Compton Abbas & Twyford Community Website
St Mary's Church, Compton Abbas
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Compton Abbas is the Parish Church of the villages of Compton Abbas and Twyford. It is here for everyone who lives in these villages.
Our Vicar is the Team Rector, the Revd. Helen Dawes. She can be contacted through the Team office which is open from 9am until 12 noon Monday to Friday. The office phone number is 01747 853060.
There are also frequent special services throughout the year. You can find out about these in various ways. They will be announced in the village email newsletter; there will also be posters on the village notice boards; and there will be information on our page of the Shaftesbury Team website (http://shaftesburycofe.org.uk/)
There are 2 regular Sunday Services at St Mary’s each month:
First Sunday 8.00am Holy Communion (BCP)
Third Sunday 11.15am Holy Communion with Hymns (CW1)
There is also a short service of Morning Prayer every Wednesday at 9.00am
If you need more information, you are welcome to contact the church wardens, who are:
Church Wardens:
James Miura 811944
Gillian Cross 811263
There is a special board in the church for Prayer Requests. If you would like prayers offered for particular people or issues, please let us know by pinning a note to the board. We will pray for them in our services and members of the church will include them in their private prayers.
Thanks to a team of volunteer ‘Lockers-up’ the church is open every day, until evening (or dusk in the winter).
If you are interested in bell ringing, we’d be delighted to hear from you, whether you are an experienced ringer or a complete novice.
Shaftesbury Team Website
St Mary’s is part of the Shaftesbury Team of nine churches in and around Shaftesbury, if you would like to know more about St Mary’s and the other churches and their services, please visit the team website where we have our own page, with news about church and village events: http://shaftesburycofe.org.uk/
Old Church Tower, Compton Abbas
About the bells
St.Mary's Church, Compton Abbas, which was built in 1868 (and is known as the 'new' church) has five bells. Three of them came from the old church (East Compton) now dis-used another was added in 1873 and a fifth in 1899. These were hung in the 1930's but a major overhaul took place in 2001. Number three bell (cast in 1616!) was in such a bad condition that a new one had to be cast (by the white chapel foundary, London) so the five bells are now in good condition, and are rung regulary for services, weddings and funerals.
If anyone is interested in joining the bell ringing team, please contact Barry Wisdom on 01747 812145.