The story goes that some lads from the Butchers Arms were having a bit of banter. One thing led to another, and before knew it a dart had been thrown towards the clock face on the tower of St. Mary's Church. It became embedded and has remained in situ ever since.
Another version has is that during some work on the tower that required scaffolding, a workman thrust the dart into the tower wall.
Which version holds true?
In 1638, the original tower of St. Mary's church collapsed. The original tower was "a fine, high steeple which stood on four pillars in the middle of the church", according to John Aubrey. He goes on to say that one of the pillars was faulty, but that the churchwardens were slow to act.
A new tower was built in the Perpendicular style by 1650 at a cost of around £3000, amounting to over £352,000 in today's money.
Much happens at the church in the intervening period.
This includes the Victorian restoration of the church, which will be touched upon
in the curious tale of Inverto Boswell.
However, it wasn't until c. 1967 that the dart became embedded into the church tower.
A 17 year old patron of the Butchers Arms in Calne, had partaken of a few pints and a game of darts before telling his friends that he could hit the church clock with one of his trusty darts.
Standing to the left of the western steps, that lead through the avenue of pleached yew trees to the entrance of the church, a very merry Victor (Vic) Slade, braced himself and took his shot.
From a distance of close to 35 metres, Vic's shot veered to the left, missing the clock face. However, to the utter disbelief of his friends, the dart pierced the stone wall of the tower, becoming embedded.
The Butchers Arms, a Watney pub, closed down in the 1980s, another piece of Calne lost. The building, 19 Church Street, is now in residential use, but retains the bracket used for hanging the pub's signboard.
In the decades since, the dart in the tower has become a local folktale. Anecdotes of children throwing snowballs at the tower, attempting to hit the clock face have been passed down.
With each passing year, another generation of school children have walked past the tower on their way to and from school. Either spotting the strange object, or being told of the dart by older kids or family members, a variety of tales have been brought into existence.
However, this is the true tale, and one remembered fondly by those that retell it on Social Media. Sadly, the dart has lost its flights, but is still easily visible.
Next time you're passing the tower, take a moment to look up at the dart and consider... Could you have made the shot?
I thank Vic Slade and his son, Dean, for allowing me to share this story with you.
