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Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon

church in Bradford on Avon, UK

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ5108672 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Anglican Christ Church is in the northern Hillside Terraces district of Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England. It is in the Bradford Deanery of the Diocese of Salisbury.

Early in the 19th century, people in this area of town objected to going down the hill to the northern town centre to their parish church, the originally Norman church of Holy Trinity, which was considered to be "in a bad part of the town." The church was in need of repair and the nearby Saxon Church of St Lawrence across the road from Holy Trinity was yet to be discovered.

The new parish of Christ Church was created and a new structure was commissioned to be designed by Bath architect G. P. Manners in 1839. Consecrated in 1841, it was "originally...a simple design with plain walls, clear glass windows and stone flagged floors and was in the Perpendicular style." Later Victorian taste in churches was for something more elaborate, so in 1875 it was "restored" by Sir George Gilbert Scott; the east end was rebuilt, with an extra bay beyond the east wall to form a sanctuary. After Scott's death in 1878, interior work was overseen by his son John Oldrid Scott. Further work in 1884 included the addition of a south porch, and in 1919 C.E. Ponting added the south chapel as a war memorial to C. Eric Moulton.

The church has a ring of eight bells cast in 1923 by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon.

The church was designated as Grade II* listed in 1952. Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as a "big, prosperous church".

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon” as church in Bradford on Avon, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Christ, Church and Bradford-on-Avon.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1839, 1841, 1875, 1878—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1841. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Christ, Church and Bradford-on-Avon providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon”, the useful work is to connect “church in Bradford on Avon, UK” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5108672. Authority coordinates are 51.351, -2.249. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1839, 1841, 1875 and 1878.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon primary sources, Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon archive and Christ research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.