Calne Baptist Church - Rebuild Project

After 300+ years on Castle Street, there will be a pause in services there while the church is demolished and rebuilt. The final worship was 15 February 2026, while services will continue at Bremhill View Clubhouse during the rebuild.

I was fortunate to be given access to film the church and the manse on 6 February, just a couple of weeks before the keys were passed to the contractors. The video below shows a walk through of the entrance and main building - I will look to publish more footage as time allows.

Between the 16 and 22 February, the church was cleared, with some items given to the community and other items put in storage.

The keys were passed to contractors, Gaiger Brothers on Monday, 23 February to progress the demolition of the site.

27 February 2026, the site has been closed off from public access.

On 8 March, there is clear progress from my previous visits (photograph from 6 February for comparison), with the front porch removed revealing the original external wall of the building.

While I shall endeavour to provide updates on the progress of this project, the best place to visit for updates and locations of services and activities is the Calne Baptist Church website.

Deputy Mayor Update: February 2026 - Council Decisions and Local Highlights

Hello all,

Another meeting-heavy month, which began with chairing an item in Full Council on the motion of no confidence in the mayor. After providing all members with the opportunity to speak, the vote saw the motion fail.

During the month, I also chaired the Outdoor Spaces Working Group, Governance, Policy and Resources Committee, and stand in as chair for a Personnel Sub-Committee meeting.

At the Outdoor Spaces Working Group we decided on the action of replacing the trampoline at the Beversbrook play area, due to repeated flooding, asking our officer to continue exploring lighting and access improvement at the North End Play Area, and to recommend that the Amenities and Facilities Committee consider a report regarding pest control at the Beversbrook Allotment.

We received updates on the Joseph Priestley Monument for The Green, the St. Mary’s Church path project, and planned access improvements to the Beversbrook dog‑walking area.

During the meeting we also considered equipment for the BoxUp sports equipment locker that will be installed at The Recreation Ground in the near future.

Along with other items, the Governance, Policy and Resources Committee updated the Sickness Absence Policy and the Annual Grants policies. A policy gap was discovered regarding grants, which has led to an ongoing grants policy being created and approved. We also reviewed suppliers for a new HR and Health & Safety Support Contract, importantly we ensured the continuation of the Employee Assistance Programme to provide support to our staff.

Twinning

I also met with the Town Mayor, the ACS Manager, and Jon Fisher, the project manager for the Eningen visit (9–12 May), to review the developing itinerary, which is coming together well. Alongside a number of local stops, we have now confirmed visits to the Calne Heritage Centre and Calne Men’s Shed, as well as the group’s attendance at Mayor Making. As part of the visit, we are also looking to create opportunities for anyone interested to meet the delegation from Eningen.

Prioritisation Session

To finish the month, many councillors attended a prioritisation session on Saturday 28 February. The session gave us an overview of the wide range of projects the council is currently undertaking, how each one sits within our committee structure, and which officer is leading it. Crucially, we also gained a clearer picture of which projects are already in progress, their funding position, and their expected completion year. More detail on these projects will follow as they move forward.

On a personal note, my family and I had a fantastic time watching the Calne Players perform the family pantomime The Wizard of Calne, written by Kirsten Kerr and brought to life by a wonderfully engaging cast - this is despite, or perhaps because of, the digs at the town council!

Please head to their Facebook page to keep updated with their future plans.

Finally, with the 140th anniversary of the opening of Calne Town Hall quickly approaching, I am close to completion on my next book, The Mayors of Calne: A History (1836 – 1886), which will include an illustrated history of the town hall. The town hall was paid for at the time by the wonderful past residents of Calne, which included members of the Harris family and the Lansdowne family of Bowood.

Thanks for reading!

Keep updated with my councillor and community projects.

Place names of Calne: Westerham Walk Area

Westerham Walk

The streets of and around Westerham Walk were built c. late 1980s to 1990s. It is a mixed development of mainly semi and detached housing. It is an area that had some interesting field names in the past, such a Little Hill, Great Hill, Old Orchard, and the evocatively named 'Adjoining Low Lane'.

Highgrove Close

The roads include:

Highgrove Close, which runs across Prince Charles Drive and refers to the home of Prince Charles, who bought Highgrove House, Gloucestershire in 1980.
Mallard Close, see Bird entry.
Mallard Close was created when, 26 flats and houses were added to Prince Charles Drive c. 1985, designed by Kendall Kingscott Partnership for Jephson Second Housing Association.
Cotswold Close, which refers to the Cotswold building stone.
Park Close, which was originally called  Sandstone Grove until c. 1997. I imagine it was changed because 'grove' refers to a small group of trees, rather than stone. Originally the word 'park' would have referred to a piece of land that was used for beasts of the chase. However, paddock, which meant a small grass enclosure, changed to 'park' when it was borrowed into Cornish[1]. Today park tends to mean an area of land used for a specific purpose, such as a business park, or an area for recreation. However, this land was actually an orchard of some antiquity, as in the 1840s, it was called 'Old Orchard'. So, I'm guessing it was felt that Park Close was a better name for the street than Sandstone Grove.
Perbeck Place, which refers to the Perbeck Building stone.
Portland Way, which refers to the Portland building stone.

Westerham Walk, Westerham would originally have meant a westerly homestead. As this street is/was on the east of Calne, I think it refers to Westerham, the place. Chartwell Manor, the home of Winston Churchill (See Churchill Close), lies on the outskirts of Westerham and is now managed by the National Trust.

Purbeck Place

References:
[1] Cavill, P., 2018. A New Dictionary of English Field-Names. 1st ed. Great Britain: English Place-Name Society.