United Benefice of Bishop's Cannings, Etchilhampton & All Cannings
Welcome to the Cannings Benefice!
Our purpose is to worship together, the share the good news of the gospel, and to support and encourage one another in our Christian journey.
The Cannings benefice, consisting of three churches (St Mary the Virgin, Bishop’s Cannings; All Saints’, All Cannings; and St Andrew, Etchilhampton) is set in the western end of the picturesque Pewsey Vale, overlooked to the north by the southern Marlborough Downs and to the south by the Salisbury Plain. The Kennet & Avon Canal wends its way through All Cannings, Horton and Bishop’s Cannings. The market-town of Devizes lies to the south-west. The Benefice is part of the larger Cannings and Redhorn Benefice.
All but one small area is deeply rural - the whole Benefice covers an area of 20 square miles, made up mostly of fields, hills and small hamlets. The one densely populated area is Cannings Hill on the outskirts of Devizes. The Devizes Marina (on the Kennet & Avon canal) is here… next to the The Hour Glass pub.
We work closely with our two Church of England schools:
Bishop’s Cannings C of E (Aided) Primary School – headteacher David Wade, and
All Cannings C of E (Controlled) Primary School – headteacher Richard Borman.
Both of these schools worship in their respective churches on important festivals such as Christmas and Easter; the clergy visit the schools each week to lead assembly. The parish priest is ex-officio a foundation governor on both schools’ governing bodies.
Despite – or perhaps because of – the rural context our church congregations are lively, warm and friendly. Our services are varied: from the traditional Book of Common Prayer communion at 8am at Bishop’s Cannings to the family breakfast service in All Cannings School Hall. Details of our regular Sunday services can be found by clicking on Services on the left-hand side of this page.
Whichever church you choose to come along to, you can be assured of a warm welcome.
The Vicarage, Bishop's Cannings, Devizes, SN10 2LD
canningschurcheswilts@yahoo.com phone/fax 01380 860650