CHURCH.
There was a church at Sapperton by the
1190s when a priest was recorded there. (fn. 98) A rector
was mentioned in 1234 (fn. 99) and the living has remained
a rectory. (fn. 1) Henry of Leigh and Emme, his wife,
appointed to the living in 1292 and 1298 (fn. 2) from which
time the advowson descended with the de Lisle
moiety of Sapperton manor. (fn. 3) During the Interregnum the Lord Protector appointed to the living,
but the patronage was restored to the lord of the
manor in 1660, (fn. 4) and Earl Bathurst was patron in
1971. (fn. 5)
In the mid 12th century the Pope confirmed to
Belvoir Priory two-thirds of the demesne tithes of
Sapperton and Frampton which had been granted to
the priory by a previous owner of the manor, who
had also provided a toft and an oxgang of land for the
man deputed to collect the tithes. (fn. 6) The priory granted
the tithes to the rector of Sapperton before the end
of the 12th century but the grant was disputed and
annulled in 1234 and again in 1242, when the
rector had to pay a yearly rent of two marks to the
priory in place of the tithes. In 1363 the priory and
the rector agreed to make this a permanent arrangement at a yearly rent of 16s. 8d., (fn. 7) and it continued
until the Dissolution. (fn. 8) The priory's portion of the
tithes seems to have passed to the lord of the manor
by the late 16th century when he held part of the
tithes and the parsonage house in return for a yearly
rent and for providing alternative accommodation
for the rector. The lord also held half of the 60 a. of
glebe recorded at that time, which he probably
retained, since the rector held only 30 a. of glebe in
1612. (fn. 9) During the Interregnum the demesne tithes
were again a source of controversy, (fn. 10) sharpened
perhaps by the opposing loyalties of the Poole family
and the Puritan minister. (fn. 11) By 1705 the tithes
previously paid on Dorvel wood and on Sander's
farm, the detached piece lying in Coates parish, had
ceased to be paid and the tithes of Westley wood
had been commuted to a yearly rent of 10s. At that
date the rectorial glebe amounted to 60 a. with 4
beast-pastures in Frampton common, and 3 beastand 54 sheep-pastures in Sapperton common. (fn. 12) The
tithes of Frampton and part of Hailey were commuted at the parliamentary inclosure of 1778 when
the rector received 375 a. for his tithes, common
rights, and glebe land there. (fn. 13) The tithes of
Sapperton tithing were presumably commuted by a
private agreement between the rector and the lord of
the manor, possibly in the late 18th century when
the rector was a member of the Bathurst family. (fn. 14)
Tithes continued to be paid on c. 400 a. of Hailey
manor, until 1842 when they were commuted for a
rent-charge of £67 1s. 6d. (fn. 15) As a result of the various
tithe agreements the rectorial estate amounted to
c. 520 a. during the 19th century. (fn. 16) The yearly value
of the living was assessed at £12 in 1291 (fn. 17) and at
£16 11s. 8d. in 1535. (fn. 18) By 1650 the rectory was
worth £80 (fn. 19) and it had increased in value to £130 a
century later; (fn. 20) in 1856 the living was worth £307 a
year. (fn. 21)
The rectory, a stone house of two storeys with
hipped dormers, dates in part from the 17th century
but was largely rebuilt in the early 18th century. (fn. 22)
The house was enlarged about 1760 (fn. 23) when the
garden front was remodelled and a single-storey
south wing was added, presumably for a service
area. The porch was added in the early 20th century.
William, the rector of Sapperton in 1234, was
said to have a son. William was succeeded by his
former pupil, Simon of Leigh. (fn. 24) Two rectors in the
early 14th century, Walter of Cirencester and Henry
of Aston, (fn. 25) were local men. Henry's successor
Thomas of Sherborne (fn. 26) was licensed in 1339 to
attend a place of learning for two years. (fn. 27) William
Manning, rector from c. 1530 to 1553, was found
tardy in implementing the liturgical changes of
Cranmer (fn. 28) but in 1551 he was found to be satisfactory
in learning and theology. (fn. 29) Thomas Williams,
rector from 1560 to 1575, held Sapperton in
plurality with Coates and was non-resident in 1572
when a curate was serving Sapperton. (fn. 30) Williams's
successor, Walter Llewellin, who held the living
until 1603, (fn. 31) was considered well versed in the
scriptures and the Latin tongue in 1576 (fn. 32) although
he was later recorded as neither a graduate nor a
preacher. (fn. 33) Nathaniel Butler, rector from 1603 to
1641, (fn. 34) donated 6s. 8d. from his lands in Bisley
towards an annual sermon of thanksgiving on
5 November. (fn. 35) His successor Thomas Haines was
declared a delinquent by Parliament in 1644 but
continued serving the cure in 1650 and was
deprived of his small estate by the county committee
in 1653. (fn. 36) Ferdinand Appleby was instituted to the
living in 1655 (fn. 37) but his sermon comparing royalists
and idolaters in 1660 led to his own flight and the
closing of the church. (fn. 38) After Appleby's deprivation
Thomas Thatch (d. 1668) was presented. Richard
Davies, rector from 1696 to 1708, (fn. 39) was an early
student of Shakespeareana; (fn. 40) he was succeeded by
two members of the Parsons family, Robert, who
held the living from 1708 until 1749, and James,
rector from 1749 until 1754.
