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diff --git a/12287-0.txt b/12287-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c1b43eb --- /dev/null +++ b/12287-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8496 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12287 *** + +[Illustration: A MAP OF THE RAILWAYS OF SOMERSET] + +[Illustration: THE PINNACLES, CHEDDAR] + + + + +SOMERSET + + +By + +G.W. WADE, D.D. +and +J.H. WADE, M.A. + + +_With Thirty-two Illustrations and Two Maps_ + + +"Upon smooth Quantock's airy ridge we roved." + + +London +Methuen & Co +36 Essex St. Strand + + +[Illustration: Hand drawn Routes of the Somerset & Dorset Railway] + + + + +PREFACE + + +The general scheme of this Guide is determined by that of the series of +which it forms part. But a number of volumes by different writers are +never likely to be quite uniform in character, even though planned on +the same lines; and it seems desirable to explain shortly the aim we +have had in view in writing our own little book. In our accounts of +places of interest we have subordinated the historical to the +descriptive element; and whilst we have related pretty fully in the +Introduction the events of national importance which have taken place +within the county, we have not devoted much space to family histories. +We have made it our chief purpose to help our readers to see for +themselves what is best worth seeing. If, in carrying out our design, +we appear to have treated inadequately many interesting country seats, +our excuse must be that such are naturally not very accessible to the +ordinary tourist, whose needs we have sought to supply. And if churches +and church architecture seem to receive undue attention, it may be +pleaded that Somerset is particularly rich in ecclesiastical buildings, +and affords excellent opportunities for the pursuit of a fascinating +study. + +In the production of our book we have used freely such sources of +information as circumstances have enabled us to consult; and in this +connection we wish to make specific acknowledgment of our indebtedness +to C.R.B. Barrett's "Somersetshire," the Rev. W.H.P. Greswell's "Land +of Quantock," and the "Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and +Natural History Society." We have likewise profited by the kindness of +several friends and correspondents, amongst whom we desire to mention +the late R.P. Brereton, Dr F.H. Allen, Mr F.R. Heath, the Rev. C.W. +Whistler, the Rev. E.H. Bates, and the Rev. J.S. Hill, B.D. (the last +especially in regard to the origin of certain place-names). But our +descriptions are, for the most part, based upon notes taken on the +spot. Almost all the localities that are included in the alphabetical +list have been visited by one or other of us: those of any interest, +which from various causes we have failed to reach, can (we believe) be +counted upon the fingers. We cannot expect our work to be wholly free +from errors and omissions, but we have done our best to make it +accurate and to render it as complete as the size of the volume allows. + +G.W.W. + +J.H.W. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION:-- + +I. SITUATION AND EXTENT + +II. CLIMATE + +III. COMMUNICATIONS + +IV. PHYSICAL FEATURES AND GEOLOGY + +V. FAUNA AND FLORA + +VI. HISTORY + +VII. ANTIQUITIES + +VIII. INDUSTRIES + +IX. CELEBRITIES + +DESCRIPTION OF PLACES ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY + +APPENDIX + +INDEX OF PERSONS + + + + +SOMERSET + +TARR STEPS, EXMOOR +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +MARKET PLACE, FROME +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +ST JOSEPH'S CHAPEL, GLASTONBURY +(_From a Photograph by Mr Walter Raymond_) + +GLASTONBURY TOR +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +ALFOXDEN HOUSE, NEAR HOLFORD +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +HORNER WOODS AND PORLOCK VALE +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +THE HANGING CHAPEL, LANGPORT +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +LUCCOMBE VILLAGE +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +MELLS VILLAGE +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +MINEHEAD +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +MONTACUTE HOUSE +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +THE GEORGE INN, NORTON ST PHILIP +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +NUNNEY CASTLE AND VILLAGE +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +OLD BANK, PORLOCK +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +ALLERFORD +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +SHEPTON MALLET CROSS +(_From a Photograph by Mr Walter Raymond_) + +NETHER STOWEY +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +TAUNTON FROM THE RIVER +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +WELLS CATHEDRAL +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +VICARS' CLOSE, WELLS +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Frith, Reigate_) + +THE PALACE GATEWAY, WELLS +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +WESTON-SUPER-MARE +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +NINE SPRINGS, YEOVIL +(_From a Photograph by Messrs Valentine, Dundee_) + +MAP OF SOMERSET + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +I. SITUATION AND EXTENT + + +SOMERSET is one of the S.W. counties of England. On the N. it is washed +by the Bristol Channel; on the N.E. the Avon, like a silver streak, +divides it from Gloucestershire; it is bordered on the E. by Wiltshire; +its S.E. neighbour is Dorset; and on the S.W. it touches Devon. Its +shape is so irregular that dimensions give a misleading indication of +its extent. Its extreme length is about 60 m., and its greatest width +38; but it narrows so rapidly westwards that where it abuts on Devon +its average width is only 15 m. In point of size it stands seventh on +the list of English counties, having an area of over a million acres, +or 1633 square m. It lies between 2° 10' and 3° 50' W. longitude, and +50° 50' and 51° 30' N. latitude. Its population in 1901 was 508,104. It +is one of the few counties which was originally the settlement of a +single tribe, the Somersaetas, from whom it takes its name; and the +fact that "Somerset" (like Dorset) is thus a tribal name is in favour +of its dispensing with the suffix _shire_, though "Somersetshire" has +been in common use since the time of the "Saxon Chronicle." + + + + +II. CLIMATE + + +The climate is mild and equable, though from its diversified surface +the county experiences some varieties of temperature. The seaboard is +warm, but its considerable southward trend gives it a good Atlantic +frontage, which prevents it from being relaxing. Weston is said to be +ten degrees warmer than London. The breezes on the uplands are bracing +but never searching. The Mendips have been considered a suitable site +for a consumptive sanatorium. The central flats are damp. They lie so +low that in places the coast has to be protected by sea walls, and the +prevalence of large "rhines" or drains makes for humidity. The +sheltered vale of Taunton Dean (for the term cp. _Hawthorndean, +Rottingdean_) is warm and sunny. The rainfall is abundant, but, except +in the neighbourhood of Exmoor, cannot be said to be excessive. + + + + +III. COMMUNICATIONS + + +_Roads_.--Everywhere highways and byways are numerous, and some +districts are prodigally supplied with footpaths. With the exception of +Exmoor, which is best explored on foot, even the remotest parts are +accessible to the wheelman. But the cyclist will find the travelling +somewhat unequal. Like the curate's fabled egg, the roads are best +described as "good in parts." Amongst the hills they are firm but +arduous, in the plains easy but soft. The main thoroughfares, however, +can be recommended both for breadth and surface. + +_Railways_.--The Somerset railway system is extensive. The G.W.R. (the +chief service of the county) unites Bath with Bristol, and throwing +itself round the N.W. extremity of the Mendips, runs down an almost +ideal track to Taunton and Wellington. A loop from Worle to Uphill +serves Weston-super-Mare, whilst short branches, one from Bristol and a +second from Yatton, afford communication with Portishead and Clevedon. +Another section skirts the E. side of the county from Frome to Yeovil, +and by taking a short cross-country cut from Castle Cary to Langport +unites again with the trunk line near Taunton. From Taunton branches +radiate to Minehead, Dulverton, Chard, and Yeovil. A branch line again +connects Bristol with Frome, and access is obtained to Wells and +Cheddar by a line from Yatton, skirting the W. base of the Mendips as +far as Witham. The S. & D. constitutes a link between the Midland on +the N. and the L. & S.W. on the S. It boldly attacks the Mendips from +Bath, and after clambering over the summit at Masbury, drops down +suddenly to Evercreech, from which point it diverges either westwards +to Burnham (with branches to Wells and Bridgewater), or southwards to +Templecombe. A light railway serves the Wrington Vale, and another +connects Weston with Clevedon. + + + + +IV. PHYSICAL FEATURES AND GEOLOGY + + +There is a prevalent belief that the picturesque part of the West of +England begins with Devon and ends with Cornwall, to which Somerset +is merely a stepping-stone. This opinion is no doubt fostered by the +impression which the tourist derives of the county through the carriage +windows of the "Cornishman." But the considerations that appeal to +the railway engineer are mechanical rather than aesthetic; and, +unfortunately for the reputation of Somerset for scenery, the line of +least resistance is the line of least interest--the dead level skirting +the coast between Bristol and Taunton. As a matter of fact, there are +few districts which afford such a variety of physical features as +Somerset. Hill and valley, cliff and chasm, moor and seaboard, are all +to be found there; and, in addition to its wealth of scenery, Somerset +is rich in antiquities of different kinds; whilst it has also been the +theatre of some of the most stirring events in English history. + +The physical skeleton of the county may be roughly described as +consisting of three parallel ranges of hills running transversely +across it--the Mendips and their outliers in the N.E., the +insignificant Poldens in the centre, and the Quantocks and Exmoor in +the W., with the Blackdowns occupying the S.W. corner. The intervening +basins are filled with a rich alluvial deposit washed down from the +hills or left by the receding sea. The _Mendips_ spread themselves +across the E. end of the county in a N.W. direction from Frome to +Weston-super-Mare, where they lose themselves in the Channel, to +re-appear as the islets of the Steep and Flat Holms. On their S.W. side +they descend into the plain with considerable abruptness; and when +viewed from the lower parts of the county, present a hard sky-line, +like some enormous earthwork. On the opposite side their aspect in +general is far less impressive, and towards Bath they lose themselves +in a confusion of elevations and declivities. The main ridge is an +extended tableland, some 25 m. long, and in places 3 m. broad. It rises +to its greatest heights at Blackdown (1067 ft.) and Masbury (958). +Geologically, it consists of mountain limestone superimposed on old red +sandstone, which here and there comes to the surface. Near Downhead +there is an isolated outburst of igneous rock. The Mendips are +honeycombed with caverns, the most notable being at Banwell, Harptree, +and Burrington; and a large one has been recently discovered some 4 m. +from Wells. At Cheddar their W. edge is broken by a remarkable gorge, +in the sides of which caves also occur. The level of the tableland is +indented with "swallet holes," the chief of which are the East Water +Swallet and the Devil's Punch-Bowl. The _Quantocks_ are much less +extensive, though their highest summits rise to a greater altitude. +Like the Mendips, they turn their steepest flank westwards, the ascent +on the E. being gradual; and on this side they are cut by a number of +well-timbered and delightful combes. Few caves have been discovered in +them, though there is one at Holwell near Asholt. W. of the Quantocks +are the _Brendons_ and the highlands of _Exmoor_, the latter extending +into Devon, though their highest point, Dunkery Beacon, is included in +Somerset. Dunkery is 1707 ft. above the sea-level; and other +conspicuous hills in this district are Lucott Hill (1516), Elworthy +Barrow (1280), Selworthy Beacon (1014), and Grabbist Hill. The +Quantocks, Brendons, and Exmoor consist of older rocks than the +Mendips, belonging as they do to the Devonshire series of old red +sandstones. Bordering the Brendons are found the red marls of the +Permian series; whilst between Dunster and Williton, and along the base +of the Quantocks, in the neighbourhood of Taunton Dean, as well as in +some other localities, Keuper and Rhaetic beds occur. The _Blackdowns_ +in the S.W. are not quite so elevated as their neighbours; near +Otterford and Chard they consist of greensand, whilst chalk appears at +Combe St Nicholas and Cricket St Thomas. The centre of the county is +alluvial, and beneath it the limestone of the Mendips sinks, coming to +the surface again in the W. only at a single spot, near Cannington. Out +of this central plain rise several isolated, cone-like hills, the most +notable being Glastonbury Tor and Brent Knoll. These belong to the lias +and lower oolite rocks. The _Poldens_ consist of lias; and the same +formation constitutes the rising ground that bounds the plain on the S. +and E. of the county. The southern side of the Poldens is edged with +Rhaetic beds, which also extend to High Ham. Oolite rocks occur +abundantly near Bath, furnishing the famous Bath building-stone; and +they likewise form the prominent eminence of Dundry. Near Frome they +rest upon the mountain limestone. The same series of rocks occupies the +S.E. corner of the county, extending from Milborne Port to Bruton. On +the E. they are flanked with the Oxford clay, which reaches from +Henstridge to Witham Friary, whilst a ridge of higher ground near +Penselwood consists of greensand. Near Radstock coal is found. + +The Somerset sea-coast, though destitute of ruggedness and grandeur, +possesses undeniable charm, at least at its W. and E. extremities; but +it lapses into unquestioned tameness where the sea washes the central +flats. The waters of the Bristol Channel as far down as Minehead are +discoloured; and, with the exception of a range of low cliffs near St +Andries and Watchet and a stony foreshore at Clevedon, there are no +rocks worth mentioning. Brean Down and the North Hill near Minehead are +the only headlands, but notwithstanding this, the watering places of +Somerset are breezy and healthy. Weston-super-Mare in particular has a +high reputation for salubrity, and has long been one of the most +popular seaside resorts in England. + +Somerset is peculiarly deficient in large rivers, for the Avon can +hardly be included amongst its belongings, since it is the dividing +line between the county and Gloucestershire. The Parrett is the one +stream of any moment. It is a sluggish and uninteresting bit of water, +rising in Dorset, entering Somerset near Crewkerne, and flowing, when +it meets the tide near Bridgwater, with a wearisomely circuitous course +of some 12 m. before it mixes with the Bristol Channel. The other +rivers, the Frome and Chew, which join the Avon; the Axe, which rises +in Wookey Hole and enters the sea near Brean Down; the Brue and Cary, +which empty themselves into the estuary of the Parrett; and the +Parrett's own tributaries, the Yeo, Ivel, and Tone, are unimportant. +Exmoor is drained by the Exe and Barle, which, when united, flow +southward into Devon. + +Such, however, is the character of Somerset scenery that the absence of +water in it is hardly noticed. From what has been said it will be seen +that the county has much in it to arrest the attention of the traveller +who can appreciate quiet beauty, and, as will appear, even more to +appeal to one who is interested in his country's-past, whilst upon the +affection of its sons its hold is indisputable. As one of them +writes:-- + + "Fair winds, free way, for youth the rover; + We all must share the curse of Cain: + But bring me back when youth is over + To the old crooked shire again. + + Ay, bring me back in life's declining + To the one home that's home for me, + Where in the west the sunset shining + Goes down into the Severn sea." + + + + +V. FAUNA AND FLORA + + +The really interesting _fauna_ of Somerset belongs to a past age, when +mammoths, elephants, and rhinoceroses, cave lions, bisons, bears, and +hyaenas roamed over its surface. Their remains have been found in the +caverns of Hutton, Bleadon, Banwell, and Wookey, and are preserved in +Taunton Museum. Of the wild creatures which at present occur in the +county, the only one which confers real distinction upon it is the red +deer, which roams at large on both Exmoor and the Quantocks. Badgers +are not uncommon near Dulverton and in the more uncultivated districts. +The very diversified character of Somerset makes it the home of a large +variety of birds, the Quantocks and Exmoor sheltering many of the +predatory kinds, the long coast-line attracting numerous seafowl, and +the fenny country of the centre affording a feeding ground for the +different kinds of waders. Of the resident species which are +comparatively uncommon elsewhere may be mentioned the hawfinch, the +greater and lesser spotted woodpecker, the carrion crow, the raven, the +buzzard, the hen-harrier, and the peregrine falcon. Among the regular +visitors are included the white wagtail, the pied flycatcher, the +nightjar, the black redstart, the lesser redpole, the snow bunting, the +redwing, the reed, marsh, and grasshopper warblers, the siskin, the +dotterel, the sanderling, the wryneck, the hobby, the merlin, the +bittern, and the shoveller. As occasional visitors may be reckoned the +wax-wing, golden oriole, cross-bill, hoopoe, white-tailed eagle, honey +buzzard, ruff, puffin, great bustard, Iceland gull, glaucous gull, and +Bewick's swan. Visitors that may be supposed to have reached the county +only by accident have scarcely a claim to be noticed here, though +perhaps allusion may be made to an Egyptian vulture seen at Kilve in +1825, and specimens of Pallas's sand-grouse observed near Bridgwater, +Weston-super-Mare, and Bath.[1] + +As regards the _flora_ the elevated position of parts of the county +makes it the home of a number of plants which do not commonly occur in +the South of England. Thus there are found on Exmoor the crowberry +(_Empetrum nigrum_), the parsley fern (_Cryptogramme crispa_), and the +oak fern (_Phegopteris dryopteris_). _Asplenium septentrionale_ is +found at Culbone; _Listera cordata_ grows on Dunkery and near +Chipstable; and the cranberry (_Oxycoccus palustris_) is said to occur +at Selworthy and on the Brendons. On the other hand, Somerset likewise +furnishes congenial conditions for those plants that love low-lying, +marshy ground, and on the peat-moors in the Glastonbury district the +flowering fern (_Osmunda regalis_) and the bog myrtle (_Myrica Gale_) +are met with. Within the British Isles the following are found only in +Somerset: _Dianthus gratianopolitanus, Hieracium stinolepis, Verbascum +lychnitis_, and _Euphorbia pilosa. Arabis stricta_ occurs only on the +limestone near Clifton; _Helianthemum polifolium_ is confined to +Somerset and Devon; _Pirus latifolia_ to Somerset and Denbigh.