About
The Congregational Church in Westbury was founded by the Reverend Philip Hunton, who on 24 August 1662 was the vicar of All Saints Parish Church. Because of his refusal to sign the Act of Uniformity he was ejected from that living and later walked up the road and became the first Pastor of the church. It is thought that the first Meeting House was built around 1693. This property was destroyed by fire on 18 July 1711. Legend has it that it was members of All Saints Parish Church who deliberately set fire to the Meeting House. Undaunted by such a catastrophe the members rallied together and within a month the foundation stone was laid for the second Meeting House. The cost was partly offset by the sale of land bequeathed by the Reverend Philip Hunton.
On 25 September 1751 the Reverend John Meylett was appointed Minister. He had decided views on the abolition of slavery. It is thought that some of the wealthy members of the church had interests in sugar plantations and did not appreciate the Minister’s views. This led to a break away and the formation of the Upper Meeting House. The two Congregational Churches were re-united on 8 May 1940. In 1972 the Congregational churches joined with the Presbyterian churches to become the United Reformed Church. The church building has been refurbished over the years and in 2000 the hall was enlarged.
Location
The church is located at:
| Warminster Road |
| Westbury |
| Wiltshire |
| BA13 3PJ |
From Warminster road turn left into Hospital Road, then bear left along The Butts. There is an entrance just along the road on the left hand side which leads to the Church car park. As the church is on the A350 that post code does not help with parking the car which is at the rear of the church! The hall/parking post code is BA13 3EU, for the benefit of satnav users!
Church Life
Worship
Services are held two or three times each month on Sunday mornings at 1100 am. Full details can be found below as well as in the Area Preaching Plan.
| Date 2024/5 | Preacher | |
| Dec 1 | Joint Service at Methodist | |
| Dec 8 | Mr A Ingram | |
| Dec 15 | Rev Tracey Lewis | Joint carol service with Methodist Church |
| Dec 22 | Mr A Ingram | |
| Dec 29 | No service | |
| Jan 5 2025 | United Service at Methodist | 10.30 Start |
| Jan 12 | Mr C Illman | |
| Jan 19 | Mr A Ingram | Communion Service |
| Jan 26 | Rev Tracey Lewis | AGM |
| Feb 2 | No service | |
| Feb 16 | Rev M Davies | United service with Methodist Church |
| Feb 23 | Mrs F Halsall | |
| March 2 | United Service at Methodist | |
| March 9 | Mrs M Skyrme | |
| March 16 | Mr A Ingram | |
| March 23 | Rev Tracey Lewis | Communion Service |
| March 30 | Area Plan | |
Church Life
Saturday Coffee Mornings are a regular treat and support various Church local charities
Dates for 2025
Jan 4
Feb 1
March 1
April 5
May 3
June 7
July 5
Aug 2
Sept 6
Oct 4
Nov 1
Dec 6
The Church also supports Westbury Food Bank collecting non-perishable goods and delivering them to the foodbank.
The Hall is used by various local groups including U3A and Westbury Lions
Key people
| Minister | Revd Tracey Lewis |
| Elders | Mrs. Priscilla Gray, Mr. Alan Ingram (Treasurer), Mrs. Maggie Skyrme, and Mrs. Fiona Halsall |
Gallery
