Sutton Benger is a small village in the county of Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 located 5 miles (8 km) North East of Chippenham

Chippenham

Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...

. In the Survey of English Dialects

Survey of English Dialects

The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before local differences were to disappear...

, the recording from the village was one of the furthest away from Standard English

Standard English

Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...

 that was recorded. The village was the home of shopkeeper Joseph Fry, founder of the Fry, Vaughan and Co. chocolate factory.

The village is well served with local amenities comprising a local school, Sutton Benger Primary, a well-appointed village hall with a recreation ground and a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), a post office, a doctors surgery, a pub - Wellesley Arms, The Bell Hotel, and a restaurant called the Flambe. Several community groups make use of the village hall including a pre-school, Benger Bears, a playgroup, WI and Over 60's group.

St James's Church

St James's Church, Draycot Cerne

St James's Church in Draycot Cerne, Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, England was built around 1300. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...

 in Draycot Cerne

Draycot Cerne

Draycot Cerne is a village in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It is part of the civil parish of Sutton Benger...

 was built around 1300. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust

Churches Conservation Trust

The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...

. The church has an Early English chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 which is lower than the floor of the 13th century nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

. The tower dates from the 17th century and the church was altered and restored

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 in the 19th century. The interior includes a gothic

English Gothic architecture

English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...

 pulpit

Pulpit

Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...

 and box pews. There are also Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 stained glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 windows and monuments including a Perpendicular tomb chest, a 13th century knight’s effigy, said to be Phillip de Cerne, and a bust by Joseph Wilton

Joseph Wilton

Joseph Wilton was an English sculptor and one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768 .Born to a wealthy family in London, Wilton trained in Flanders, Paris, Rome and Florence...

 to Sir Robert Long

Sir Robert Long, 6th Baronet

Sir Robert Long, 6th Baronet was an English politician.The only surviving son of Sir James Long, 5th Baronet and his wife Henrietta Greville, Long was baptised on 8 November 1705 at St Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London...

.