[2] + + + [1] For the birds of Somerset, see a paper by the Rev. Murray A. Mathew, + M.A., F.L.S., in the "Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological + and Natural History Society," vol. xxxix., from which we have + borrowed. + + [2] For fuller information, see "The Flora of Somerset," by the Rev. + R.P. Murray, M.A., F.L.S., from which the above facts are taken. + + + + +VI. HISTORY + + +Somerset gets its name from a Saxon tribe, but its earliest +inhabitants, like those of the southern half of bur island generally, +were Britons or Celts, and the Saxon invasion was preceded by the +Roman. Reminders that the county was once occupied by a Welsh--speaking +race occur in the constituents of many place-names, such as _Pen_ +Selwood, _Maes_ Knoll, and the numerous _combes_ (cp. Welsh _cwm_). The +name of the British king, Arthur, is associated with Cadbury (near +Sparkford); and the neighbouring villages of Queen Camel and West Camel +recall the legendary Camelot. The earliest church at Glastonbury +(_Avalon_) is believed to have been of British origin, and it is +Arthur's reputed burial-place. In the dedication of the churches at +Porlock (Dubricius or Dyfrig) and Watchet (Decuman or Tegfan) is +preserved the memory of certain British saints, though these probably +came on an evangelistic mission from the other side of the Bristol +Channel. But of the primitive population the most trustworthy memorials +are the numerous earthworks and other material remains which survive in +various parts of the county, and these will be more appropriately +noticed under another heading (see pp. 20-21). + +Of the Roman occupation the traces are more varied. Bath and Ilchester +are Roman towns, and from and through them Roman roads run across the +county. In constructing these, the Romans probably used in many +instances existing British trackways. The principal was the Fosse Way +(as it is called), entering the county near Chard from Seaton, and +leaving it at Bath for Lincoln. Within Somerset it is still a very +important artery of traffic. From near Chard a road is thought to have +diverged from it to the N.W., towards the Quantocks, passing by Castle +Neroche. The Fosse Way was, and is, cut at Ilchester by a road coming +from Dorchester and continuing to Glastonbury, and near Masbury, on the +Mendips, by a second, connecting Old Sarum with Axium (Uphill, near +Brean Down). At Bath it was joined by two more roads, one coming from +London and the other (the _Via Julia_) from Aust and South Wales. The +road along the Mendips was doubtless largely used for the transport of +the lead which was mined at Priddy and elsewhere, and shipped at +Uphill. Somerset, during its occupation by the Romans, seems to have +enjoyed tranquillity, for their villas, pavements, and other remains +indicative of peaceful possession are not confined to the neighbourhood +of their large cities (see p. 21). + +When the Saxons made themselves masters of England, Somerset became +part of the kingdom of Wessex. Its subjugation was accomplished in +three stages. The first is associated with the name of Ceawlin, who, +after defeating the British at Deorham (in Gloucestershire), captured +Bath, and by 577 reduced the northern part of the county between the +Avon and the Axe. _Englishcombe_ near Bath recalls this occupation, and +the Wansdyke probably served as a barrier between Saxon and Briton. But +between this conquered territory and Dorset, which was also Saxon, +there still remained in the hands of the Britons a large strip of +country; and from this they were not expelled until the time of +Cenwealh (652), who defeated them in 658 at "The Pens" (identified by +many with Penselwood), and drove them westward to the Parrett. Somerton +now became the capital of the Somersaetas, the Saxon tribe that gave +its name to the county (just as the Dorsaetas and Wilsaetas have done +to Dorset and Wilts). The third stage of the conquest was completed by +Ina (688-726), who subdued the rest of Somerset, forcing the British +(whose king was Geraint) into Devon and Cornwall, and building Taunton +as a fortress against them. _Williton_ and _Willsneck_ (in the +Quantocks) perhaps preserve the name of the defeated Welsh. Ina is +famous for more than his military prowess, for he was the first King of +Wessex to issue written laws for the guidance of his subjects. + +During the Saxon period Somerset did not escape the raids of the Danes; +and in the reign of Alfred it was the scene of one of the most eventful +crises in English history. Alfred, after many battles against the +invaders, had at last seen Guthrum their leader retire from Wessex into +Mercia. But in 878, in midwinter, Guthrum suddenly surprised Chippenham +and made himself master of Wessex, and Alfred was forced to withdraw to +the fens of Athelney. To the narrow limits of the "Isle of the Nobles" +the Saxon dominions in the W. were for some months reduced. Here in the +Eastertide of 879 Alfred, in the words of the "Saxon Chronicle," +"wrought a fortress [of which perhaps the Mump at Borough Bridge is the +site], and from that work warred on the (Danish) army, with that +portion of the men of Somerset that was nearest."[3] Seven weeks after +Easter, Alfred emerged from his place of refuge to join the men of +Somerset, Wilts, and Hants, who had gathered in force at "Ecgbryhtes +Stane" (Brixton Deveril in Wilts). Putting himself at their head, he +covered the distance that separated him from the foe in two stages; +for, halting for the night at "Iglea," the next day he defeated the +Danes at "Ethandune," and then besieged and reduced their fortress or +fortified camp. Guthrum, after his defeat, was baptised at Aller; and +at Wedmore subsequently a treaty of peace was concluded between him and +Alfred. The site of the battle of "Ethandune" is unfortunately +difficult to determine. There is an Edington in Somerset on the Polden +Hills; and the fact that the battle was followed by Guthrum's baptism +at Aller and the treaty at Wedmore (places near the Somerset Edington) +is in favour of this being the scene of the encounter. Those who accept +this identification assume that the Danes had moved from Chippenham to +the Poldens, and here, whilst watching Athelney, were taken in the rear +by Alfred, whose single night-halt at "Iglea" on the march from Brixton +Deveril is placed at Edgarley, a locality near Glastonbury.[4] But the +distance between Brixton Deveril and Glastonbury seems too great to be +accomplished by a large body of men along indifferent roads in a single +day; and by many authorities "Ethandune" is identified with Edington, +near Westbury, or Heddington, W. of Melksham, both in Wilts. However +this may be, it was from the Somerset marshes that Alfred issued forth +to his victory, and it was at a Somerset town that he secured the +fruits of it. + +The importance of Somerset during the reign of the Saxon kings who +succeeded Alfred is evidenced by the many noteworthy incidents that are +connected with its chief city, Bath, and its great abbey of +Glastonbury. It was at Bath that King Edgar was crowned in 973; and at +the same place at a later date (1013) the Danish king, Sweyn, received +the submission of the western thegns. At Glastonbury were buried three +of the Saxon kings, Edmund (son of Edward the Elder), Edgar, and Edmund +Ironside. Here too was born Dunstan, who was so prominent an +ecclesiastic in the reigns of the first Edmund and five of his +successors. He was made abbot of the abbey by Edmund, and, after +becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, was buried at Glastonbury (988). Two +other Somerset men who filled the see of Canterbury during the Saxon +period were Ethelgar and Alphege. + +Under the Plantagenets the history of the county was not very eventful, +though some localities suffered severely in the disturbances of the +Norman period. In William Rufus' reign it was the scene of several of +the movements directed against the king in favour of his brother +Robert. The powerful baron-bishop, Geoffrey of Coutances, with his +nephew Robert of Mowbray, after seizing Bristol, burnt Bath, but was +unsuccessful in the siege of Ilchester (1088). On the death of Henry I. +Somerset favoured the claims of Matilda, and the castles at Cary, E. +Harptree, and Dunster were held by their owners for her against +Stephen, to the no small discomfort of their respective neighbourhoods. +Castle Cary and Harptree were taken by Stephen, but he seems to have +regarded Dunster (defended by William of Mohun) as impregnable. + +In Tudor times Somerset witnessed the attempt made on the throne by +Perkin Warbeck in 1497, who was supported by Lord Audley of Nether +Stowey and other Somerset gentlemen. The pretender advanced from +Devonshire to seize Taunton; but when Henry VII. entered Somerset, +passing in his progress through Bath, Wells (where he stayed with the +Dean), and Glastonbury, to Taunton, Warbeck lost heart and fled. When +captured and brought into Henry's presence he was spared; but the +king's clemency did not extend to his supporter Lord Audley, who was +executed on Tower Hill. + +During the Great Rebellion in the 17th cent. Somerset was the field of +many important operations. At the outbreak of war in August 1642, the +royal cause was maintained by the Marquis of Hertford, who was +supported by Lord Powlett, Sir Ralph Hopton, Sir John Stawell, and +other leading gentlemen of the county. But the sympathies of the yeomen +and manufacturers were with the Parliament, and Hertford had to +withdraw from Wells, where he had taken up his position, to Sherborne. +In 1643, however, the king's Cornish army entered Somerset, and was +joined by the Marquis and Prince Maurice at Chard; and the Royalists +then rapidly became masters of Taunton, Bridgwater, and Dunster. To +oppose them, Sir William Waller was despatched to the West, and a +cavalry skirmish between the two forces took place on the Mendips near +Chewton. Waller's main army was posted at Bath; and the Royalists, +advancing by way of Wells and Frome, had another skirmish near +Claverton. They kept E. of Bath and reached Marshfield in +Gloucestershire, 5 m. N. of the city. Then on July 5 Waller gave battle +on Lansdowne Hill, and was forced to retire back to Bath, abandoning a +quantity of arms and stores; but the triumph of the victors was clouded +by the loss of Sir Bevil Grenville, who was killed in the fight. (The +monument to him on the site of the encounter was erected in 1720.) The +next year the king's cause in Somerset was less prosperous, for Taunton +was lost, and repelled all the efforts of Colonel Wyndham, Governor of +Bridgwater, to recover it. In 1645 the siege of Taunton was undertaken +by Goring. The town was defended by Blake, who vowed (it is said) that +he would eat his boots before he would surrender it, but he was saved +from that extremity by Fairfax. On the approach of the latter Goring +drew off from Taunton, and fixed his quarters at Langport, where he was +attacked and defeated. This success on the part of Fairfax not only +saved Taunton, but enabled him to besiege Bridgwater, which was +defended by Wyndham with little resolution, and fell on July 23, within +a fortnight of Goring's defeat at Langport. Fairfax also took Nunney +Castle; and as in 1646 Dunster, the last place in Somerset supporting +the king, also submitted, the entire county passed into the hands of +the Parliament. Dunster was defended by another Wyndham, but he offered +a much more prolonged resistance than his brother at Bridgwater, and +withstood the besiegers for 160 days. After the execution of the king +the small rising in favour of Charles II., under Colonel Penruddock and +Sir Joseph Wagstaff, was crushed near Chard in 1655. + +In the reign of James II. Somerset was the soil upon which was fought +the last battle that has taken place in England. In 1680, the Duke of +Monmouth, in the course of a tour through the county, greatly +ingratiated himself with its people; and at Whitelackington held a +great reception under a gigantic chestnut tree, which was standing as +recently as 1897, when it was unfortunately blown down. When in 1685 +Charles II. died, and Monmouth made his attempt to disturb the +succession of James, it was to Somerset that he looked for support. +After landing at Lyme, he entered the county at Chard, and passing +through Ilminster, was proclaimed king at Taunton and Bridgwater. From +the latter town (where he had stayed at the castle), he started on his +luckless campaign, which was wholly confined within the borders of +Somerset. He proceeded through Glastonbury (where some of his troops +bivouacked in the Abbey), Wells, and Shepton Mallet, intending to +attack Bristol, but at Keynsham he turned aside on finding the city +defended by the Duke of Beaufort. He threatened Bath, but it refused to +surrender; and he thereupon retired to Norton St Philip, intending to +enter Wilts. There he had a skirmish with the advanced guard of the +royal forces which had marched from London to meet him; and shirking a +more general engagement, he withdrew to Frome. The townspeople of +Frome, like those of Taunton and Bridgwater, gave him their sympathy, +but nothing else; and disappointed at the lack of support, and wearied +with his march along miry roads in drenching rain, he abandoned the +advance into Wiltshire. A report that a rising in his favour had taken +place at Axbridge decided him to return to Bridgwater. On the way he +again passed through Wells, where some of his men tore the lead from +the Cathedral roof to make bullets, and inflicted other damage on the +building. Soon after his arrival at Bridgwater, the royalist general, +Feversham, with about 4000 troops, reached Weston Zoyland from +Somerton, disposing some of his forces at the neighbouring villages of +Middlezoy and Chedzoy. As the royal troops were said to be in a state +of disorder, Monmouth, who had about 6000 men, very badly armed, +determined to attack him by night; and late on Sunday, July 5, he +started from Bridgwater under cover of darkness. But in the passage of +some of the "rhines" which cut up the Sedgemoor plain a mismanaged +pistol gave the alarm; and in the engagement that followed his +ill-equipped followers, though they fought bravely, had little chance +against the regulars, and more than 1000 of them fell on the field. The +battle had a sad sequel for Somerset. James knew no clemency; and +Jeffreys' bloody assize left a crimson trail across the country, which +even time found some difficulty in obliterating. Macaulay estimates +that the number of the rebels hanged by Jeffreys was 320, and though +the assize extended into Hampshire, Dorset, and Devon, most of its +victims were Somerset folk. A certain poetic justice may perhaps be +discerned in the fact that when, in 1688, the Prince of Orange drove +James from his throne, his march took him through Somerset, and he had +a skirmish with the royal troops at Wincanton. In connection with +Somerset's share in the events of James's reign, it deserves to be +mentioned that Bishop Ken, of Bath and Wells, was among the seven +prelates who presented the famous petition against the king's +Declaration of Indulgence. + +The ecclesiastical history of Somerset may be briefly related. When +Cenwealh of Wessex (who had been converted to Christianity by the King +of East Anglia) established the bishopric of Winchester, such parts of +Somerset as belonged to the West-Saxon kingdom were included in that +see. Ina divided his augmented territories between two bishoprics, +Winchester and Sherborne, the latter including Somerset, with Wilts, +Berks, and Dorset. The first Bishop of Sherborne was Aldhelm (705), who +only filled the see for four years, dying at Doulting in 709. Ina also +founded Wells, but as a collegiate church of secular canons, not as the +cathedral of a diocese. It was not until 909 that Somerset had a bishop +all to itself, who was styled the Bishop of the Somersaetas, with his +seat at Wells (the first appointed being Aethelm.) In 1088, in +accordance with the policy of removing bishoprics from localities of +little importance, the see was transferred from Wells to Bath, the +bishop (John de Villula) at the same time becoming the abbot of the +monastery. In 1192 Bishop Savaric procured for the see the rich abbey +of Glastonbury, and became its abbot; and he and his immediate +successor, Joceline, the builder of the W. front of Wells, were styled +Bishops of Bath and Glastonbury. In 1224, however, another change was +made, and the bishop took his title from Bath and Wells, as he has done +ever since. Up to the Reformation the title was justified, both the +monks of Bath and the canons of Wells taking part in episcopal +elections; but, with the suppression of its monastery, Bath naturally +lost this distinction. + +Of religious houses Somerset possessed a fair proportion. The chief +were Glastonbury, Bath, Bruton, Dunster, Muchelney, Stogursey (which +were Benedictine), Cleeve, Barlynch (Cistercian), Hinton, Witham +(Carthusian), Taunton, Woodspring, Stavordale (Augustinian), Montacute +(Cluniac). The Templars had a preceptory at Templecombe, and the +Knights of St John had establishments at Bridgwater and Mynchin +Buckland (near Durston). + + + [3] Thorpe's translation. + + [4] See a paper on "Ethandune" by the Rev. C.W. Whistler (reprinted + from "The Saga-book"--"Proceedings of the Viking Club," 1898), who + thinks that the Danish fortress may have been Bridgwater. + + + + +VII. ANTIQUITIES + + +The principal antiquities of Somerset may be classified as (1) earthworks +and other survivals of a primitive time; (2) the Roman remains at Bath +and elsewhere; (3) the ecclesiastical and other buildings of the Middle + Ages. + +1. The British _camps_ are numerous. They are probably not the sites of +permanent settlements, but were used for defensive purposes in times of +war. The most notable are Worlebury (near Weston), Combe Down and +Solsbury (near Bath), Hamdon, Brent Knoll, Masbury, Dolbury, +Stantonbury, and the three Cadburys (near Sparkford, Tickenham, and +Yatton respectively). Worlebury is remarkable for having a large number +of pits sunk into the ground within its rampart. (Castle Neroche and +Castle Orchard, which have usually been regarded as of British origin, +are now thought to owe their fortifications to the Normans.) + +The remains of _megalithic circles_ occur at Stanton Drew. There are +_barrows_ at Stoney Littleton, Dundry, and Priddy. There is a +lake-village of the _crannog_ type at Godney. Other antiquities of +British origin that deserve notice are the Wansdyke and Pen Pits (the +latter near Penselwood). + +2. The most interesting Roman remains are at Bath, where a splendid +system of _baths_ has been brought to light. _Villas_ and other +buildings of Roman origin have been discovered at Whitestaunton and +Wadeford (near Chard), Whatley (near Frome), Wellow, Newton St Loe, +Bratton Seymour, Pitney, Camerton, etc. Traces of Roman _mines_ (such +as tools and pigs of lead) have been found at Priddy and Blagdon, and +an amphitheatre at Charterhouse-on-Mendip. Many of the British camps +enumerated above have at different times been occupied by the Roman +legions. + +3. The ancient ecclesiastical buildings of Somerset are very +interesting. Some of them, chiefly monastic foundations, are more or +less in ruins--Glastonbury, Cleeve, Woodspring, Muchelney, Stavordale, +Hinton Charterhouse. Of those that are still used for religious +purposes, the most conspicuous are Wells Cathedral and Bath Abbey. But +the parish churches, in their way, are almost as remarkable. Their +excellence is largely due to the splendid building-stone which abounds +in different parts of the county, especially near Bath, Dundry, +Doulting, and Ham Hill. Of Saxon architecture Somerset has no example +such as Wilts possesses in Bradford, though some of the ancient _fonts_ +may possibly be of pre-Norman origin. The majority of early fonts, +however, are _Norman_, and the number of them shows how thickly Norman +churches