Mr Mitchell's latest theory is that St Mary's Church in Purton, which boast both a west tower and a spire, was modelled on Malmesbury Abbey 12 miles away. Speaking to BBC Wiltshire, Mr Mitchell ...

in the Middle Ages the building had a tall central spire... Malmesbury Abbey's founder, Maidulph, died in 675. At this time Aldhelm, a Saxon by birth and related to King Ine of Wessex, took over ...

The first was St Aldhelm’s earliest church, before he oversaw the ... Only the nave of this once huge abbey remains. A visitor to Malmesbury Abbey will see the tomb of King Athelstan, a 15th ...