Church of St Swithin, Bath

{{Short description|Church in Somerset, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox historic site

| name = Church of St Swithin

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| image = Geograph 2807697 Church of St Swithin, Bath.jpg

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| locmapin = Somerset

| coordinates = {{coord|51|23|19|N|2|21|34|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

| location = Bath, England

| area =

| built = 1779–1790

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| designation1 = Grade II* listed building

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| designation1_date = 12 June 1950{{National Heritage List for England|num=1394245|desc=Church of St Swithin|access-date=26 April 2016}}

| designation1_number = 1394245

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}}

The Anglican Church of St Swithin on The Paragon in the Walcot area of Bath, England, was built between 1777 and 1790. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The church stands on the site of a previous place of worship dating back to the 10th century, the remains of which are beneath the crypt.{{cite web|title=Our History|url=http://stswithinswalcot.org.uk/history/our-history/|publisher=St Swithin's Church|accessdate=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214093743/http://www.stswithinswalcot.org.uk/history/our-history/|archive-date=14 February 2016|url-status=dead}} The dedication is to Swithun, an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral.{{cite web|title=Walcot, History of St. Swithin's|date=17 June 2007|url=https://bathdailyphoto.wordpress.com/2007/06/18/070618walcot-history-of-st-swithins/|publisher=Bath Daily Photo|accessdate=30 October 2015}} Jane Austen's parents were married at St Swithin's on 26 April 1764 and her father George Austen is buried there.{{cite web|title=Jane Austen in Bath: St Swithin's Church, Walcot|url=http://austenonly.com/2010/03/03/jaen-austen-in-bath-st-swithins-church-walcot/|publisher=Austenonly|accessdate=30 October 2015}}

The current building was erected by John Palmer between 1777 and 1790.{{cite web|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=443214|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022003833/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=443214|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2012|title=Church of St Swithin, Walcot|work=Images of England|publisher=English Heritage|accessdate=30 October 2015}} His new church opened in 1777 but was soon too small for its growing congregation, as the city became increasingly popular and expanded well beyond its traditional boundaries.

On 30 May 1797 the abolitionist William Wilberforce and Barbara Spooner Wilberforce were married in the church.{{Cite ODNB| last1 =Wolffe| first1 = John| contribution = Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)| url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29386| date = May 2006| orig-year = online edition; first published September 2004| title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

| isbn = 978-0-19-861411-1 | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/29386 | last2 =Harrison| first2 =B.}} In 1805 it was the burial place of the writer and poet Christopher Anstey{{cite web|title=Christopher Anstey|url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/christopher-anstey|publisher=Westminster Abbey|accessdate=24 April 2015}} and, in 1831, of Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry. In 1840 it was the burial place of the writer Frances Burney; her husband, General Alexandre D'Arblay was buried there in 1818.{{Cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2141667/st.-swithin-churchyard|title=St. Swithin Churchyard in Bath, Somerset - Find a Grave Cemetery}} The church house, number 38, The Paragon, was built in the early 18th century.{{cite web|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=443213|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024211019/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=443213|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2012|title=Walcot Church House|work=Images of England|publisher=English Heritage|accessdate=30 October 2015}} A depiction of the Ascension of Jesus in stained glass was added to the east wall in the 1840s. The adjoining cemetery has gates with a rusticated base and panels with inverted torches between pilasters. There is an entablature with metopes and triglyphs.{{cite web|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=443212|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024211054/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=443212|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2012|title=Walcot Cemetery Gates|work=Images of England|publisher=English Heritage|accessdate=30 October 2015}}