once covered the country. But surviving instances of churches +wholly or mainly Norman are rare: the best examples are Compton Martin, +Christon, and Stoke-sub-Hamdon. There is herring-bone work at Elm and +Marston Magna. Of Norman chancel arches and doorways retained when the +body of the church has been re-constructed the examples are numerous; +noteworthy are those at Glastonbury, Milborne Port, Stoke-Courcy, +Lullington, Huish Episcopi, Portbury, St Catherine, South Stoke, Flax +Bourton, Langridge, Clevedon, Chewton Mendip, Englishcombe. Wells +Cathedral contains some splendid _Transitional_ work, of which there +are also specimens at Clutton. Complete churches of the _Early English_ +and _Decorated_ periods are few, but many buildings preserve specimens +of these styles in combination with work of a later date. The W. front +of Wells is a beautiful example of E.E., and windows of this period +occur at E. Stoke, Bathampton, Chedzoy, Martock, Keynsham, Somerton. +There are E.E. arcades at St Cuthbert's, Wells, and further +illustrations of E.E. work are furnished by Compton Bishop, Creech St +Michael, Stoke St Gregory, etc. Decorated windows are found at +Ditcheat, Compton Dundon, Huish Champflower, Shipton Beauchamp, +Barrington, Montacute, Brympton, and very fine ones in the choir and +lady chapel at Wells. In many parish churches the chancels have been +retained when the rest of the building was reconstructed, with the +result that, whilst they often preserve early work, and are accordingly +of the greatest interest, they appear relatively to their surroundings +insignificant and mean. + +But it is in _Perpendicular_ churches that Somerset is richest; and +examples of this style are too abundant to require to be cited. It is, +indeed, a source of wonder that funds and skilled workmen were +forthcoming in sufficient quantity to erect or rebuild so many churches +within a comparatively short period. It was upon the _Towers_ that the +greatest skill of the Perp. builders was lavished. They are generally +lofty, are often beautifully crowned with pinnacles and embattled or +pierced parapets, and not unfrequently abound with niches and statuary. +The quality of the tracery, however, varies with the stone employed; +and the towers W. of the Quantocks are, as a rule, inferior to those of +the centre and east of the county. Most have large external +stair-turrets (commonly at the N.E. or S.E. angle), which, when carried +above the parapet and surmounted by spirelets, add dignity to the +plainer structures, but which are less appropriate where the pinnacles +are sufficiently prominent and graceful to give of themselves an +adequate finish. In the case of some of the finest towers the staircase +is wisely suppressed before reaching the summit. In most instances the +tower is at the W. end, and is square; but a few churches have +octagonal towers, which are usually central (S. Petherton, Stoke St +Gregory, Doulting, N. Curry, Barrington). _Spires_ are comparatively +rare, but they occur at E. Brent, Congresbury, Bridgwater, Croscombe, +Yatton, Pitminster, Castle Cary, Frome, Worle, Whatley, Porlock. + +The classification of Somerset Perp. towers has often been attempted, +perhaps most successfully by Dr F.J. Allen, with whom the late R.P. +Brereton was in general agreement. By these careful observers they are +grouped according to the number and character of the windows inserted +in each stage. Adopting their principle of classification, though +arranging the order of the classes rather differently, we should +separate the best towers (viz. those that have _two_ or more windows +_side by side_ on the W. front) into two main divisions, according as +(I.) perpendicular, (II.) horizontal lines predominate. The first +division (I.) has the windows of the belfry stage (_three_ or _two_ in +number) prolonged as panels into the stage below. The group is a small +one, but includes, perhaps, the finest towers in the county (Batcombe, +Evercreech, Wrington, St Cuthbert's, Wells). The second division (II.) +has the stages clearly marked off by string-courses or horizontal +tracery, and may be subdivided into subordinate classes according as +there are (i.) _three_ windows in _two_ tiers, the belfry and the stage +below (Mells, Leigh-on-Mendip, Ilminster); (ii.) _three_ windows in +_one_ tier (belfry) only (Bruton, Shepton, Cranmore, Winscombe, +Banwell, Weston Zoyland, etc.); (iii.) _two_ windows in _three_ tiers, +the belfry and two stages below (St Mary's, Taunton); (iv.) _two_ in +_two_ tiers, the belfry and one stage below (Chewton Mendip, St John's, +Glastonbury); (v.) _two_ in _one_ tier (belfry) only (St James', +Taunton, Bishop's Lydeard, N. Petherton, Staple Fitzpaine, Huish +Episcopi, Kingsbury Episcopi, Ile Abbots, etc.). A few towers have only +one window in the belfry stage, but two in the stage below (Hemington, +Buckland Denham). Among the towers with a single window in the belfry +should also be noticed a few where the window is long enough, or placed +low enough, to break the string-course that divides the topmost stage +from the one beneath (Hinton St George, Norton-sub-Hamdon, Shepton +Beauchamp, Curry Rivel). + +Many Somerset churches are remarkable for their carved pulpits and +churchyard crosses, or for their woodwork. Fine _stone pulpits_ are +found at Kewstoke, Hutton, Wick St Lawrence, Worle, Locking, Loxton, +Shepton, Cheddar, St Catherine. _Crosses_ with carved heads or shafts +survive at Bishop's Lydeard, Crowcombe, Spaxton, Doulting, Broadway, +Barton St David, Chewton Mendip, Stringston, Horsingtoo, Wedmore. Fine +_screens_ are to be found at Dunster, Norton Fitzwarren, Long Ashton, +Bishop's Lydeard, Long Sutton, Halse, Minehead, Banwell, Croscombe, +Kingsbury. There are carved _oak pulpits_ at Trull and Thurloxton; +remarkable Jacobean pulpits at Croscombe and Long Sutton, and quaint +_bench ends_ at many places, especially at Bishop's Lydeard, S. Brent, +Trull, Crowcombe, Spaxton, Milverton, Bishop's Hull, Stogumber, +Broomfield. The finest _wood roof_ is at Shepton Mallet; there are +others of great merit also at Somerton, Long Sutton, Martock, St +Mary's, Taunton, Evercreech. + +Good examples of _ancient glass_ occur at Trull, Nettlecombe, Curry +Rivel, Winscombe, Broomfield, E. Brent. Interesting _brasses_ are +preserved at Banwell, Hutton, Middlezoy, Tintinhull, Yeovil, +Dowlishwake, St Decuman's, Beckington, Bishop's Lydeard. + +Besides its stately churches, Somerset possesses some interesting +specimens of mediaeval and Tudor _domestic architecture_. Amongst the +best are Lytescary, Meare (fish house), Martock, Clevedon Court, S. +Petherton, Barrington, Brympton, Dodington, etc. Ancient _hostelries_ +survive at Norton St Philip, Glastonbury, and Dunster. _Castles_ are +infrequent in the county, the chief remains being at Taunton, Dunster, +and Nunney, and a few fragments at Stoke-Courcey, Harptree, Farleigh +Hungerford, and Nether Stowey. + + + + +VIII. INDUSTRIES + + +Somerset is _par excellence_ an agricultural county. With the exception +of its share in Bristol, it has no large manufacturing centre. Its +commercial insignificance, however, is quite a modern characteristic. +It once took a leading place in the manufacture of cloth, and its +productions were held in high esteem. Dunster, Watchet, and Shepton +were especially noted for their fabrics. Many quaint country villages +were once thriving little towns, and almost every stream had its string +of cloth mills. The introduction of steam, and the more enterprising +spirit of the North, stole the trade, and this former era of prosperity +is now hardly remembered. Cloth mills, however, still survive at Frome, +Tiverton, and Wellington. Collars are made at Taunton; gloves are +stitched at Yeovil and Martock. There are shoe factories at Street and +Paul ton. Crewkerne manufactures sailcloth. Chard has a lace factory. +Frome possesses a large printing establishment and art metal-works. +Bridgwater, besides abounding in brick-fields, is the only seat in the +country of the bath-brick, industry. Coal is extensively mined in the +Radstock district, and iron used to be obtained from the Brendons, +though operations now seem to have ceased, and the mineral railway +which brought the ore to Watchet for shipment is now disused. Quarries +are numerous. The Mendips in the N., Street in the centre, and Ham Hill +in the S., all afford plenty of material for the stone mason. There are +large breweries at Shepton, Oakhill, Frome, and Wiveliscombe. Paper is +made at Wookey, furniture is manufactured at Yatton, and there is a +large bacon factory at Highbridge. Extensive orchards in the +neighbourhood of Glastonbury and Taunton feed a large number of cider +presses. In the agricultural world Somerset is chiefly known as a +grazing ground. It is especially renowned for its cheese. Cheddar +cheese is held universally in high repute, and the "pitch" of cheese at +the Frome annual fair is said to be the heaviest in the kingdom. + +In spite of its extent of seaboard Somerset has few ports. Apart from +the share it may claim to have in Bristol, it possesses only three, +Portishead, Bridgwater, and Watchet. Portishead, like Avonmouth on the +other side of the Avon, is subsidiary to Bristol. Bridgwater lies 12 m. +up the Parrett, though only half that distance from the sea in a direct +line. Watchet serves the district, between the Quantocks and Brendons. +Minehead has a little harbour, but is of no mercantile importance. + + + + +IX. CELEBRITIES + + +The roll of Somerset worthies, either natives of or residents in the +county, is long and illustrious. The Church, law, literature, +philosophy, arms, science, politics, and adventure are all +represented. The following alphabetic list contains the most +important names, with dates and brief particulars.[5] + +_Natives_ + +_Alphege_ or _Aelfeah_, b. 954, at Weston near Bath; successively +Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury; killed by the +Danes, 1011; canonised. + +_Bacon, Roger_, b. about 1214, at or near Ilchester; became a friar +of the Franciscan Order; studied natural philosophy and wrote, +besides other works, the "Opus Majus" (described as "at once the +'Encyclopaedia' and the 'Organon' of the 13th century"); d. 1294. + +_Bagehot, Walter_, b. 1826, at Langport; economist and author of "The +English Constitution"; d. 1877. + +_Beckington, Thomas_, b. about 1390, at Beckington; successively +Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Bath and Wells; d. 1465. + +_Blake, Robert_, b. 1599, at Bridgwater; took part in the Great Civil +War on the Parliamentary side, and defended Lyme and Taunton; made +admiral of the fleet, and fought against Holland and Spain; d. 1657. + +_Coleridge, Hartley_, b. 1796, at Clevedon; poet and biographical +writer; d. 1849. + +_Coryate, Thomas_, b. 1577, at Odcombe; travelled, first on the +Continent (his journal, entitled "Coryat's Crudities," was long the +only handbook for Continental travel), and subsequently in the East; +d. at Surat, 1617. + +_Cudivorth, Ralph_, b. 1617, at Aller; Professor of Hebrew and Master +of Christ's College, Cambridge; author of "The True Intellectual +System of the Universe"; one of the "Cambridge Platonists"; d. 1688. + +_Dampier, William_, b. 1652, at East Coker; explorer and scientific +observer; author of "A Discourse on the Winds" (said to have value +even now as a text-book); d. 1715. + +_Daniell, Samuel_, b. 1562, probably near Taunton; poet and prose +writer (there appears to be no authority for the belief that he +succeeded Spenser as poet-laureate); d. 1619. + +_Dunstan_, b. 924, at Glastonbury; successively Abbot of Glastonbury, +Bishop of Worcester and London, and Archbishop of Canterbury; d. 988; +canonised. + +_Fielding, Henry_, b. 1707, at Sharpham, near Glastonbury; novelist +(best known work, "Tom Jones"); d. 1754 at Lisbon. + +_Hood, Samuel_, b. 1724, at Butleigh; admiral (Nelson wrote of him as +"the best officer, take him altogether, that England has to boast +of"); made a viscount; d. 1816. + +_Hooper, John_, b. 1495 (place unknown); Bishop of Gloucester and +Worcester; burnt at the stake, 1555. + +_Irving, Henry_ (real name John Henry Brodribb); b. 1838, at +Keinton-Mandeville; actor; knighted; d. 1905. + +_Kinglake, Alexander William_, b. 1809, at Taunton; wrote "Eothen" +and "Invasion of the Crimea"; d. 1891. + +_Locke, John_, b. 1632, at Wrington; philosopher; author of "Essay on +the Human Understanding," and works on education and the currency; d. +1704. + +_Norris, Edwin_, b. 1795, at Taunton; Oriental scholar; d. 1872. + +_Parry, William Edward_, b. 1790, at Bath; Arctic explorer; knighted; +d. 1855. + +_Prynne, William_, b. 1600, at Swainswick; Presbyterian pamphleteer; +wrote "Histriomastix" (directed against stage-plays); several times +pilloried; d. 1669. + +_Pym, John_, b. 1584, at Brymore, near Cannington; politician; one of +the five members of the Commons whom Charles I. sought to arrest; d. +1643. + +_Quekett, John Thomas_, b. 1815, at Langport; microscopist and +histologist; conservator of the Hunterian Museum; d. 1861. + +_Speke, John Hanning_, b. 1827, at Ashill; African explorer; +discovered Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza; accidentally shot, +1864. + +_Young, Thomas_, b. 1773, at Milverton; scientist, and Egyptologist; +described as the founder of physiological optics, and one of the +first to interpret the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone; d. 1829. + + +_Residents_ + +_Church, Richard William_, Rector of Whatley from 1852 to 1871. + +_Coleridge, Samuel Taylor_, resided at Clevedon (1795) and Nether +Stowey (1796-98). + +_Ken, Thomas_, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1684 to 1691; wrote the +morning and evening hymns, "Awake, my soul, and with the sun," and +"Glory to Thee, my God, this night." + +_More, Hannah_, resided for many years between 1786 and 1833 at +Barley Wood, near Wrington, and did much to spread education and +religion among the Mendip miners. + +_Smith, Sydney_, the humorous Canon of St Paul's, and one of the +founders of the _Edinburgh Review_, held from 1829 till his death in +1845 the living of Combe Florey. + +_Wolsey, Thomas_, the famous cardinal, held for a time the living of +Limington. Whilst here he is said to have been put in the stocks by +Sir Amyas Poulett of Hinton St George for drinking too much cider. +When he became Chancellor of England he revenged himself on the +knight, who was Treasurer of the Middle Temple, by forbidding him to +quit London without his leave. + +_Wordsworth, William_, resided in 1797 at Alfoxden, a house near +Holford. + +For distinguished persons who have resided at Bath, see p. 46. + + + [5] Chiefly derived from the "Dictionary of National Biography." + + + + +DESCRIPTION OF PLACES IN SOMERSET ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY + + +_N.B._--The following abbreviations are adopted:-- + + Norm. = Norman (1066-1190). + Trans. = Transitional (1145-1190). + E.E. = Early English (1190-1280). + Dec. = Decorated (1280-1377). + Perp. = Perpendicular (1377-1547). + +[Proofreader's Note: Additional abbreviations found in the text are: + G.W.R. = Great Western Railway + S.& D. = Somerset and Dorset Railway.] + +_Abbot's Leigh_, a village 4 m. W. from Bristol. The church, which +stands at the bottom of a long lane, is, with the exception of the +tower, entirely modern, the original fabric having been destroyed by +fire in 1848. Near the S. porch is the base of an old cross. The +churchyard commands a good view of the mouth of the Avon. _Leigh Court_ +is a modern residence. A former mansion was one of the many +hiding-places of Charles II. when a fugitive. + +_Aisholt_ (or _Asholt_), 8 m. W. of Bridgwater, is a little village on +the E. slope of the Quantocks. The church is hidden away in a small +combe, and its tower looks most picturesque against the green +background of Asholt Wood, but it is not in itself interesting. Note, +however, (1) little plain stoup and niche in the S. porch, (2) large +squint (now blocked) in the S. aisle, (3) old font. S. of Aisholt is +_Holwell Cavern_, a cave of considerable extent, and containing +stalagmites and stalagtites, but rather inconvenient of access. + +_Alford_, a small village on the river Brue, 1-1/2 m. S.W. from Castle +Cary. In the fields on the S. side of the road is a mineral spring, +which once enjoyed a short-lived local popularity. The church stands in +the grounds of Alford House. It is a 15th cent. Perp. building, and +contains (1) some ancient benches, (2) old glass in one of the N. +windows, (3) a slender Perp. screen, (4) a pulpit dated 1625, (5) +piscina. Note massive corbels in chancel. The shaft of a cross with a +modern head stands in the churchyard. + +_Aller_, a village 2-1/2 m. N.W. from Langport, lying at the base of +High Ham Hill. Aller witnessed the sequel to two stirring events. Here +Guthrum was baptised at Alfred's insistence after his defeat at +Ethandune (879), and here the Royalists made their last but ineffectual +rally after their rout at Langport in 1645. The church stands apart +from the village on a knoll rising from the marshes. It contains (1) an +ancient font, (2) an effigy of Sir W. Botreaux (1420) on the N. side of +choir. The internal arrangements of the tower are peculiar. It has +three arches, those on the N. and S. being apparently purposeless. + +_Angersleigh_, a small parish 5 m. S. of Taunton (follow the Honiton +road to the fourth milestone, then turn to the right). It has a very +small church, perhaps originally Dec., but altered into Perp. It +contains a good carved oak reading-desk and lectern. + +_Ansford_, or _Almsford_, a village 1/2 m. N. from Castle Cary. +Restoration has robbed the church of most of its interest; its tower +has some good gargoyles. A memorial-stone on the roadside near the +church marks the scene of a sudden death. + +_Ash_, a parish including several small hamlets, 1 m. N.E. from +Martock. The church is modern. + +_Ash Priors_, a small village 1 m. N.W. of Bishop's Lydeard Stat., owes +its name to the fact that it once belonged to the Priory of Taunton. +The church contains nothing of interest, though the N. pier of the +chancel arch preserves its squint. + +_Ashbrittle_, 7 m. W. of Wellington (nearest stat. Venn Cross, 3 m.), a +parish standing on very high ground. The second element in the name is +a personal description, derived from the Norman Brittel de St Clare. +The parish church has been completely restored, and is devoid of +interest. + +_Ashcott_, a parish on the Poldens, 3 m. S.W. of Glastonbury, with a +station (S. & D.J.R.) two miles away. The church has a W. embattled +tower with a carving on the W. face representing the sacred monogram, a +mitre, and a pastoral staff. There is a stoup in S. porch, but no other +feature of interest. + +_Ashill_, a parish 3-3/4 m. N.W. of Ilminster, situated on rising +ground on the Taunton and Ilminster road. The church is interesting by +reason of the Norman work that it contains, including N. and S. doors +and triple chancel arch (restored). There are two effigies in recesses +in the nave wall, one representing a woman and her six children. At +Capland, 1-1/2 m. off, there is a chalybeate spring. + +_Ashington_, 3 m. E.S.E. of Ilchester, has a small church dedicated to +St Vincent. It is remarkable for the large square bell-cot over the W. +gable (cp. Brympton and Chilthorne Domer) which is supported by a +massive buttress in the middle of the W. front. Within the building +note (1) the three lancets at the E. end; (2) the foliated interior +arches of the chancel windows (two of which are very small lancets); +(3) the pulpit, dated 1637. The glass in some of the windows is good. + +_Ashton, Long_, is a straggling village, noteworthy for its court +and church. _Ashton Court_, the seat of Sir