community History website [http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getimage.php?id=8] [accessed 8 August 2008] reports: "The church was restored in 1849 and 1895 but all fittings were removed after 1943 when the village was evacuated. The church is in the Devizes Deanery in the Diocese of Salisbury but the church is now closed and is only re-opened for one service a year" [NB: the village of Imber has been part of the Army training grounds in the Salisbury Plains since the 1939-1945 War -- access to the old church is restricted -- a recent report posted in the Forever Imber website [http://www.foreverimber.org.uk/] [accesed 9 August 2008] announces a possible re-opening of St. Giles' for September 2008]. The Church of England website [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr2305.html] [accessed 8 August 2008] reports that St. Giles church was formally declared redundant with effect from 1 November 2002. A local source (e-mail from Ruth Underwood, 12 August 2008) informs: "The Norman font (circa 1060) from St Giles Church, Imber, was removed in 1951 (following the evacuation of the village for military training in 1943) to the church of St Michael the Archangel at Brixton Deverill in Wiltshire." [NB: a photographic record of this church done at Easter 2004 by Duncan and Mandy Ball is available at http://www.oodwooc.co.uk/ph_imber_in.htm#022 [accessed 9 August 2008]. [see also the Index entry for Brixton Deverill]