From 1754 the Hon. Allen Bathurst was rector of
Sapperton, which he held with Beverstone rectory
from 1760 until his death in 1767. His successor
Henry Courtenay held Sapperton in plurality with
Spilsbury (Oxon.) in 1769. He was succeeded by
another member of the Bathurst family, Henry
Bathurst, who resigned in 1775 in favour of James
Benson, who held the living until 1785 (fn. 41) and was
also chancellor of Gloucester diocese. (fn. 42) In 1785
Henry Bathurst was re-appointed rector but in the
early years of his second incumbency the living was
served by curates living in neighbouring parishes
while he remained at Christchurch, Oxford. (fn. 43)
Bathurst became bishop of Norwich in 1805 and
held Sapperton in commendam until 1833; in his later
years the living was served by curates at a salary of
£100 and residence in the rectory. From 1833
William Pye was rector of Sapperton which he held
in plurality with Stratton rectory. In 1850 the living
was served by a curate (fn. 44) and in 1878 Pye resigned
after some disagreement with certain members of
his congregation, in particular the Playne family. (fn. 45)
The living was sequestered for six years following
Pye's resignation. (fn. 46)
In 1841 Lord Bathurst built a chapel of ease at
Frampton Mansell (fn. 47) dedicated to St. Luke; (fn. 48) it
was designed by J. Parish. (fn. 49) The chapel, which has
remained a chapel of ease, was built in the Norman
style and comprises chancel with a semi-circular
apse, nave, and a small south tower.
The parish church of ST. KENELM (fn. 50) is built of
stone faced in ashlar and comprises chancel, central
tower with spire, north and south transepts, and
nave with south porch. (fn. 51) A small lancet in the north
transept and jambs to the belfry entrance survive
from an earlier church, but the church must have
been largely rebuilt in the 14th century when the
tower and spire were added. The north transept,
which had a separate dedication to the Virgin, was
refenestrated in the 16th century, presumably by the
Pooles, whose mortuary chapel it became. (fn. 52) In the
early 18th century the nave, south transept, and
porch were almost completely rebuilt in classical
style and new windows inserted in the chancel. A
gallery was placed above the porch and was used by
the church orchestra in the late 19th century. (fn. 53) A
pair of 15th-century benches with linen-fold
ornament were original to the church but most of
the other woodwork was apparently taken from the
manor-house demolished in the mid 18th century.
It includes Jacobean carved figures which decorate
the bench-ends and the front of the gallery, panelling
decorated with arcading in the south transept and
chancel, and a 16th-century wooden cornice
decorated with heraldic devices in the nave.
The effigy of a knight in an early renaissance
tomb-recess on the east wall of the north transept
has no inscription except the date 1574 but the
armorial shields identify it as a member of the Poole
family. At the north end of the transept is an
ornate classical monument with effigies of Sir Henry
Poole (d. 1616), his wife, and children, including his
son Devereux (fn. 54) who died c. 1591 fighting for the
Protestant forces in France. (fn. 55) In the south transept
is a marble monument and effigy to Sir Robert
Atkyns (d. 1711) by Edward Stanton. (fn. 56) In the
chancel is the grave of Henry Wentworth (d. 1644),
a major-general in the royalist army. (fn. 57)
There are two medieval bells, one of the 14th
century dedicated to St. John and one of the early
15th century by John Barber of Bristol. A third bell
was cast by Abraham Rudhall in 1698. (fn. 58) The church
plate includes a chalice and paten cover of 1702 and
a tankard and flagon of 1711. (fn. 59) The octagonal font
was made in the 15th century. The registers begin
in 1661 and are continuous. (fn. 60)
The churchyard contains the base and shaft of a
15th-century cross, a number of 18th-century
carved chest-tombs and headstones, and plainer
tombs of the 18th and 19th centuries with copper
inscription plates, including some signed by Cook
of Stroud, Ursell of Cirencester, Iles of Minchinhampton, and Freebury of Stroud. The churchyard
was closed for burials in the 1940s and a cemetery
laid out behind the Barracks. (fn. 61)