J.H. Greville Smyth, +was erected by Inigo Jones in 1634, and is surrounded by a +beautifully-wooded park. Long Ashton church contains a fine screen, +gilded and painted (the old colours being reproduced), and a 15th cent. +tomb (in the N. chapel) with two effigies, belonging to Sir Richard +Choke and his wife. There are also two mutilated effigies, preserved in +the N. porch, which are supposed to belong to the de Lyons family, who +once owned the park. + +_Ashwick_, 2 m. S.E. of Binegar. There is no village, but merely a +group of houses. The church has a graceful late Perp. tower, with +spirelet: this is the only original part of the fabric, the rest having +been rebuilt in 1825. _Ashwick Grove_ is a prettily-situated mansion, +said to contain a good collection of pictures. + +_Athelney_, included within the parish of Lyng (with a stat.), is the +spot historically famous for having harboured Alfred in 878 when he had +to escape before a sudden inroad of the Danes (see p. 12). It was once +an island (the name means "isle of the nobles"), and in wet weather +must even now almost resume that condition. Alfred, after having +defeated the Danes at Ethandune, founded a monastery here, of which all +traces have unhappily disappeared. A small monument (best approached +from the main road between Lyng and Borough bridge) was erected in 1801 +by Mr John Slade, the owner of the estate, to commemorate the events +connected with the locality; but the inscription is misleading in +giving 879 (instead of 878) as the year when Alfred took refuge here, +and in stating that he lay concealed for a whole year (instead of a few +months). The neighbourhood abounds in osier and reed-beds, producing +materials for basket-work. + +AXBRIDGE, 10 m. N.W. of Wells, is an ancient town, which still +preserves an air of antiquity. It is situated in a neighbourhood +largely devoted to market gardens, in which quantities of strawberries +are grown. It was a borough as early as the reign of Edward the +Confessor, but its corporation was abolished in 1886. Its most notable +feature is the church of St John the Baptist. It is a large cruciform +structure with a central tower, having three windows in the belfry, and +rather shallow buttresses. The figure on the W. face of the tower is +supposed to be Henry VI. or Henry VII., that on the E. St John. Within +the church note (1) the roofs, that of the nave plaster with pendants +(1636), those of the aisles oak (15th cent.); (2) the carved capitals +of the S. arcade and squint in the S.E. tower pier; (3) the mural +monument to William Prowse in the N. aisle; (4) the altar before the +tomb of Anne Prowse (in S. aisle), covered with a cloth worked by her +own hands (1720); (5) brass in N. aisle to Roger Harper (1493); (6) in +S. wall of sanctuary piscina and sedilia. In the N. wall is a curious +hole, apparently connected with an external cell (where there are the +remains of a broken piscina). The purpose of this cell is a great +puzzle. The church seems to have possessed two rood-lofts (cp. +Crewkerne); and has a two-storied building on the S. of the W. door, +which is thought by some to be a treasury. + +In the town there are some old houses with projecting upper storeys. +One of them, called _The Old Manor House_, deserves a visit for the +sake of a fine ceiling in one of its rooms. In the Town Hall are +preserved the old stocks, the apparatus used in bull-baiting, and a +money-changer's table, dated 1627. + +_Babcary_ is a village a short distance E. of the Fosseway, 6 m. N.N.E. +of Ilchester (nearest stat., Sparkford). The first syllable of the name +is a personal appellation which doubtless appears in Babbicombe; the +second is derived from the neighbouring stream. There is a church of +ancient origin, but since its restoration it exhibits little of +interest except a piscina (with credence shelf) and a good Caroline +pulpit (1632). + +_Babington_, 1 m. S. of Mells Road station. There is no village. The +church dates from the reign of George II. _Babington House_ is a +mansion of some age but little beauty. + +_Backwell_, 1-1/2 m. S.E. of Nailsea station, a parish which perhaps +owes its name to the _back_ or ridge on which it stands. It has a +spacious church, prettily situated. The Perp. tower has double belfry +windows, and elaborate pinnacles, but the summit seems to have been +injured and rebuilt, for the upper lights are enclosed within an ogee +moulding which breaks the line of the parapet; and one of the pinnacles +is of unusual character. At the S. door note stoup, and within the +church observe (1) the 15th cent. screen; (2) the squints, high up in +the chancel pillars; (3) the E.E. sedilia on the S.; and (4) the chapel +on the N. side of the sanctuary. In front of the chapel is a large tomb +with a full length effigy of a knight in armour (probably a Rodney); +whilst within there is a mural brass and other memorials. The chapel is +the resting-place of Elizabeth, successively wife of Sir Walter Rodney +and of Sir John Chaworth, who died 1536. + +_Badgworth_, 3 m. S.W. of Axbridge, lies a little way off the Bristol +and Bridgwater road. The church is dedicated to the saint that has +given his name to Congresbury, St Congar. It has a fair tower (with a +good open parapet), which contains two pre-Reformation bells, but the +interior contains little of note. The piscina looks like E.E. with a +restored drain. + +_Bagborough, West_, 3-1/2 m. N. of Bishop's Lydeard station, is a +parish pleasantly situated on the S.W. side of the Quantocks. The +church (St Pancras) adjoins Bagborough House, and preserves its former +stoup and piscina. There are a few carved bench ends. + +_Baltonsborough_, a village on the Brue, 4 m. S.W. of Glastonbury. It +possesses a 5th cent. church (St Dunstan's) containing a few features +of interest in the chancel, among them being the cornice, the piscina +and aumbry, and an old chair dated 1667. The screen is modern. The nave +retains a number of the old 15th cent. benches; to the end of one of +them is hinged a seat which, when raised, projects into the aisle, +perhaps to accommodate some youthful but unruly member of the +congregation. The old door and lock deserve a passing notice. + +_Banwell_, a large village 1-1/2 m. W. of Sandford and Banwell station, +was once the site of a Saxon monastery, bestowed by Alfred upon Asser, +and is now famous for its church and caves. The place gets its name +from its large pond, fed by a copious spring, though the meaning of the +first syllable is obscure (perhaps from _bane_, ill, implying that the +spring was thought to have remedial qualities). The church has a tower +with triple belfry windows, which is lofty and finished with pinnacles +and spirelet. It should be compared with Winscombe, both being spoilt +by the flatness of the buttresses. It is regarded as early Perp., and +assigned to about 1380. The figures on the W. front are the Virgin and +St Gabriel; note the lilies (there should be only one, as at +Winscombe). The nave is lofty, with clerestory and plaster roof +(coloured like oak); the effigy at the W. is St Andrew. There is a very +fine rood-loft (1521) with fan-tracery both in front and rear: the +present colours are believed to reproduce the original; curiously, the +choir seats are _outside_ the screen. Note (1) the font (Norman) with +unusual carving on the bowl; (2) Perp. stone pulpit, attached to one of +the pillars of the arcade; (3) the seat ends and oak benches (the +original width of the latter may be seen in the last pew on the S. +side); (4) the brasses, three on the floor before the chancel, and +another (of John Martok, succentor of Wells, and physician to Bishop +King) in the vestry. This vestry contains some old Flemish glass +(brought from Belgium in 1855), depicting the story of Tobit; and there +is more ancient glass belonging to the church in the E. windows of the +aisles. Originally there was only a N. aisle, and the tower buttresses +can still be seen within the S. aisle. + +_Banwell Court_, near the church, contains some remains of a manor +house, built by Bishop Beckington. In a shed near the fire brigade +station are (1) two old thatch-hooks (1610), used to drag burning +thatch from the roofs of houses; and (2) an old fire-engine of the same +date. + +On the hill which rises above the church (in a field entered near the +junction of the roads) a large cross is traced on the surface of the +ground, and raised in relief to the height of 2 ft., the limbs being +between 50 and 70 ft. long. It is surrounded by a low stone or earth +fence, and its purpose is problematical. On the hill there is also a +camp, where flints of Neolithic date have been found; and near it is an +ancient track-way known as the _Roman Road_. + +The _caves_ (two in number) are in private grounds belonging to Mrs +Law. They have probably been created by the action of water, and when +discovered were filled with the bones of wild animals (many of them now +extinct) embedded in silt, which had been washed into them. In one of +them there is now stacked a quantity of these bones, whilst a selection +of them is deposited in Taunton Museum. The caves are shown by some of +the outdoor servants of the house. Unlike the caves at Cheddar and +Burrington, they open upon the summit of the hill instead of into a +ravine. + +_Barrington_, a village 4 m. N.E. of Ilminster, is worth visiting for +the sake of its church and its interesting Elizabethan house called +_Barrington Court_. The church is cruciform, with an octagonal central +tower. The tower arches are E.E., with plain chamfered piers; but there +is a good deal of Dec. work in the transepts (note windows and the fine +canopy over one of the piscinas). The E. window is Perp.: observe the +piscina and niches in the chancel, and the large squints. The N. porch +has an ogee moulding, and contains a niche with figures of the Virgin +and Child. + +_Barrington Court_ (now a farm) is a magnificent E-shaped building, +with numerous twisted chimneys, turrets, and finials. It was built by +Henry Daubeny, the first Earl of Bridgwater, (d. 1548); and passed +successively into the possession of the Phelipses (afterwards of +Montacute) and the Strodes. It was here that William Strode in 1680 +entertained the Duke of Monmouth. Recently an effort has been made to +purchase it for the nation. + +_Barrow Gurney_ is a small village, prettily situated (1 m. from Flax +Bourton stat.), with a church about a mile away. Near the church there +once existed a Benedictine nunnery (said to have been founded before +1212); and what is now the S. aisle was formerly the nuns' chapel, and +it still retains an early doorway and a few other vestiges of +antiquity. At the W. end of the aisle is an enclosure with a number of +tiles, supposed to be the burial-place of one of the sisters. With the +exception of this S. aisle, the church has been entirely rebuilt and +enlarged. Note the mural monument to Francis James (of Jacobean date), +and the old bell beneath the tower. The churchyard contains a restored +cross. Adjoining the church is _Barrow Court_ (H.M. Gibbs) a fine +Elizabethan building. In the village is a house of the date 1687. Some +reservoirs of the Bristol waterworks are close by. + +_Barrow, North_, a small village 2-1/2 m. N. from Sparkford Station +(G.W.R.). The church, rebuilt 1860, is without interest, except for a +very curious font of uncertain date, standing on a modern pedestal. + +_Barrow, South_, is a village 1 m. N. from Sparkford. The church, a +small aisleless building, contains (1) ancient bench ends; (2) piscina +and aumbry in sanctuary; (3) brass to R. Morris on floor of nave. A +fragment of Norman work will be noticed over the N. door. The font, +dated 1584, has a curious E.E. look. + +_Barton St David_, 5 m. S.S.E. of Glastonbury, 4 m. N.E. of Somerton, +gets its name from its church, dedicated to the Welsh bishop (who was +buried at Glastonbury hard by). The plan of the church is cruciform, +the tower (which is octagonal) being placed in the angle formed by the +N. transept and the chancel. The N. doorway is Norman, the arches of +chancel and transepts E.E. The chancel windows are lancets with +foliated heads and interior foliations. Note (1) the squint; (2) the +piscina. In the churchyard there is a headless cross, with the figure +of a bishop in his mitre on the shaft (perhaps St David). + +_Barwick_, a small village 1 m. S. from Yeovil. The church--a rather +large building for so small a place--has the tower oddly placed at the +E. end of N. aisle (cp. E. Coker). The N. aisle is richer and evidently +later than the S. aisle. Observe the panelling of the arches of the +arcade and the external battlements. The character of the arcade on +both N. and S. is peculiar (cp. Shepton Mallet). The chancel has been +rebuilt, but it retains the original piscina. The church has some fine +bench ends (1533). The initials _W.H._ on the door of the reading-desk +are said to be those of William Hope, the patron of the living early in +the 16th cent. Note (1) position of Dec. piscina in S. aisle and dwarf +doorway, showing raising of floor; (2) squint and rood-loft stairs on +N.; (3) square fluted font with cable moulding; (4) consecration +crosses on jamb of W. door, on chancel buttresses, and on wall of S. +aisle (cp. Nempnett); (5) arched doorway into tower from chancel, made +up of a sepulchral slab with incised foliated cross. + +_Batcombe_, a small village equidistant (3 m.) from Cranmore, +Evercreech, and Bruton stations, has an interesting church. The tower, +one of the finest in Somerset, is of marked individuality, combining +features belonging to two distinct types. It resembles Shepton in the +arrangement of its buttresses, and Evercreech and Wrington in the +character of its triple windows. The absence of pinnacles and of +superfluous ornamentation lends to it considerable dignity and +impressiveness. Note the figure of our Lord and censing angels on W. +front, as at Chewton. On exterior of church observe (1) debased S. +porch; (2) crucifix on E. gable of nave. The interior is disappointing. +The clerestory is spacious, and the roof fair, but a general sense of +bareness pervades the whole building. The shabbiness of the chancel in +particular is enhanced by a casement which does duty for an E. window. +Note (1) Dec. windows to aisle; (2) rood-loft stair; (3) curious +quatrefoil piscina in sanctuary; (4) some fragments of old glass in E. +window of S. aisle. At the W. end is a handsomely-carved font, and the +remains of another font from Spargrove Church (now destroyed) are under +the tower. An ugly monument to the Bisse family stands in one of the S. +window sills. The vestry is a nondescript chamber reached from the +chancel by a flight of stone steps. + +BATH. A city and parliamentary borough on the Avon, 107 m. W. from +London, with a population (in 1901) of 52,751. It has stations both on +the G.W. and the Midland lines. Few cities are more romantically +situated than Bath, but it is not its situation which has given to it +its celebrity. Its prosperity has from time immemorial depended upon +its possession of the remarkable mineral springs in which the +fashionable world has at different periods discerned so many healing +and social virtues. The popular story of their discovery by the +legendary King Bladud is too trite to need re-telling. The real history +of Bath begins as early as A.D. 44, when it is known to have been a +Roman station. Its Latin name was _Aquae Sulis_, Sul being a local +divinity, whose name appears on several inscriptions in the Museum, and +may have some connection with the neighbouring hill of Solsbury. A +temple to this goddess existed on the site of the present Pump Room, +and the extensive ruins of the contiguous bathing establishment bear +eloquent testimony to the use which the Romans made of the waters. +Here, too, converged three of their chief highways, the Fosseway, from +Lincoln to Axminster, the _Via Julia_, which connected it with S. +Wales, and Akeman Street, the main thoroughfare to London. The +after-history of Bath is chequered. In 676 King Osric founded here a +nunnery (eventually transformed into a monastery), and in 973 it was +the scene of Edgar's coronation. After the Conquest it was a bone of +contention in the Norman quarrels, and was burnt to the ground by +Geoffrey of Coutances. After being harried by the sword, Bath passed +under the hammer. Its ecclesiastical importance begins when John de +Villula purchased it of the king, and transferred hither his episcopal +stool from Wells (see further, p. 19). In mediaeval days Bath was a +walled city, and fragments of its fortifications, crowned by a modern +battlement, may still be seen in "Borough Walls"; and two round-headed +arches of the old E. gate are visible in a passage behind the Empire +Hotel, leading to the river. The battle of Lansdown gives Bath a place +in the annals of the Great Rebellion. But the fame of Bath is social +rather than historical. It was not until the 18th cent. that the city +reached the zenith of its importance. The creator of modern Bath was +the social adventurer Nash. By sheer force of native impudence Nash +pushed himself into the position of an uncrowned king, and exercised +his social sovereignty with a very high hand. His rule was certainly +conducive to the better government of the city. From a mere haunt of +bandits and beggars, Bath became at a bound the most fashionable city +in the kingdom, and a school for manners to half England. Nash, though +very much the beau, was very little of the gentleman. To a hump-backed +lady who declared that she had "come straight from London," Nash +replied, "Then you must have picked up a d--d crook by. the way." But +polite society was not squeamish, and took him at his own valuation. +His assemblies became the rage, his social despotism was eagerly +acquiesced in, and the improvements he demanded were ungrudgingly +supplied. The social labours of Nash were admirably seconded by the +work of two architects called Wood (father and son). Terraces, squares +and crescents sprang up in generous profusion to accommodate the crowds +of visitors who were drawn into the vortex of fashion. The prosperity +of Bath did not decline with the fading fortunes of its favourite, for +it was not until the peace of Amiens opened up the continental watering +places that the fashionable world forsook Bath and went elsewhere. But +though its proud pre-eminence has passed for ever, Bath still retains +something of its former splendour. It can boast of several natives of +note, and a roll of still more distinguished residents. The birds of +passage, whose stay shed a transient glory on the gay city, are legion. +Amongst those who claim Bath as their birthplace are William Edward +Parry, the Arctic explorer, John Palmer, the postal reformer, and +William Horn, the author of the _Every Day Book_. The list of famous +residents includes Quin, the actor, R.B. Sheridan, Beckford, Landor, +Sir T. Lawrence, Gainsborough, Bishop Butler (who died at 14 Kingsmead +Square), Gen. Wolfe and Archbp. Magee. Nelson and Chatham, Queen +Charlotte, Jane Austen, Dickens, Herschell and Thirlwall, are to be +numbered amongst the visitors. + +The general plan of Bath is easily grasped. The river throws itself +round the city like an elbow, and in the corner of land thus embraced +the streets are laid out something in the manner of an irregular chess +board. One main thoroughfare runs from the S. gate, and climbs by a +gradual ascent northwards; and as it goes, expands into the spacious +shopping quarters of Milsom Street. Another good string of streets runs +from the Abbey also northwards, and on its course extends a long arm +eastwards across the river to the suburb of Bathwick. + +The chief sights, the Abbey, Pump Room, Roman Baths and Guildhall, lie +grouped together in