ST. PAUL'S CHURCH - WOOTTON FITZPAINE
A church stood here in the twelfth century and in the erection of the present building, much of the material from the old church was used. The oldest parts of the church as we now see it are the nave and the two lower stages of the tower which date from the thirteenth century. A chancel and a north transept were also built then. The chancel was rebuilt in the fourteenth century and the north transept was destroyed in the seventeenth century but rebuilt in the nineteenth century when the vestry was also erected. The arch in the north wall of the chancel, into which the organ has been inserted, was formed in the nineteenth century when this last mentioned work was undertaken. The south wall of the chancel was pierced in the fifteenth century so that the south chapel and transept might be added. The south porch was also added in the fifteenth century as was the third stage of the tower. The thirteenth century arches of the tower crossing show obvious signs of repair with new stone, but in the main the original arches are intact.
The font is of the late twelfth century and was preserved when the old church was pulled down and placed in the new church.
The original part of the pulpit, that nearest the nave, is Jacobean, but the remainder is modern. Stones around the arches of the porch and south doorway bear the mason's numbers.
The church plate includes a small but beautiful chalice bearing the date 1570.
DEDICATION
Research by A. R. Potts (P.C.C. 1979-99) found reference in Crockford's 1898 Clerical Directory -Wootton Fitzpaine (St. Paul).