Places with connections to William Tyndale in South Gloucestershire and the Bristol area
Frampton on Severn GL2 7EH
Scholars such as Brian Buxton and Jesse J Aldred have discussed the possibility that Tyndale worked at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Frampton on Severn (Frampton on Severn – Stroudwater Team) as a chantry priest for some or all of the time between 1517 and 1523. The arguments for his living in Frampton on Severn at this time are based on interpretations of contemporary and near contemporary documents which are by no means conclusive but provide a plausible explanation as to how Tyndale may have employed in these years, that is as a priest responsible for saying masses for the dead in the chantry chapel of Our Lady in the parish church. And it should perhaps be pointed out here that this role may well have had a wider pastoral and educational role in the village and may have been similar to a curate today.
Today, the large and very fine parish church at Frampton on Severn is a lively place and clearly the hub of an active Anglican parish. It also has a notable medieval artefact to be seen, that is its 12th century lead font, one of a group of 6 in Gloucestershire all made from the same mould in about 1140. Presuming Tyndale did live and work here, he would have known this and, perhaps, baptised local infants in it.
Stinchcombe GL11 6BQ
Tyndale may have been born at the site of the historic property known as Melksham Court. However, the current house probably dates to about a century after Tyndale’s time. It’s also now a wedding venue and very much modernised and augmented and not open to the public. However, a local history website ( Melksham Court – Stinchcombe Village Website) gives evidence for a house on this site from about 1360 and provides a brief description of the house as it was in 1374. The website also connects Tyndale and his family to the house.
The description from the 14th century is of a house without a first floor- so an open hall- but with a chimney (this would have been an innovative feature) and with some partitioning to create a smaller chamber and a kitchen on one side of this. However, the Stinchcombe Village Website gives details not only of the earlier house at Melksham Court but also of Whitehouse Farm not far away, which is thought to have been in existence as a medieval hall house in Tyndale’s time and may have been connected with his family. The website is also an excellent source of information about the local parish church.
In addition, the current parish church of St Cyr at Stinchcombe ( this is open each day and a toilet is available) is relatively recent but its medieval predecessor is unlikely to have been the place of Tyndales’s baptism (soon after his birth as was the custom at the time) as Stinchcombe appears to have been what we now call a chapel of ease in Tyndale’s time and not a full parish church and so without the necessary status for the conducting of baptisms. Again, the Stinchcombe Parish Council website has a page about the history of the church and details of its relationship with nearby Cam. Stinchcombe is now a separate parish to Cam, although they are still linked in the same benefice, but in the Middle Ages Stinchcombe was all part of the parish of Cam and, if Melksham Court was his birthplace, it would follow that Tyndale was baptised at Cam.
Chipping Sodbury BS37 6BQ
Richard Webb of Chipping Sodbury is thought to be the source for information on William Tyndale as regards the local area and his involvement with the Poyntz family at nearby Little Sodbury Manor. There are many properties in the centre of the town which originated as late medieval hall houses and are likely to have been known to William Tyndale. The local parish church of St John is generally open during the day.
Cam GL11 5PQ
At St George’s parish church in Cam there is a commemorative crest on the choir stalls to Tyndale, the stalls being the gift of Alfred Walter Hutchings, who claimed to be a descendant of the Tyndale family. The inscription, which appears to refer to the documents to be seen on the Stinchcombe Village Website, reads: To the glory of God and in memory of William Tyndale…these stalls are bequeathed by Alfred Walter Hitchings, a descendant of the family of Huchyns Tyndale and placed in the church of this parish in which the earliest record of the family is found. Details of this bequest and Alfred Walter Hutchings’ descent from the Tyndales remain unclear but a man of this name, whose father came from Dursley, died in 1936 and this would seem to correspond with the approximate date of the choir stalls at Cam.
North Nibley Chapel GL11 6DT
A Congregational place of worship dating from 1815, North Nibley Chapel (Home – North Nibley Chapel) has very much taken Tyndale to its heart and there’s lots there related to him. Here you can see a commemorative tapestry and in the entrance there’s a facsimile copy of his New Testament and one of the medals struck in 1986 on the 450th anniversary of Tyndale’s martyrdom, a gift from the William Tyndale Kerk in Vilvoorde. North Nibley Chapel, situated close to the centre of the village, is generally only open for Sunday services and weekday events which include a Wednesday Coffee Morning but a visit there is strongly recommended. There are also claims that Hunts Court Farm, close to North Nibley, may have been Tyndale’s birthplace.