convenient proximity. The imposing terraces, +squares and crescents of the once fashionable residential quarters are +to be found chiefly on the N. and W. sides of the city. A pretty view +of Pulteney Bridge with its singular parapet of shops may be obtained +from the terrace at the back of the Municipal Buildings. + +The chief public buildings are the Pump Room, rebuilt in 1796, and +considerably extended in recent times; the Guildhall, built in 1768-75, +containing some good portraits; the Upper Assembly Rooms (1771); the +Royal Institution (1824), on the site of the old Assembly Rooms, the +scene of Nash's triumphs; the Mineral Water Hospital (1737); and the +Holbourne Art Museum (containing a large number of pictures, many of +which are unfortunately not the "old masters" they profess to be, some +good porcelain, and a fine collection of "Apostle" spoons). Hetling +House in Hetling Court was once a mansion of the Hungerfords. The +public grounds are the Victoria Park, Sydney Gardens, Henrietta Park, +and the Institute Gardens (subscribers only). + +[Illustration: ROMAN BATHS, BATH] + +_Roman Baths_. The waters from which Bath gets its fame are believed to +owe their origin to the surface drainage of the E. Mendips, which +percolates through some vertical fissure, perhaps at Downhead, to the +heart of the hills, and are conducted by some natural culvert beneath +the intervening coal measures, washing out as they go the soluble +mineral salts, and whilst still retaining their heat emerge again at +the first opportunity at Bath. The Romans were the first to make use of +this natural lavatory, and with their unrivalled engineering skill +founded here a magnificent bathing establishment. Though the fact of +their occupation of the site was long known, the extent and magnitude +of their arrangements have only lately been laid bare. Thanks to the +skill and intelligence with which a thorough investigation of the site +was made by the city architect in 1881, every visitor to Bath has now +an opportunity of examining the finest extant specimen of a Roman +bathing station in the world. The entrance to these antiquities is +through a corridor to the left of the Pump Room (admission 6d.). This +passage opens upon a modern balcony overlooking the great central +basin. To investigate the ruins, a descent must be made by the +staircase to the basement. The Great Bath is a rectangular tank 111 +feet by 68 feet, originally lined with lead 1/4 inch thick. It was +surrounded with dressing-rooms, from which steps led down to the water. +The great hall which contained it was covered in with a roof of hollow +bricks and concrete (plentiful specimens of which lie scattered about), +supported by carved columns. On the left is another square bath with a +semi-circular tank at each end, and a series of vapour chambers behind +it. The greater part of this bath was unfortunately destroyed in the +18th cent., to furnish material for the construction of a new bath. To +the right of the great bath is a fine stepped circular bath, and beyond +this again are sudatories. Still further on, extending beneath the +street, in a part not always shown to the public and somewhat difficult +of approach, is a third rectangular basin of considerable size. Even +this does not complete the full tale of the bathing accommodation once +provided. Buried beneath the basement of the Pump Room itself has been +discovered the masonry of a large oval bath, the outline of which is +still marked out in the flooring. The huge Roman reservoir into which +were poured the healing waters as they bubbled up fresh and fervid from +the bowels of the earth cannot now be seen, for it lies immediately +beneath the floor of the King's Bath, but the visitor can still inspect +the overflow conduit which conveyed the surplus waters to the Avon. The +character of the lead and brick work should be carefully examined if +justice is to be done to the skill of the Roman workmen. The specimens +of the tessellated pavement that once formed the flooring of the great +hall are worthy of passing notice. The King's Bath, the great bathing +place of the fashionable world in Nash's day, is open to the air, and +may be seen from one of the windows of the corridor. The various modern +baths must be inquired for on the spot. Medicinal bathing is obtained +at the New Royal Bath, in connection with the Grand Pump Room Hotel. +The spring which keeps the whole of this vast array of bathing +appliances going yields three hogsheads per minute, and issues from the +earth at a temperature of 117° Fahr. The chief constituents of the +waters are calcium sulphate, sodium sulphate, magnesium chloride, +calcium carbonate, and sodium chloride, and there are traces of other +minerals. + +[Illustration: BATH ABBEY] + +_The Abbey Church_. The Abbey, though somewhat hemmed in by meaner +buildings, stands in a commanding position in the centre of the city. +Without any claims to be regarded as an architectural gem, it has +sufficient merit to adorn its situation. Its career has been a series +of vicissitudes. Though Bath takes precedence of Wells in the official +title of the see, it has seldom been the predominant partner. John de +Villula, with the intention of making the city the bishop's seat, built +here a church so spacious that the nave alone would swallow up the +existing building. Of this Norm. church there still survive (1) bases +of clustered pillars under a grating in N. aisle of choir, (2) a single +pillar in same aisle, (3) round arch and pillar in vestry, S. of choir, +(4) bases of pillars at exterior of E. end. With his successors' change +of plans, Villula's church fell on evil days, and was allowed to decay. +In 1495 Bishop Oliver King beheld, like Jacob, the vision of a heavenly +stairway and climbing angels, and heard a voice saying, "Let an olive +establish the crown, and let a king restore the church." In consequence +he, in imitation of the patriarch, vowed a "God's house" upon the spot. +With the help of Prior Bird, he projected the present edifice, and the +west front still commemorates his dream. But whilst the building was in +course of construction the Reformation intervened and put a stop to the +work. The monastery was dissolved, and the Crown offered the church to +the townspeople for 500 marks. The citizens, however, declined the +bargain, and the building passed from the hammer of the auctioneer to +that of the house-breaker. Stripped of all that was saleable, the shell +passed into the possession of one Edmund Colthurst, who made a present +of it to the town. For forty years it remained practically a heap of +ruins. Episcopal attention was again drawn to its unseemliness, not +this time by ascending angels, but by the more prosaic instrumentality +of a descending shower. Bishop Montague, seeking shelter one day within +its roofless aisles from a passing thunderstorm, was moved by the +discomfort of the situation to undertake the completion of the fabric. +He finished the work in 1609, but on somewhat economical lines. He +vaulted the roof with plaster, and it has been left to the modern +restorer to make good his work in stone. Externally the church is a +cruciform building with a central tower, characterized by two tiers of +double windows and spired octagonal turrets at the corners. The tower +is a rectangle, the N. and S. sides being shorter than the E. and W., +and the transepts are correspondingly narrow. Though somewhat stiff and +formal, the general design derives a certain impressiveness from the +lofty clerestory, the immense display of windows, and a profusion of +flying buttresses. The fantastic reproduction of Jacob's Ladder, with +its beetle-like angels, on the W. front, should be carefully observed, +and note should also be taken of the elaborately carved wooden door and +the figures above and on either side (Henry VII. and SS. Peter and +Paul). The two ladders are flanked by representations of the Apostles, +whilst below the gable is the figure of our Lord, with adoring angels +beneath. The interior has something of the appearance of an +ecclesiastical Crystal Palace--one vast aggregate of pillars and glass. +The details are poor (note the absence of cusps in alternate windows of +nave), and the fan tracery (original in choir only) is exuberant. In +some of the clerestory windows are fragments of old glass, and the very +unusual feature of pierced spandrels to the E. window should be noted. +The one really beautiful thing in the interior is _Prior Bird's +Chantry_ at the S.E. of the choir. The delicate groining of the roof, +the foliage, and the panelling will be generally admired. Note the +constant reiteration of the Prior's relics, with mitre, though priors +did not wear mitres. There is an effigy of Bishop Montague under a +staring canopy between the columns of the N. aisle. In the sanctuary is +the tomb of Bartholomew Barnes, and a brass to Sir George Ivey. The oak +screen across the S.E. aisle is in memory of a former rector (Rev. C. +Kemble) who did much to restore the Abbey. As a reminder of Bath's once +fashionable days, the walls of the aisles are covered with memorials of +local celebrities; amongst them there is a tablet to Nash (S. wall near +S. transept). The tomb of Lady Waller in S. transept, and Garrick's +epitaph on Quin (N. aisle of choir) should perhaps also be noticed. As +Dr Harington's sprightly epigram suggests, this portentous display of +mortality is not an inspiring study for visitors who come to Bath to +take "the cure," + + "These walls, adorned with monument and bust, + Show how Bath waters serve to lay the dust." + +Among objects and places of interest in the outskirts of the city that +deserve a visit are Sham Castle, an artificial antique on Bathwick +Hill; Widcombe Old Church (built by Prior Bird); the chapel of St Mary +Magdalen in Holloway (built by Prior Cantlow in 1495); Beckford's Tower +on Lansdowne, and Combe Down (where a portion of the Wansdyke may be +examined). + +Bath gives its name, with sometimes more and sometimes less +justification, to quite a number of articles, including Bath stone, +Bath buns, Bath olivers, Bath chaps, Bath chairs, and Bath bricks (for +the last, see pp. 26, 64). + +_Bathampton_, a prettily situated village, 2 m. N.E. of Bath. Its +church is in the main Perp., but the chancel arch is E.E., and the E. +window consists of three lancets. There are two recumbent figures of +the 14th cent., a knight and a lady, at the W. end of the S. aisle; but +the most remarkable feature of the building is a still earlier effigy, +much defaced, within a niche in the exterior wall of the E. end. It +seems to represent a bishop, since there are traces of a crosier, +though some have taken it for a prioress. Some small remains of a +priory are still to be found at the rectory near the church. + +_Bathealton_, a parish 3 m. S.E. of Wiveliscombe. The church has been +rebuilt, and is of no antiquarian interest. + +_Batheaston_, a large parish on the Avon, 2-1/2 m. N.E. of Bath +(nearest stat. Bathampton, 1/2 m. away). The church has been restored, +but it retains its well-proportioned Perp. tower. One of the bells +dates from pre-Reformation times, and has the inscription _Virginis +egregiae vocor campana Mariae_. To the N.E. of the village is _Solsbury +Hill_, with a British camp on the summit. It probably gets its name +from the British goddess Sul, who seems, from the inscriptions in Bath +Museum, to have been identified by the Romans with Minerva. + +_Bathford_ is a village 3-1/2 m. E.N.E. of Bath (nearest stat. +Bathampton), standing on a hill sloping to the Avon, which was here in +Roman times crossed by a ford that gave its name (formerly Ford) to the +place. The church (ded. to St Swithin) is of E.E. origin, but has been +enlarged and modernised. The font is Norm.; some Norm. work remains in +the N. porch, and there is a Jacobean pulpit. + +_Bawdrip_, a small village, 1 m. from Cossington, and 3-1/4 m. N.E. of +Bridgwater. It possesses an interesting little cruciform church, with a +central tower supported on E.E. or Early Dec. arches. There are three +piscinas, one in the sanctuary, the others in the transepts, that of +the N. transept being on the sill of the squint in the chancel pier. In +this N. transept is the effigy of a knight in plate armour under a +foliated canopy, said to be that of Joel de Bradney, d. 1350. + +_Beckington_, a large village on the Bath road, 3 m. N.E. from Frome. +It was once famous for its cloth, and the number of old houses which it +possesses and its general appearance of spaciousness bear testimony to +its former importance. The church stands back from the main street, and +is well worth a visit. It is chiefly Perp., but has a Norm. W. tower +with Perp. windows, and a richly groined vault. A fine octagonal E.E. +font stands in the S. aisle. Note (1) squints, (2) piscinas in +sanctuary and S. aisle. The monuments are--(1) in N. wall of chancel, +the effigy of a knight in armour, supposed to be J. de Evleigh +(1360-70) and wife; (2) a little higher up, effigy of lady, Mary de +Evleigh (1380-1400); (3) brass on chancel floor to John St Maur and +wife (1485), though the lady, who, after John St Maur's death, married +Sir John Biconyll, lies elsewhere; (4) brass on S. pier of chancel arch +bearing a merchant's mark (said to belong to John Compton, d. 1510); +(5) in N. aisle, slab and bust to S. Daniell (1619), reputed to have +been poet-laureate (but see p. 29). Bishop Beckington of Wells +(1443-65) was born here. At the corner of the lane leading to the +church is _Beckington Castle_, a fine old gabled house with mullioned +windows. _Standerwick Court_, a Queen Anne mansion, is a mile away; and +in the neighbourhood is _Seymour Court_, a farmhouse, once the abode of +Protector Somerset. + +_Beer Crocombe_, a small village 1-1/2 m. S.E. from Hatch Beauchamp +Station (G.W.R. branch to Chard). The church (Perp.) is uninteresting. +The prefix _Beer_ (thought to be a personal name) occurs in several +Dorset and Devon place-names. + +_Berkley_, a small village, 2-1/2 m. N.E. from Frome. It possesses a +"classical" church--a very unusual thing for a country village--date +1751. It is an odd little building, with a balustraded W. tower and a +small central dome, said to have been copied from St Stephen's, +Walbrook. Within is a monumental slab tracing the descent of the +Newboroughs, from the time of the Conquest till 1680. _Berkley House_ +dates from the time of William III. + +_Berrow_, a parish 2 m. N. of Burnham, where there are good golf links. +The church is close to the shore, and contains little of interest. +Note, however, (1) stoup in S. porch, (2) curious piscina in chancel, +(3) small Jacobean pulpit, (4) gallery dated 1637. Outside of the S. +wall are two slabs with much defaced effigies, probably from an earlier +building. + +_Bickenhall_, a parish 1 m. S.W. of Hatch Beauchamp station. The church +is modern, but contains on the chancel wall a monument, with a kneeling +effigy, to a lady of the Portman family (1632). + +_Bicknoller_, a little village 2-1/2 m. S.E. of Williton, nestling +under the W. slopes of the Quantocks. Its name (and that of Bickenhall +likewise) is probably connected with _beech_ (cp. the numerous names +containing _ash-, oak-, elm-, withy-_). The church, which used to be a +chapel of Stogumber, has a picturesque parapet N. and S. In the +interior the chief features that call for remark are (1) the capitals +of the N. arcade, with their bands of "Devonshire" foliage, (2) the +fine screen (1726) with beautiful fan tracery, (3) some good seat-ends, +(4) monument to John Sweeting of Thornecombe (d. 1688), (5) squint in +chancel pier, (6) piscina. In the churchyard is the shaft of an ancient +cross. + +A little above the village is _Trendle Ring_, the site of an +encampment; whilst on the road to Crowcombe is an old house called +_Halsway_, said to have been a hunting lodge of Cardinal Beaufort, the +son of John of Gaunt, and guardian of Henry VI. + +_Biddisham_, a small parish 4 m. W. of Axbridge. The small church is +reached by a lane from the Bristol and Bridgwater road. It retains a +square Norm, font, a piscina, and a Jacobean pulpit. Outside is the +shaft of an old cross. + +_Binegar_, a small village on the top of the E. Mendips, with a station +on the S. & D. The church, rebuilt 1859, has a plain Perp. tower with a +representation of the Trinity on one of its battlements. + +_Bishop's Hull_ (_hull_ is merely _hill_), a village 1-1/2 m. W. from +Taunton. The church is a ludicrous example of Philistinism. A small but +interesting Perp. church has been enlarged by the simple expedient of +replacing the S. aisle by a spacious chamber furnished with galleries. +On the N. is a slender octagonal E.E. tower (cp. Somerton). In the +original part of the church note (1) on N. of sanctuary, elaborate +Jacobean tomb with effigy, in legal robes, of J. Farewell (1609); (2) +effigies of three grandchildren tucked away in a small recess in wall +opposite; (3) grotesque corbels on E. wall of N. chapel; (4) good +bench-ends (observe representation of the Resurrection in N. chapel, +and of a night watchman near font). By the side of the Taunton road is +a fine Elizabethan mansion of the Farewells, date 1586. + +_Bishop's Lydeard_, a village 5 m. N.W. of Taunton, with a station on +the Minehead line. It gets its name from the land having been bestowed +by Edward the Elder upon Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, in 904. Its church +has an exceptionally fine tower, with double windows in the belfry. The +W. window is good and the tower arch very lofty. Note (1) the fine +screen, with the Apostles' Creed in Latin; (2) the series of quaintly +carved bench-ends, the designs (windmill, ship, stag, etc.) standing +out well against the coloured backgrounds; (3) the good, though plain, +roof; (4) oak pulpit; (5) brass in S. transept of Nicholas Grobham and +wife (d. 1585 and 1594). In the churchyard is a fine cross (14th +cent.), with the figure of St John the Baptist on the shaft, and +_bas-reliefs_ on each face of the octagonal base. There is also the +base and broken shaft of what was once the village cross. + +_Bishop's Sutton_, a village 2-3/4 m. W. of Clutton, with a modern +church. + +_Blackford_ (near Wedmore), a village 6 m. S.W. from Cheddar (G.W.R.). +The church is an eccentric octagonal structure built in 1823. + +_Blackford_ (near Wincanton) is a small village, lying rather low, 3 m. +E. of Sparkford. The church, which formerly belonged to Glastonbury +Abbey, is small and plain, but possesses a Norm. S. doorway and a Norm. +font. There are also the remains of a stoup in the S. porch and of a +piscina in the S. wall. + +_Blagdon_, a village on the N. slope of the Mendips, 12 m. S.W. from +Bristol. A light railway from Yatton has its terminus here. The beauty +of the neighbourhood, naturally considerable, has been enhanced by the +formation of a large artificial lake, 2-1/2 m. long, intended as a +reservoir for Bristol. A charming view across the valley is obtainable +from the hillside above the church. The church is remarkable only for +its elegant Perp. tower. The rest of the building is an ugly Victorian +substitute for the original fabric. + +_Bleadon_, a village 1 m. E. of Bleadon and Uphill Station, lies at the +foot of Bleadon Hill. The church has a tall tower with triple windows +in the belfry; but it is inferior to others of the same class, since +too much space is left between the base of the windows and the string +course (cp. Long Sutton). The chancel (the oldest part) is Dec. and +possesses a low side-window (cp. Othery, East Stoke, Ile Abbots). The +position of this and of the recess in the S. wall points to the chancel +having once been longer, a conclusion confirmed by traces of +foundations said to exist in the churchyard E. of the present east end. +Note