St James' church - Ansty, Wiltshire - Legacy of Medieval Spiritual Warriors on Waymarking.com

"In 1066 William the Conqueror gave the Manor of Ansty to Payne de Turberville and that family held the title for the next 145 years. It is interesting to note that this is the same person as "D'urberville" in Hardy's "Tess of the D'urbervilles" and Ansty is indirectly mentioned early in the book: 'In the reign of King John, one of them was rich enough to give a manor to the Knights Hospitallers'.

In 1210/1211 Walter de Turberville granted the manor of Ansty to the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem, who founded a preceptory in the parish and whilst England was under an interdict between 1208 and 1214, Ansty would have been one of the few place where the sacraments were still celebrated, as the Knights Hospitaller were exempt because they were answerable directly to the Pope.

The Order of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem was one of the two major orders established to help capture and retain Jerusalem and the Holy Land during the Crusades. The orders became very wealthy and powerful as they had many estates given to them throughout Europe and they were exempt from paying taxes to the King.

These estates were known as "Commanderies" of the Order and generally consisted of a Manor House, Church and Hospice plus other buildings. The Church of Saint James was built by the Hospitallers in about 1230 together with a Hospice (possibly on the site of or near to the present building). Ansty pond is also thought to have been created about this time to provide fresh fish for the Order.

The Hospitallers held Ansty until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1541 at which time the Manor was sold to Sir John Zouch for 30.6.9d. Francis Zouch (buried in Ansty) inherited the Manor from his father in 1585. Shortly afterwards Ansty was purchased by Sir Matthew Arundell and in 1596-98 his son Thomas Arundell (later the first Lord Arundell) rebuilt the Manor House and also built the present "Hospice or Commandery". Ansty remained part of the Wardour Estate until it was sold privately in 1946.

The large stone building near to the church is locally called "The Hospice" or "Old Commandery". It was built in 1596-98 by Thomas Arundell (possibly on the site of the original Hospice of the Knights Hospitaller). It was most likely used as a banqueting hall

From 2nd to 11th May 1643, during the siege of Wardour Castle, the Cromwellian army is reputed to have been housed in the "Hospice".

The "Hospice" was badly damaged by fire in 1922 and shortly after the second world war the south east corner was damaged by an American tank which accidentally hit the building. The building was restored in 2001 and is now used for local private and village events such as the maypole celebrations, harvest supper and village weddings."

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Name of Military Order: Knights Hospitaller Link documenting charitable acts: [Web Link]

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