Acton Court, Iron Acton BS37 9TL
Acton Court ( Acton Court – A beautifully conserved Tudor house built for the pleasure of Henry VIII) was the home of the Poyntz family. Robert Poyntz entertained Henry Vll here in 1486 whilst the sister of his son and heir, Sir Anthony, was Anne Poyntz who became the wife of Sir John Walsh of Little Sodbury. Sir Anthony’s son, Nicholas, would then go on to host Henry Vlll and Anne Boleyn at Acton Court in 1535 before they then progressed on to Little Sodbury Manor. Acton Court was extended for the occasion of the king’s visit- with a new wing being built in just nine months- and it remains a key site as regards the domestic architecture of the time. Acton Court is only open for visiting and events for a few weeks a year from late May to the end of June, but it is a lovely and very interesting place to explore in order to gain a better understanding of gentry families and their homes in the early Tudor period. This might also be an appropriate place to mention that Acton Court, and Henry Vlll’s visit there, is referred to in the Wolf Hall novels by Hilary Mantell, and as dramatized by the BBC. Here Thomas Cromwell is portrayed as devising a route for the king’s progress which will conclude at Iron Acton. It is also interesting to note that although Tyndale does not appear in Hilary Mantel’s writing he, in Antwerp at the time, is referred to several times, particularly in relation to Sir Thomas More.
Central Bristol BS1 5TJ
Tyndale may have preached on what was then known as St Austin’s Green which was situated besides the Augustinian Priory which later became Bristol Cathedral ( Home – Bristol Cathedral) . One of the surviving Norman features of the priory is a very fine gateway which still leads onto the green beyond. Tyndale would surely have been familiar with this.
It’s also good to remember that all of south Gloucestershire, including the city of Bristol, was in the very large medieval diocese of Worcester in the time of Tyndale.
Tyndale Baptist Church BS8 2QG
Tyndale Baptist Church ( Tyndale Baptist Church, Bristol) in the Clifton area of Bristol and houses a splendid stained- glass window featuring scenes of Tyndale’s life. Completed in the late 1950s and with a corresponding window depicting John Bunyan, this was the work of artist and designer Arnold Wathen Robinson whose family were closely connected with the church. There is also similar earlier work of Robinson’s in what is now the University of Bristol’s department of Archaeology and Anthropology but which was formerly Bristol Baptist College. Unfortunately, this building is not normally open to the public but it should be noted that Bristol Baptist College was the previous owner, from the late eighteenth century, of the copy of Tyndale’s 1526 Worms New Testament now in the British Library and acquired by the library in 1994.
Tyndale Baptist Church is generally only open for services and weekday events.
Olveston BS35 4BX
The Denys family of Olveston Court were related by marriage to the Poyntz family and the remains of their fortified manor house can be seen on the edge of the village. This is a scheduled ancient monument and privately owned but are partially visible from a public footpath and included a series of ‘Olveston Walks’ produced by the parish council. The parish church of St Mary is open every day and a toilet is available.
Berkeley GL13 9BQ
Berkeley is the site of a historic castle (Discover Berkeley Castle’s Rich History) and a very fine parish church close by. As regards Tyndale, it seems likely that he had access, through his uncle who was steward of the Berkeley estates, to a Wycliffite Bible in the library of the castle. He may well have believed that he could produce a better and more up to date translation and, above all, one that was derived from Greek and Hebrew. In the parish church there is a tapestry of John Wyclif and John de Trevisa. Trevisa was vicar of Berkeley in the late 14th century, and chaplain to Lord Berkeley and an associate of Wyclif, and very likely to have been one of the team of translators of the first translation of the Bible into English.
Slimbridge GL2 7BJ
Close to Slimbridge is Hurst Farm which is believed to have been the home of William Tyndale’s brother Edward. The parish church ( The Parish Church of Slimbridge – St John the Evangelist) also claims to be the church of William Tyndale. Inside there is also a fine commemorative screen dedicated to Tyndale, with accompanying information and some notable phrases from his Bible translation. Slimbridge also has a Tyndale Road.
St James the Less, Iron Acton BS37 9UQ
The Poyntz family of Iron Acton are commemorated in the Poyntz chapel at the church of St James the Less, with Lady Anne Walsh, the wife of Sir John Walsh being a daughter of the family. Family monuments spanning several generations can be seen in the church, which is open every day.
St John’s, Old Sodbury BS37 6BQ
Lovely medieval parish church in very prominent position on the Cotswold Way. The church is open every day.
St Adeline’s, Little Sodbury BS37 6QB
This is the church with the closest links to WT and extensive information is available about him both inside and also outside the church. Water and biscuits available here ( + dog biscuits) with a donation invited. Please note that the scant remains of the previous church, which would have been used as a chapel by William Tyndale and the Poyntz family, are close by and adjacent to Little Sodbury Manor. These are marked on the OS map but they are not visible from any public right of way.
St Mary the Virgin, Wotton- under- Edge GL12 7LS
Large, imposing and very active parish church open every day with public toilet also available. On the Cotswold Way route. Also close by in School Road is the Old Grammar School building (OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL, Wotton-under-Edge – 1341575 | Historic England) which, in its earliest phase, may have been a school attended by William Tyndale.
The Tyndale Monument
The Tyndale Monument can be climbed by an interior staircase and there is information about William Tyndale and the building of the monument available at the site. The Tyndale Monument is on the Cotswold Way a short distance from North Nibley.
St Martin’s Church, North Nibley GL11 6DL
There is an information panel about William Tyndale inside the church.