in the S. porch a _bas-relief_ of the Virgin and Child; and in the +interior of the church, (1) stone pulpit; (2) Norm. font; (3) two +effigies (attributed to the 14th cent.), one near the pulpit, the other +in the sanctuary (the slab upon which the latter is lying is supposed +by some to be an Easter sepulchre, though its position on the S. is +unusual); (4) piscina on the N. of chancel--perhaps displaced. In the +churchyard is a mutilated cross. On the hill above there are traces of +earthworks. + +_Blue Anchor_, a hamlet 3 m. E. of Dunster, with station. There is a +pleasant little bay here which possesses possibilities as a future +watering-place, but at present the accommodation for visitors is +extremely limited. The cliffs that border the foreshore are strikingly +coloured and are veined with alabaster. The view towards Minehead is +charming. It is said that the sea at very low water uncovers the +remains of a submerged forest. + +_Bossington_, a hamlet 1 m. from Porlock, lying under Bossington +Beacon, which is the W. end of the North Hill (see _Minehead_). It is a +picturesque place, noteworthy for its huge walnut trees. It is +separated from the sea by a stretch of shingle. There is a little +chapel of some antiquity, which has a good E. window (restored). The +summit of the Beacon may be reached either from the hamlet itself or +from Allerford (whence numerous zigzag paths lead through the woods). + +_Bradford_, a parish on the Tone, 4 m. S.W. of Taunton, with a church +ded. to St Giles. The stair-turret is on the S. face of the tower (as +at Wellington). The piers of the arcade seem to be E.E. or Dec., with +two in the Perp. style at the E. end, one of them being of the normal +Somerset type, whilst the other has the "Devonshire" foliage. There is +an effigy of a knight of the time of Richard II. in the S. wall; and +there is also preserved the base of a Norm. font (with foot ornament), +supporting a bowl of later date. Under the W. window of the S. aisle +are the old stocks. + +An ancient bridge across the Tone (perhaps dating from the 13th cent.) +carries the road to Nynehead and Milverton: the parapet is modern. + +_Bradley, West_, a small village 4 m. E.S.E. from Glastonbury. The +church is an unattractive-looking little building, but of more interest +than its appearance suggests. It has a short, battlemented W. tower +(with pyramidal cap), supposed to date from 1400. The vault is groined. +In the S. porch is a mutilated stoup. Within, note (1) in chancel, +image brackets and defaced piscina; (2) rood loft stair and window. The +nave roof is original. + +_Bratton Seymour_, a village conspicuously perched on a hill 3 m. W. +from Wincanton. The church has been rebuilt. Its prominent position +makes it an excellent landmark. W. of the church is a tumulus where +have been discovered the remains of a Roman watch-tower. + +_Brean_, a scattered hamlet 4 m. N. of Burnham, near the estuary of the +Axe. Its little church, with its foundations much below the level of +the neighbouring sand-dunes, is noteworthy merely for its lonely +situation. To the N. is _Brean Down_, a narrow promontory extending +more than a mile into the sea, with traces of earthworks. From Weston +it may be reached in the summer months by a ferry; the road from the +same place is a circuitous one, by way of Bleadon or Lympsham. + +_Brent, East_, a village 2 m. E. of Brent Knoll Station. The name may +refer to the knoll, _brent_ meaning a steep hill. The place has a +church with a stone spire. Its most interesting features are, +externally, the sculptures on the W. face of the tower ((1) Virgin and +Child, (2) the Father holding the Crucified Son, (3) Christ crowning +the Virgin), and, internally, the roof, the woodwork, and the ancient +glass. The nave roof, of plaster, may be compared with that of +Axbridge; its date is 1637. The Jacobean or rather Caroline pulpit +dates from 1634, and the columns supporting the gallery from 1635. The +seat-ends (15th cent.) are good: among the carvings note the symbols of +the Evangelists (that of St Mark is missing, both here and at S. Brent) +and the initials of John Selwood, the antepenultimate Abbot of +Glastonbury (d. 1473). The old glass (late 14th cent.) will be seen in +two windows in the N. aisle. Two effigies, one an ecclesiastic, the +other probably a layman, have been placed under two of the windows. The +frescoes (in S. porch and chancel) and the cross in the churchyard are +modern: on the latter are statuettes of apostles, and mediaeval and +modern ecclesiastics. + +_Brent Knoll_ is a conspicuous eminence of lias, drowned with a cap of +inferior oolite, about 450 ft. above sea-level and four acres in +extent. On the summit is a camp with a single rampart (though there +are, in addition, external terraces in certain positions), British in +origin, but utilised by the Romans. It commands a splendid view, +embracing the Mendips and Quantocks, Glastonbury Tor, the Channel, and +the River Parrett. + +_Brent, South_, 1 m. from Brent Knoll Station, has a church very +picturesquely situated on the side of the knoll. Though in the main +Perp., it contains examples of earlier work. The S. doorway is Norm, or +Trans. (12th cent.), and there is also a small Norm. pillar (perhaps +part of a piscina) attached to the E. wall of the N. aisle. The S. wall +is in E.E. (note the corbels); and a large S. chapel (note piscina), +now used as a vestry, is Dec. (about 1370). The Perp. W. tower, with +triple belfry windows, has unusually short buttresses for a tower of +its class. Within the church the most noticeable features are (1) fine +wooden roof of N. aisle; (2) mural monument of John Somersett (d. 1663) +and his two wives; (3) font of unusual shape; (4) the seat-ends +(assigned to the 15th cent.), with their curious carvings, partly +sacred emblems and partly humorous scenes, the latter depicting a fox +(1) in the robes of an abbot or bishop, (2) brought to trial, (3) +executed. + +_Brewham, South_, a village 3 m. N.E. of Bruton. It lies in a dell +through which flows the Brue (whence its name). The church, chiefly +Perp., is not of much interest, though beneath the tower at the S.W. +corner is a doorway of rough construction but peculiar character; near +it is a stoup. In the churchyard is a cross and an old font. _North +Brewham_ is a small hamlet 1/2 m. away. + +_Bridgwater_, a seaport of more than 15,000 inhabitants, on the tidal +part of the Parrett. It has a station on the G.W.R. main line to +Exeter, and is the terminus of the S. & D. branch from Glastonbury. The +general aspect of the town is uninviting, and its immediate +surroundings are almost as uninspiring as its buildings. The river, +which ministers largely to its prosperity, adds little to its +attractions. It, however, furnishes the town twice a day with a mild +sensation in the shape of a bore, which at the turn of the tide rolls +up the river-bed like a miniature breaker. Though the name, +_Bridgwater_, hardly savours of antiquity it really conceals quite a +venerable origin. The not uncommon combination of a bridge and water +has nothing to do with the nomenclature. The name appears to be a +corruption of _Burgh Walter_, from Walter of Douay, one of the +followers of William the Conqueror. In the Great Rebellion the place +proved to the Royal cause in the West a kind of Metz. The castle was +supposed to be impregnable, and was held in force for the king by +Colonel Wyndham, but on the destruction of the suburb of Eastover by +Fairfax, the royal colours were, much to the chagrin of Charles, +unexpectedly hauled down from the stronghold, and the garrison, 1000 +strong, tamely walked out. The Parliamentary commander made a huge +"bag" by the capture. It was, however, in connection with Monmouth's +ill-starred enterprise that Bridgwater attained its chief historical +notoriety, for it was here that the Duke had his headquarters before +the fatal engagement on Sedgemoor. Of the castle--founded by a De +Briwere, who is said to have been the bearer of Richard I.'s +ransom--hardly a vestige remains. King's Square now occupies its place, +and a few fragments of its walls and portions of the water-gate are +incorporated in some of the cellars which border the quay. In the +centre of the town is the parish church of St Mary, a spacious building +with a low W. tower of red sandstone crowned by a tall and graceful +spire. It is chiefly Perp., with an ugly and inharmonious modern +clerestory; but there are some remains of the Dec. period in the N. +porch. Over the altar hangs a picture of the "Descent from the Cross," +said to have been found in the hold of a captured privateer. The +noteworthy features are (1) black oak screens and pulpit, (2) the +blocked squints, in the porches, (3) stoup and geometric rose window in +N. porch, (4) mural monument to Sir Francis Kingsmill and two sons. In +the churchyard are two timeworn, recumbent figures recessed into the N. +wall of N. transept, and an altar-tomb to Oldmixon, mentioned in Pope's +"Dunciad." In front of the town-hall is a good statue of Blake, the +famous Cromwellian admiral, whose birthplace, much modernised, will be +found in Blake Street. An arched doorway in Silver Street is said to +have been the gateway of a college of Grey Friars. A house E. of the +churchyard has a fine panelled ceiling. The modern church of St John in +the suburb of Eastover (for the name, cp. Northover at Ilchester and +Southover at Wells) stands upon the site of a former hospital of the +Knights of St John, founded by William de Briwere in the 13th cent. +Besides its shipping trade, Bridgwater does a large business in bricks +and tiles, and possesses a unique industry in the manufacture of Bath +bricks--presumably so called from their resemblance to Bath stone. Beds +of mingled mud and sand are left by the tide in recesses excavated in +the river-banks. The deposit is dug out, moulded into bricks, and +dried, and then exported for cleaning metals. + +_Brislington_, a rapidly growing suburb of Bristol, 1-3/4 m. S.E. of +the city, with a station on the Frome branch. The church has a tower +which is characteristic of a considerable class of Somerset towers. On +its S. face are two quaint little effigies (supposed to represent the +founders, Lord and Lady de la Warr), and each side of the parapet has a +niche containing a figure (cp. Tickenham and Wraxall). The S. aisle has +a waggon-roof, and there is a piscina in the S. chapel. The square font +is presumably Norm. _Brislington Hill House_ is a 17th-cent. brick +mansion. + +_Broadway_, 2-1/2 m. N. of llminster, derives its name from its +situation on an ancient track cut through what was once a surrounding +forest. The church (dedicated to SS. Aldhelm and Edburga) is cruciform, +with E.E. lights at the E. end, though the W. tower and nave windows +are Perp. Its most interesting features are the 15th-cent. hexagonal +font with six figures (seemingly of apostles) at the angles, and the +churchyard cross, with two effigies under a single canopy on its W. +face. + +_Brockley_ is a small parish on the road from Bristol to Weston +(nearest stat. Nailsea, 2 m.). The church lies a little to the R. of +the main road from Bristol; it is E.E., but retains a Norm, font. There +is an ancient court-house close by. + +On the left of the road is _Brockley Combe_, a beautiful glen between +two wooded hills, flanked on one side for some distance by rocky +cliffs, which are unfortunately being quarried in places. The wealth of +foliage in summer makes the ascent of the combe a delightful walk or +drive. It affords access to Chew Magna and Stanton Drew. + +_Brompton Ralph_, a parish 4 m. from Wiveliscombe, on the road to +Watchet. The church is conspicuous by its position and has a tall +tower, but is not otherwise remarkable, though it retains its old oak +seats. + +_Brompton Regis_ or _King's Brompton_, a village 5-1/2 m. N.E. of +Dulverton Station, lying amongst the hills which form the more +cultivated fringe of Exmoor. The church has the usual local +characteristics--a plain tower of the Exmoor type, and the Devonshire +foliage round the arcade capitals. Note plain large squint on S., and +another, of more ornate character, on N. There is a plain Jacobean +pulpit. + +_Broomfield_, a parish situated at the S. end of the Quantocks, 5 m. N. +of Taunton. In the church, which has a plain embattled tower and square +turret, the chief features of interest are: (1) stoup in S. porch, (2) +the foliaged capitals of the arcade (on one note the emblems of the +Passion), (3) the seat-ends, sadly needing repair, one of which bears +the name of Simon Warman (whose name occurs on the woodwork at Trull), +(4) the fine old glass in the S. window of the chancel. In the +churchyard is the headless shaft of a cross. The mansion close by is +_Fyne Court_. A mile away to the N.N.E. is _Ruborough Camp_. It is +remarkable for its shape, being triangular in plan (cp. Tedbury, near +Mells), and occupies the extremity of a ridge between two declivities. +It covers 27 acres, and is overgrown with firs, which make inspection +difficult. On the W., the only vulnerable side, it is defended by an +additional vallum and fosse, thrown across the ridge 100 yards from the +base of the triangle (where the entrance to the camp is supposed to +have been). It is regarded as Roman, the usual rectangular plan being +adapted to the nature of the ground. + +_Brushford_, a parish near Dulverton Station, but 2 m. S. from +Dulverton itself. It has an aisleless church, interesting only for (1) +a good 15th-cent. screen, (2) a font, of which the bowl and base date +from the 13th cent. There is a splendid oak tree in the churchyard, +which is reputed to be 600 years old. + +BRUTON, a small town of 1788 inhabitants, 7 m. S.E. from Shepton Mallet, +with a station on the G.W.R. Frome and Weymouth line. It is also served +by bus from Cole Station (S. & D.), 1-1/2 m. away. It is a quaint +little place, lying at the bottom of a deep valley watered by the Brue, +to the proximity of which it owes its name. Bruton makes no show of +business; its activities are chiefly educational. The antiquarian will, +however, find here much to interest him, for there is a fine church, +and the town has many ecclesiastical associations. It was at one time +the site of a Benedictine Priory, which was subsequently converted into +an abbey of Austin Canons in 1525. Of this foundation nothing now +remains but a three-storeyed pigeon-house (which stands out +conspicuously on the summit of a little knoll behind the town) and the +abbey court-house in High Street (see below). The abbey itself stood on +the site of the present rectory, which is said to incorporate one of +its walls. At the Reformation the monastery went down in the wreck of +the religious houses, and Sir M. Berkley, who as the king's +standard-bearer was not without friends at Court, came in for the +spoil. The church is a handsome Perp. building, with a noble W. tower +of the Shepton type, decorated with triple windows and a rich parapet. +A second small tower rises above the N. porch (a very unusual feature). +The interior is remarkable for the painful incongruity of the +chancel--a pseudo-classical structure, built in 1743, to replace the +dismantled monastic choir. It contains in a recess on N. recumbent +effigies of Sir M. Berkley and wives (1559-85), and on the opposite +wall a tablet to W. Godolphin (1636). The nave is extremely handsome, +and is covered with a fine roof. Note (1) niches between clerestory +windows (cp. St Mary's, Taunton), (2) stepped recess in N. aisle (cp. +Chewton), (3) indications, on N. and S. walls, of stairway to +rood-loft, which, unless the building was once shorter, must have stood +in an unusually forward position, (4) piscina in S. aisle, (5) fragment +of mediaeval cope in N.E. corner of nave, (6) chained copies of Jewel +(1609) and Erasmus (1548), (7) Jacobean screen under tower. At the W. +gateway is an ancient tomb, said to be that of Abbot Gilbert, whose +initials, _W.G._ are cut on one of the battlements of the N. wall. Near +the school is a quaint pack-horse bridge ("Bruton Bow") spanning the +river (cp. Allerford). In High Street (S. side) will be noticed the old +_Abbey Court-house_ (now a private residence), bearing on its wall the +"canting" device of Prior Henton (1448). On the same side of the street +is _Sexey's Hospital_, an asylum for a few old men and women, founded +in 1638 by Hugh Sexey, a Bruton stable-boy, who in the "spacious days" +of Good Queen Bess rose to be auditor in the royal household. It +consists of a quadrangle, the S. side of which is formed by a combined +hall and chapel of Elizabethan architecture, finely panelled with black +oak. The surplus revenues of Sexey's estate support a local Trade +School. Bruton also possesses a well-equipped Grammar School, of Edward +IV.'s foundation, which replaced an earlier school established here in +1520 by Richard Fitz-James, Bishop of London (1506-22). + +_Brympton d'Evercy_, a small parish 3 m. W. of Yeovil. It gets its name +from the D'Evercys, who seem to have possessed the estate in the 13th +cent., but it subsequently passed to other families, till in the 15th +cent. it fell to the Sydenhams, changing hands again in the 18th cent. +The church is a very interesting structure of the Dec. period. It is +cruciform in plan, with a N. chapel of Perp. date, and has on its W. +gable a large bell-cot (cp. Chilthorne Domer). Within, note (1) stone +screen (Perp.), remarkable for the seat along its W. front, (2) +piscinas in chancel, transepts, and chapel, (3) font (Dec.), (4) pulpit +(Jacobean), (5) chandeliers (said to be Dutch), (6) squints. There are +several effigies, which are not in their original positions, but are +conjectured to have belonged to a chapel now destroyed. They are, (1) +in the N. transept an abbot and a nun beneath recesses carved with +modern reliefs; (2) in the chapel a knight in armour and a lady. +Between the chapel and chancel is the large coloured tomb of Sir John +Sydenham, 1626 (the curious epitaph is worth reading). In the chapel is +some ancient glass, and in the churchyard there is the base of an old +cross and two early fonts. + +N. of the church is a building of two storeys, variously described as a +_chantry house_ (a chantry was founded here by Sir Peter d'Evercy, +1307) or a _manor house_, with an external octagon turret containing a +staircase. _Brympton House_ (the residence of Sir S.C.B. Ponsonby-Fane) +has a good W. front of Tudor date (note arms of Henry VIII.), with a +porch added in 1722, and a S. front built in the 18th cent., though +from designs by Inigo Jones (died 1697), with terrace leading to the +garden. + +_Buckland Denham_, a village prominently perched on a hillside 3 m. +N.W. from Frome. It was once a busy little town with a flourishing +cloth trade. The church has a W. tower with an unusual arrangement of +windows (cp. Hemington). The Norm. S. doorway and the device by which +the upper part of the porch has been converted into a parvise should be +noticed. Three chapels are attached to the church. The one at the N., +originally the chantry of Sir J. Denham, has on the floor the figures +of a knight and his lady in relief. In two of the chapels are piscinas, +and there is a large one in the chancel. Some ancient glass, with +emblems of the Evangelists, will be found in one of the chapels. The +Norm. font, with different mouldings on opposite sides, deserves +attention. + +_Buckland St Mary_, a parish 5 m. N.W. of Chard, has a modern church +(1853-63), very richly decorated, which it owes to the munificence of +the rector, though to some its ornateness will seem a little out of +harmony with its rural surroundings. The wooden cover of the font is +said to be all that remains of the former church. Not far away are a +number of flint stones which are conjectured to be Celtic memorials. + +_Buckland, West_, 5 m. S.W. of Taunton, has a Perp. church, preserving +earlier materials, but of no great interest to the ordinary observer. +The W. tower has the bell-turret on the S. side (cp. Wellington and +Bradford). Note (1) the Norm. font (on a modern base), (2) the entrance +to the former rood-loft. The churchyard commands a fine view. + +_Burnett_, a small village 2-1/2 m. S.E. of Keynsham. The church is a +tiny late Perp. building of poor workmanship. In the organ-chamber is a +small brass to John Cuttle (1575), once Mayor of Bristol. An attendant +family are all quaintly labelled. + +_Burnham_, a watering-place on the Bristol Channel, 24 m. S.W. from +Bristol and 8 N. from Bridgwater. The S. & D. branch line from Edington +Junction has a terminal station here. Neither art nor nature has done +much for Burnham. Though a good deal exploited by the local railway +company as a half-holiday resort, it possesses few attractions for the +summer visitor. It has shown recently some signs of improvement, but no +enterprise can make a first-rate watering-place out of a muddy estuary +and a strip of sandy shore. A small pier, a narrow esplanade, and some +small gardens form its chief artificial recommendations, and its one +natural merit is an invigorating breeze which never seems to fail. A +tall lighthouse, standing some considerable distance away from the sea, +is a conspicuous landmark on the N., and a supplementary light burns +from a wooden erection on the beach. The church of St Andrew, near the +esplanade, is early Perp. Its two features of interest are its leaning +W. tower, and an altar-piece designed by Inigo Jones for Whitehall +Chapel, but eventually erected in Westminster Abbey. It appears to have +been turned out of the abbey as lumber on the occasion of George IV.'s +coronation, and to have been placed in Burnham Church by the then +vicar, who was also Canon of Westminster. + +_Burrington_, a small village in the Vale of Wrington, with a station +on the Light Railway. It possesses a remarkable ravine, which would be +considered fine by any one unacquainted with Cheddar. It has the +magnitude but not the grandeur of its famous competitor. The hillsides +present merely a series of steep slopes broken by protruding masses of +rock. The combe runs up to the shoulders of Blackdown, and is +throughout wild and picturesque. Like the Cheddar gorge, it abounds in +caverns, there being no fewer than four, all of which have been +prolific in "finds." It was whilst taking shelter here that Toplady +composed "Rock of Ages." On one of the hills above the combe is a Roman +encampment fenced with a rough wall of stone, locally known as +_Burrington Ham_. Another picturesque spot in the neighbourhood is a +glen called Rickford. The church, which stands in some fields near the +mouth of the gorge, is a Perp. building with a low W. tower and a +peculiarly graceful spirelet over the rood-loft turret. There are some +good parapets to the aisles, but the roof of one of the chapels +projects in an ugly manner above that of the chancel (cp. Yatton). Note +(1) ancient glass in window above N. door, (2) pieces of an old bell +with maker's mark (a ship), _c._ 1470. + +_Burrow_ (or _Borough) Bridge_, 1-1/2 m. N.E. of Athelney Station. It +is noteworthy for its conical hill, locally called the _Mump_, crowned +by a ruined church (St Michael's). It affords an extensive view over +the surrounding plain, and may be the site of Alfred's fort (see p. +13). + +_Burtle_, a parish 1 m. N. of Edington Station. (S. & D.). The church +is modern. + +_Butcombe_, a village 2 m. N. of Blagdon, prettily situated in a nook +of the Wrington Vale. Several monastic bodies originally owned property +here, but the church does not seem to have benefited largely by their +proprietorship. It is a small Perp. structure, of no great interest. + +_Butleigh_ is a pleasant village, 4 m. S. of Glastonbury. Of its church +the only old portions are the tower (which is central), the nave, the +porch, and the chancel, to which N. and S. transepts and a N. aisle +have been added in modern times. Most of the windows of the nave and +chancel are Dec., with foliated rear arches. The large W. window is +Perp., and contains some ancient glass. In the S. transept is a +monument to the three brothers Hood, with a long epitaph in blank verse +by Southey. In the N. aisle are preserved figures (Jacobean) of a man +and woman, with a kneeling child between them, obviously portions of an +old tomb. The neighbouring mansion is _Butleigh Court_ (R.N. +Grenville). The tall column which is so conspicuous from the +Glastonbury Plain was erected to the memory of Sir Samuel Hood. + +_Cadbury Camp_, near Tickenham. See _Tickenham_. The name is perhaps +connected with the Welsh _câd_ (battle). There is another near Yallon. + +_Cadbury, North_, a village 2-1/2 m. E. from Sparkford Station +(G.W.R.). It possesses a remarkably fine Perp. church, built by Lady +Eliz. Botreaux (1427) for a college of eight priests. The tower, of +more than ordinarily plain design, is of rather earlier date, and the +arcades have probably been preserved from some previous structure. The +interior, though not rich, is imposing, owing to its size and excellent +proportions. The chancel is of great dignity, and some elaborately +carved tabernacles, bearing traces of colouring, flank each side of the +E. window, and form a fine architectural addition to the E. end. The +roofs and bench ends (1538) should also be observed. Note (1) altar +slab fixed to N. wall of sanctuary, (2) rood-loft stair and turret, (3) +three altar-tombs under tower, one (early 15th cent.) bearing effigies +of Sir W. and Lady Eliz. Botreaux, (4) fragments of glass in W. window. +Of this church, Ralph Cudworth, the famous Cambridge philosopher, was +once rector. + +At the S.E. of the church is _Cadbury Court_, a fine gabled Elizabethan +mansion, with a curiously incongruous modern front on the S. + +_Cadbury, South_ (2-1/4 m. E. of Sparkford), is a village on the N.E. +side of Cadbury Camp, with a church dedicated to St Thomas à Becket, +who is perhaps intended by the fresco of a bishop which is on the splay +of a window in the N. aisle. The responds of the aisle arches are +curiously banded. There is a good reredos, a piscina, and a hagioscope. + +_Cadbury Castle_, near Sparkford (2 m. away), is the most remarkable of +all the Somerset earthworks. Besides its antiquarian importance, the +"Castle" derives a romantic interest from its popular association with +the fabled Camelot. The hill is best ascended by a lane near a +farm-house to the S. of S. Cadbury Church. Though much covered with +timber, the fortifications are still clearly traceable, and consist of +a quadruple series of ramparts and ditches. The interior "ring" is +faced with wrought masonry. The fortifications enclose an area of some +18 acres, and the crest of the hill is crowned by a mound locally known +as King Arthur's Palace. The defensive works must originally have been +of great strength, and are impressive even in their decay. The S. face +of the hill is fashioned into a series of terraces, possibly with a +view to cultivation. A well, called King Arthur's Well, will be found +within the lowest rampart by taking the path to the right of the +entrance gate. Another well--Queen Anne's--is in the neighbourhood of +the keeper's cottage. The country-side is rich in Arthurian traditions. +King Arthur and his knights are said on moonlight nights to gallop +round the fortifications on steeds shod with silver shoes. A hardly +traceable forest-path runs at the base of the hill in the direction of +Glastonbury. This is King Arthur's hunting track. Apart from these +legendary associations, Cadbury must have played a considerable part in +the British struggle for freedom. It may have been here (instead of at +Penselwood) that the West Welsh made their last effort against +Cenwealh, when he drove them to the Parrett (see p. 12). For so low an +eminence, the "castle" commands a remarkably extensive view. The great +plain of Central Somerset spreads away at the foot of the hill. In the +foreground is the ever-conspicuous Glastonbury Tor; the Mendip ridge +closes the horizon on the right; the Quantocks and Brendons are in +front; and the Blackdowns and Dorset highlands lie jumbled together on +the left. + +_Camel, Queen_ (1 m. S.W. of Sparkford Station), is a large and +attractive village, owing its name to the neighbouring stream, the Cam. +Its church is a dignified structure with a lofty tower, which has its +turret unusually placed at the N.W. angle (cp. Yeovil and Martock). The +arcade has octagonal piers. Two of them have small niches, and there is +a clerestory above. The roof has embattled tie-beams, the space above +them being filled with Perp. tracery. The E. window is lofty. The +chancel has a screen and rood-loft, with fan tracery E. and W.; the +staircase is in the S. pier of the arch. At the E. end is a piscina and +a sedile, each under an elaborate triple ogee canopy. The Perp. font is +unusual, being supported on pillars which have niches containing +figures. On the S. side of the church there is an incongruous +"classical" porch (cp. Sutton Montis). In the parish is a mineral +spring with properties resembling those of Harrogate waters. + +_Camel, West_, a village 2 m. S.W. of Sparkford Station, has a church +with many features of interest. In plan it is cruciform, the S. +transept being under the tower, which is on the S. side, and is crowned +by a small spire. The arches of the tower, chancel, and N. transept are +probably Dec. The E. window is Dec., with the interior arch foliated. +The rest are Perp. The nave roof deserves notice. The chancel contains +a double piscina under a large foliated arch, and triple sedilia. The +font is Norm., with shallow arcading round the basin. Near it is a +fragment of the shaft of a cross, ascribed to the 9th cent., with the +interlaced carving generally associated with Celtic and Irish crosses. +In a window behind the pulpit there is some ancient glass. + +_Camely_, a parish about 1-1/2 m. S.W. from Clutton Station, deriving +its name from another Cam. The church is a solitary building standing +back from the roadside. It has a good Perp. W. tower, but a very +uncouth-looking nave and chancel. + +_Camerton_, a flourishing colliery village lying in a deep valley about +2 m. N.N.E. of Radstock. It has a terminal station on a small branch +line running up from Hallatrow. The church, which is rather obscurely +situated at the back of the rectory, has been well restored, and is +handsomely furnished. The chancel is new. A side chapel contains two +altar-tombs to members of the Carew family (1640-86), said to be mere +replicas of the original tombs in Carew Church, Pembrokeshire. Note (1) +stoup inside N. doorway, (2) piscina in organ chamber. _Camerton Court_ +(Miss Jarrett), a modern building with a colonnade, stands over against +the church on the other side of the dale. + +_Cannington_, a large village 4 m. N.W. of Bridgwater, is a place of +some interest. It is the birthplace of a distinguished man, for at +_Brymore House_, hard by, John Pym was born. The church has some +unusual features, for a single roof covers nave, aisles, and chancel; +and there is no chancel arch. The whole building is very lofty, and it +has good E. and W. windows. The tower, which will be seen to be out of +line with the axis of the nave, is richly ornamented with niches. Note +externally the turret above the rood staircase, and the series of +consecration crosses (12) on the E. and S. wall of the chancel; and in +the interior observe (1) the carved oak cornice, (2) the screen (the +upper part restored), (3) Norm. pillar (a survival of an earlier +church) in the vestry, (4) old Bible of 1617. A priory of Benedictine +nuns, founded by a De Courcy (of Stoke Courcy) in 1138, once existed +here. The large house with mullioned windows, near the church, now +occupied by a Roman Catholic industrial school, was once a court-house +belonging to the Clifford family. + +Down a road running E. from the church is _Gurney Street Farm_, an old +manor-house. It has a small chapel, with piscina, aumbry, niches, and +carved roof; above is a chamber (probably for the priest), reached by +stairs, each of which consists of a single block of oak, while behind +is a room panelled in oak, with a window looking into the chapel. + +A mile from the village on the Stowey road (take path to left) is +another manor house, _Blackmoor Farm_. It has a good porch, and retains +its chapel (note piscina and niches), over the W. end of which some of +the chambers on the first floor project. + +_Carhampton_, a village on the Dunster and Williton road, 2 m. S.E. of +Dunster. The church has been restored and in parts rebuilt. It still +contains a fine and richly coloured screen, evidently copied from the +one at Dunster (cp. Timberscombe), but there are no indications of a +stairway. Note (1) piscinas in S. aisle and chancel, (2) carved +wall-plate in S. aisle. There is the base of a cross in the churchyard. +On the road to Blue Anchor there is an ancient manor-house, called +_Marshwood Farm_, which has in its porch some curious plaster figures. + +CASTLE CARY, a small market town at S.E. corner of the county, with a +station (1 m.) at the junction of the G.W.R. Weymouth line with the +Langport loop. Its population in 1901 was 1904. The town has a pleasant +air of old-fashionedness about it. The castle which gave it its name +long since disappeared from history, and until recently from knowledge. +It was only in 1890 that its site was revealed. Some excavations in a +field at the bottom of Lodge Hill brought to light the foundations of a +large square Norm. keep. Its outlines are now marked by pillars. It +seems to have acquired notoriety chiefly in the disorderly days of +Stephen. The Church possesses a good spire, and is conspicuously +situated. But though outwardly picturesque, it has little of interest +within. Note, however, (1) piscina in chancel, (2) oak screen, (3) +carved pulpit, (4) panel and canopied effigy over S. porch. There is +also a shallow font (_temp._ Henry VI.) on a pedestal of curious +design. + +_Castle Neroche_, locally known as Castle Ratch, a remarkable earthwork +of problematical origin, 7 m. S. of Taunton. It crowns the edge of a +precipitous hillside, over which runs the main road to Chard. The camp +is of quite exceptional strength, and occupies a position of great +strategic importance. Recent excavations have proved it to have been +occupied and strengthened, if not originally made, by the Normans. On +the accessible side looking towards Chard the station is defended by a +triple row of ramparts and ditches, but the side overlooking the vale +of Taunton is so precipitous that the only protection provided appears +to have been a kind of citadel surmounted probably by a keep. The +centre of this once formidable military position is now incongruously +occupied by a farm-house. The view from the citadel or beacon across +Taunton Dean is far-reaching and exhilarating. The outlook on the other +side is circumscribed by the high ground beyond. + +_Castle of Comfort_, a lonely public-house on the top of the Mendips, +standing by the side of the Bristol and Wells road. For the tourist it +forms a very convenient landmark from which to indicate the more +interesting features of the Mendip plateau. (1) The Roman road from +Uphill to Old Sarum may be traced across a field near the house. (2) +The Devil's Punch Bowl, one of the most notable swallets on the +Mendips, is 1/4 m. nearer Bristol (climb a wall on the R. and the +swallet, a funnel-shaped hollow, partly overgrown with brushwood, will +be seen in a field about 100 yards from the roadside). (3) The old +Roman lead mines are 2-1/2 m. away on the road to Charterhouse. (4) The +"Lamb's Lair" cavern (now unexplorable) lies 2 m. to the N. near the +Bristol road. (5) Nine Barrows, to find which take the Wells road; 1/2 +m. to the S. is another solitary inn, and opposite are the barrows. + +_Catcott_, a village on the Poldens, 3 m. S. of Edington Station. The +church is quaint; note, in particular, the old oak seats, and the odd +means by which they can be lengthened. There is an old octagonal font. + +_Chaffcombe_, a secluded village on the slope of Windwhistle Hill, +2-1/2 m. N.E. from Chard. The church is a small Dec. building with a +Perp. W. tower containing a pre-Reformation bell. + +_Chantry_, or _Little Elm_, a small village 4-1/2 m. S.W. from Frome. +The church is a beautiful bit of modern Gothic, designed by Sir G. +Scott. + +_Chapel Allerton_, a village 4-1/2 m. S.W. from Axbridge. The church is +a 13th-cent. building which has been subsequently altered and enlarged. +In the parish are the remains of an old "hundred stone," marking the +boundaries of the hundred of Bempstone. + +CHARD, a market town of 4437 inhabitants, at the S. extremity of the +county, served by both the G.W.R. and L. & S.W.R. Chard is a pleasant +variant upon the usual cramped type of Somerset county town. It spreads +itself out up the side of a hill with a magnificent disregard for +ground values in one broad and breezy street a mile long. Its situation +is remarkable for the impartiality of its maritime predilections, for +the runnels at the side of the thoroughfare are said to discharge their +contents, the one into the Bristol, the other into the English Channel. +Its early name, Cerde (for Cerdic), implies its Saxon origin, but it +was a benefaction of Bishop Joceline, who gave half his manor for its +extension, which really made the town. Chard has figured a little in +history. Charles I. and Fairfax both made some stay in it. Penruddock +suffered a severe reverse in the neighbourhood in 1655, and Monmouth, +in 1685, marched through Chard _en route_, as he thought, for the +throne, a circumstance which Jeffreys did not allow the town to forget. +"Hangcross tree," which once stood near the L. & S.W. station, was long +locally reputed to be the gibbet on which some of the Duke's +sympathisers expiated their treason. The town is nowadays chiefly +dependent upon a large lace works and some collar factories. The +church, which stands in the "old town" (turn down Axminster Road), is +said to have been erected about 1400, and is a spacious Perp. building +without a clerestory. It has a squat W. tower, some good porches (cp. +N. porch with Ilminster), and some bold gargoyles. Within note (1) +squints, (2) rood-loft stair with external turret, (3) indistinct +traces of mural paintings in N. transept, (4) Brewer monument (early +17th cent.) in N. transeptal chapel. The main street contains some +notable examples of domestic architecture--(1) gabled hostelry, "The +Choughs" (opposite street leading to church), (2) fine old house +opposite Town Hall, date about 1580, supposed to have been the court +house of the manor (containing an exceptionally fine room, with two +mullioned windows of 20 lights, and a moulded plaster ceiling), (3) +grammar school, at foot of the town opposite a fountain. A leaden pipe +carries the date 1583, though the present school was not founded till +1671. + +_Charlcombe_ is a parish 2 m. N. of Bath, with a very small church, +which has a Norm. S. door. Note (1) the font (probably Norm.), (2) the +massive stone pulpit, (3) the reredos. There is a fine yew tree near +the porch. + +_Charlinch_, a parish 5 m. W. of Bridgwater. The second syllable +(recurring in _Moorlinch, Redlynch_) means a level terrace on the side +of a hill; the first is probably a personal name. Its church +illustrates many periods of architecture, for it has a Norm. font and +S. door (with depressed arch), a Trans. chancel arch (pointed), a Dec. +E. window, and Perp. tower, chapel (or transept), and nave windows. The +altar-piece, in memory of Lady Taunton, is a modern copy of the +15th-cent. painter Francia. There are two interesting epitaphs, one on +the S. wall of the chancel, the other on a brass on the floor. There +are also some fragments of ancient glass; and a stone, with a +consecration cross, is built into the porch. + +E. of the church, on the road to Wembdon, is _Gothelney Hall_, an old +manor house, with a good front, and walls of great thickness. The +banqueting-hall (now divided into rooms) was on the first floor and had +a minstrel gallery, whilst the chapel was probably at the top of the +tower. There is an interesting collection of portraits of (it is +believed) former owners of the house. + +_Charlton Adam_, a village 3 m. E. of Somerton, has a church which +contains a few features of interest. The chancel has two foliated +lancets; in the S. chapel there is the canopied tomb of Thomas Baker +(d. 1592); and in both chancel and chapel are some curious old seats. +Note also (1) the piscina, (2) Norm. font, (3) a Jacobean pulpit, (4) +rudely carved figures in S. porch. There seems to have been here a +chantry of the Holy Spirit from 1348 to 1547. + +_Charlton Horethorne_ is a pleasant village 1-1/2 m. N.W. of Milborne +Port Station. The church has a well-proportioned Perp. tower with bold +buttresses; the rest of the building appears to be earlier. Note (1) +the recesses and niches in the N. and S. walls, (2) piscina, (3) heavy +cylindrical font. The church porch is old. In the parish are some +barrows which have been opened and found to contain remains. + +_Charlton Mackrell_, 3 m. E. of Somerton, has a cruciform church with a +central tower, in the piers of which are large foliated squints. The +church contains little of interest; but note (1) the roof of the +chancel, with the angels above the corbels, (2) the piscina, (3) the +carved seat-ends (especially the figure of a satyr). The churchyard +cross has figures carved on it, perhaps the symbols of the four +Evangelists. Within the parish but nearer the village of Kingsdon is +_Lytes Cary House_, situated a little distance from the Glastonbury and +Ilchester road. It is an interesting example of domestic architecture, +the chapel dating from 1340, the rest of the building from the 15th +cent. The E. front has two oriels, whilst the S. front, crowned with a +parapet, bears the arms of Lyte (a chevron between 3 swans) and Horsey +(3 horses' heads), and the initials _I, E_ (John Lyte and Edith +Horsey). The chapel has a Dec. window and ruined piscina and stoup. The +hall, now divided by a wall, has a fine roof and cornice. An upper room +retains a good moulded ceiling, decorated with heraldic blazons. + +_Charlton Musgrove_, a small village 1 m. N. of Wincanton. The church +is early Perp. and has a fair W. tower. Note (1) panelled chancel arch, +(2) square blocked squint, (3) odd-looking font. One of the bells is +pre-Reformation, and has the inscription _Regina coeli, laetare_. + +_Charterhouse on Mendip_, a lonely hamlet at the W. end of the Mendips, +3 m. N.W. of Priddy. Here the Carthusians of Witham had a cell (hence +the name), but all traces of the building have now disappeared. The +locality is, however, still of interest as the scene of the Roman +mining industry. Here lead was unearthed and transported across the +hills for shipment at Uphill. The settlement seems to have been a sort +of Roman "Roaring Camp," where the miners relaxed the tedium of their +exile by the excitements of the gaming-table. The surrounding heaps of +slag have been rich in revelations. Discarded trinkets, spoons, forks, +beads, and dice bear eloquent testimony to their habits, whilst on a +shoulder of the neighbouring upland is an amphitheatre. (Take Blagdon +road and turn up a grassy lane on L.: the amphitheatre is in a field +near the top). The workings have now been abandoned, but many attempts +have been made since Roman times to re-start them. A Roman road is +distinctly traceable in the fields beyond the mines. It ran in a +straight line from Uphill to Old Sarum. The rounded upland on the N.W., +a mile or so farther on, is Blackdown (1067 ft.), the highest point of +the Mendips. + +_Cheddar_, a large village 2-1/2 m. S.E. of Axbridge and 12 S.E. from +Weston-super-Mare. The G.W.R. line from Yatton to Wells has a station +here. There are few to whom Cheddar is not known by name as possessing +one of the most remarkable bits of scenery in the British Isles. The +gorge, the sides of which form the famous cliffs, cleaves the edge of +the Mendips very abruptly, and at its mouth lies the village. The most +impressive introduction to the sight is to approach Cheddar by road +from Priddy and to descend the ravine from the top of the hills, as the +cliffs increase in grandeur in the course of the descent, and the best +is thus kept till last. To the majority of sightseers who arrive by +train this is, of course, a counsel of perfection, but it is as well +that those who ascend from the village should be warned that the top of +the pass emerges upon open tableland, and that nothing remarkable +awaits them at the end of their climb. The grand _cañon_ is only a +quarter of a mile or so from the mouth of the gorge. Here the road +winds in and out like a double S at the foot of the cliffs, which, +gracefully festooned with creepers, tower above the spectator like the +bastions of some gigantic castle. Possibly there are higher walls of +rock elsewhere, but there are none which, for their height, have the +same perpendicularity. In some cases they rise sheer from the roadway +with a vertical face of 450 ft. Unfortunately an energetically worked +quarry has wrecked one side of the ravine, and the clatter of the +machinery detracts considerably from the repose of the scene. Near the +entrance of the pass a detached mass of rock roughly resembling a +crouching lion guards it like a sentinel. At its feet is spread a +pretty little sheet of water fed by subterranean streams. In these +hidden rivulets we have no doubt the instrument which nature has used +to fashion the cliffs. Geologists assert that the gorge is but the +ruins of a collapsed tunnel which once carried the water of some +primeval river. A series of caverns at the entrance of the valley are +vigorously exploited by their owners as "side shows" to this exhibition +of natural marvels. Of these caves _Cox's_, the one nearest the +village, was discovered as early as 1832, and has long been known to +excursionists as one of the sights of Cheddar (entrance fee 1s.). The +stalactites within are highly fantastic in shape and peculiarly rich in +colour. There is, however, more to be seen for the money at _Gough's_, +a little higher up, where a similar charge is made. A long natural +gallery, rendered in places more accessible by excavation, runs for a +quarter of a mile into the heart of the rock and opens up a series of +vast chambers elaborately hung with stalactites. When the electric +light is thrown on these pendants an almost pantomimic effect is +produced. The scientific interest of the cavern consists in the +abundant remains of extinct animals that from time to time have been +discovered here. Amongst other specimens on show at the entrance are +the bones of a pre-historic man unearthed in 1903. At a point along the +gallery will be heard the rumble of a hidden river. + +[Illustration: CHEDDAR VILLAGE] + +The village itself is not particularly picturesque. In its centre is an +ancient hexagonal cross (cp. Shepton) of no great merit, and much +doctored. The cheeses for which Cheddar is also famous are not the +exclusive product of the locality but are extensively made throughout +Somerset. The church is worth inspection. It is a fine Perp. building, +with a lofty W. tower of four stages. It has triple belfry windows, and +a spired stair turret, but the shallowness of the buttresses detracts +from its impressiveness. Within there is a good coloured roof, some +Perp. screens, a good 15th-cent. stone pulpit (also coloured), some +carved benches, and a rich S. chantry chapel of the Fitz-Walters. In +the sanctuary note the fine piscina and the brasses to the De +Cheddars--one to Sir Thomas on a recessed altar-tomb on the N., and a +smaller one to his wife on the floor below. The piers of the arcade +stand on some curious bases, probably the foundations of earlier +columns. The general effect of the interior is spoilt by the fantastic +modern colouring at the E. end. + +_Cheddon Fitzpaine_, a parish 2 m. N.E. of Taunton, preserving, like +Stoke Courcy, Stoke Gomer, Norton Fitzwarren, the name of its Norman +lord. It has a nice church, which, however, contains little that is +noteworthy. The piers of the S. arcade have figures on the capitals +(cp. Taunton St Mary's), and there are a few bench ends and two +piscinas. + +_Chedzoy_ (2-1/2 m. from Bridgwater) is, with its neighbour Weston +Zoyland, a village of great historic interest, since between the two is +the field of Sedgemoor. The final _-oy_ is probably identical with the +_-ey_ (isle) which occurs in Athelney and Muchelney, whilst _chedz-_ +may be the possessive of _Cedda_, a Saxon personal name. The church of +St Mary well deserves inspection. The embattled tower has double belfry +windows, and is noteworthy for the unusual way in which the buttresses +are finished. From its summit, in 1685, the approach of the royal +troops towards Sedgemoor was discovered through a telescope. Over the +S. porch is the date 1579, and the initials R.B. (Richard Bere, Abbot +of Glastonbury), R.F. (Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester), and H.P. +(unknown). The interior is remarkable for the difference in the width +of the aisles, which are separated from the nave by an E.E. arcade, +above which there is a clerestory. Over the N. aisle there is a curious +arch, with some defaced carving (apparently a crucifixion) above it. +The chancel originally had a lateral chapel on the S., of which traces +are visible both within and without. On the W. buttress of the S. +transept there are still marks where Monmouth's rustics sharpened their +scythes and axes. On both the S. and N. walls of the church there are +consecration crosses. One of its most notable features is the +excellence of its woodwork: note in particular (1) the bench ends, one +of which has _M_ (Queen Mary), surmounted by a crown, with the date +1559; (2) the lectern, dated 1618; (3) the pulpit, with linen-pattern +carving; (4) the railings near the organ, and the base of the tower, +bearing the dates 1620 and 1637. The rood-screen is partly modern, but +contains some old work. Note also the holy-water stoup, squint, +sedilia, and double piscina. Three altar frontals have been constructed +out of a beautiful cope which was discovered under the pulpit. There is +a good brass (about 1490), said to belong to a Sydenham, near the S. +entrance. Recently (1904) a curious sale took place in accordance with +a custom which is said to have been observed since 1490, when a piece +of land was left to be sold every twenty-one years to provide for the +repairs of the church, the auction to last during the burning of half +an inch of candle, and the last bidder before the candle was consumed +to become the purchaser. A similar method of sale is stated to prevail +at Tatworth, near Chard. + +_Chelvey_ is a village 1 m. S.W. of Nailsea Station. Its church, ded. +to St Bridget, preserves a Norm. door within the S. porch, and a Norm. +font on the S. side of the building. There is a large chapel containing +three recesses beneath ogee canopies. Note the corbels on either side +of the chancel to support the Lenten veil, and some curious old seats. +There is some old glass in the windows, and a cross in the churchyard. +In a farmhouse near are the remains of _Chelvey Court_, once the +residence of the Tynte family, who have memorials in the church. + +_Chelwood_, a small parish 2 m. S.E. of Pensford. Its little church +contains nothing of interest except an ancient font (probably Norm.) +and a medley of early glass (probably French) in the W. window. + +_Cheriton, North_, a pleasant village 3 m. S.W. of Wincanton. It has a +restored church, which preserves a pulpit of Charles I.'s time (1633), +and a tub font. The screen is, in the main, modern, though part dates +from the 15th cent. + +_Chesterblade_, 2 m. N.E. of Evercreech, perhaps owes the first part of +its name to its contiguity to the camp on Small Down (mentioned below). +Its church has a Norm. S. door. Note also (1) the quaintly carved Norm. +corbels at the N.E. and S.E. angles of the nave, (2) the Norm. font, +(3) the stone reading-desk (16th cent.), (4) the bell-cot, (5) the base +of a very ancient cross in the churchyard. On the adjoining height of +_Small Down_ there is a camp, defended on the E. side by two ditches. +In it remains of flint implements and pottery have recently been found, +and are now preserved in the Taunton Museum. + +_Chew Magna_ (originally Bishop's Chew) is a village on the Chew, 3 m. +W. from Pensford Station. As its appearance suggests, it was once a +small town. The main street has a raised causeway and several old +houses. The church, supposed to have been built by Bishop Beckington, +whose arms appear on the fabric, is a large and stately building with a +lofty Perp. W. tower. It has N. and S. aisles, but no clerestory. The +S. arcade is Dec. A fine gilded Perp. screen stretches right across the +church. Note (1) round-headed piscinas in sanctuary and S. aisle, (2) +Norm. font. There are several interesting monuments: (1) in S. chapel +an elaborate Elizabethan tomb with recumbent effigies of E. Baber and +wife (1575), (2) in N. chapel an altar-tomb with effigies of a gigantic +knight and a diminutive lady (Sir J. St Loe and wife), (3) in recess +beneath window in S. aisle a gaudily painted wooden figure of Sir John +Hautville (_temp._ Henry VII.), said to have been brought from Norton +Hautville Church (see _Stanton Drew_). The churchyard contains the base +of a cross. At the entrance to the churchyard is a fine old mediaeval +building with a good roof, where the manorial courts were once held. +Hard by is _Chew Court_, an old manor house, possessing a Tudor gateway +with a solar above. Down a lane leading off from the Chew Stoke road is +the _Manor House_, rebuilt in 1656 on the site of an earlier residence. + +_Chew Stoke_, a village 4-1/2 m. S.W. from Pensford Station. The church +stands back from the road, and has a graceful tower (restored), with +spirelet. The building is Dec., but much restored. On the R. hand side +of lane leading to the church is the old rectory, a quaint 15th-cent. +building, with small octagonal turrets and a front much decorated with +heraldic devices. + +_Chewton Mendip_, a prepossessing village, held in some repute by +sightseers, on the N.E. edge of the Mendips, 5 m. N.N.E. from Wells. It +may be reached from either Hallatrow (G.W.R.) or Binegar (S. & D.) +Stations. Its chief attraction is its singularly interesting church, +which possesses one of the most stately towers in the county. This, as +the most meritorious feature, should perhaps be noticed first. The +arrangement of double belfry windows in the _two_ upper stages is +unusual, and the conventional lines of the elaborately pierced parapet +above are relieved by the projecting stair turret and spirelet. The +general effect is rich and impressive. The figure of our Lord, +surrounded by four pairs of adoring angels, over the W. doorway should +also be observed (cp. Batcombe). In the body of the church note should +be taken of the good Norm. doorway forming the N. entrance. The +interior is remarkable for an ugly bit of mediaeval vandalism. To +render the altar observable from all parts of the church, a Norm. +triplet, which once formed the chancel arch, has been mutilated; a +pointed arch has been inserted, and the corner of the S. wall pared +away. The chancel contains the only extant specimen in Somerset of a +_frid stool_, a rough seat let into the sill of the N. window of the +sacrarium for the accommodation of any one claiming sanctuary. Note (1) +piscinas of different dates in chancel; (2) change of design in +arcading of nave, showing subsequent lengthening of church--the earlier +columns stand on Norm. bases; (3) rood-loft doorway and ancient pulpit +stairs near modern pulpit; (4) Jacobean lectern and Bible of 1611. The +"Bonville" chantry, S. of chancel, contains a 15th-cent. altar-tomb +with recumbent effigies of Sir H. Fitzroger and wife, and a modern +mural tablet with medallion to Viscountess Waldegrave. In the +churchyard is a weather-worn but fine cross, with a canopied crucifix. +The Communion plate is pre-Reformation, dating from 1511. The +neighbouring _Priory_ (Earl Waldegrave) is an unpretentious modern +building, occupying the site of an ancient Benedictine house, +afterwards tenanted by Carthusians. Portions of the old causeway which +once connected the priory with the church are still traceable. + +_Chilcompton_, a village picturesquely situated at the bottom of a +valley through which flows a rivulet. The stream forms a pretty margin +to the village street. The church was entirely rebuilt in 1839, and a +chancel of better type added in 1897. On the hill above, which commands +an attractive view of the vale, is a station (S. & D.). + +_Chillington_, a small village 4 m. N.W. from Crewkerne. It has a Perp. +church possessing an early font and some well-preserved early Communion +plate. + +_Chilthorne Domer_, a village 3 m. N.W. of Yeovil, has a small church +with some interesting features. Like the churches of Ashington and +Brympton, it has no tower but a curious square bell-cot over the W. +gable. There is a piscina attached to the N. pier of the chancel arch. +Some of the windows are Dec., and a lancet in the S. wall has the +interior arch foliated. The remains of a second piscina are observable +on the sill of one of the chancel windows. Under a recess in the +chancel is an effigy of a knight in chain armour, supposed to be Sir +William Domer or Dummer (_temp._ Edward I.). The Jacobean pulpit bears +the date 1624. + +_Chilton Cantelo_, a village 5 m. N. of Yeovil (nearest stat. Marston +Magna, 2-1/2 m.), which gets its name from the Cantilupe family. The +church, which has been rebuilt, has a good tower, with pinnacled +buttresses and a row of quatrefoils under the belfry storey. The body +of the building retains four piscinas (in the chancel and the two +transepts). Most of the windows have foliated rear arches. Note, too, +the screen and the massive font. + +_Chilton-upon-Polden_ a village 1 m. S.E. of Cossington Station, +possessing a church rebuilt in 1888-89. + +_Chilton Priory_ is the church-like structure by the side of the main +road from Bridgwater to Wells, about half a mile from Chilton village. +It is a modern building, though incorporating old material said to +belong to a Benedictine priory, and was once a museum. The top of the +tower commands a fine view both of the plain of Sedgemoor and the Brue +Level, with the Quantocks and Mendips in the background. + +_Chilton Trinity_, a parish 1-1/2 m. N. of Bridgwater. Its church is of +little antiquarian interest. + +_Chinnock, East_, a village 5 m. S.W. of Yeovil, has a church which +retains no remains of antiquity except a piscina and a font. + +_Chinnock, West_, 3 m. N.N.E. of Crewkerne, is a parish on the Parrett. +Its church has been wholly rebuilt (1889), the only parts of the +original fabric retained seemingly being a lancet-window in the N. wall +of the chancel and a Perp. one in the S. + +Included in this parish is the village of _Chinnock, Middle_, which +lies a little to the E. of W. Chinnock. The church has been restored, +but retains several features of interest. The low embattled tower has a +very wide staircase-turret. The S. door is Norm., with the zigzag +moulding on the jambs and arch, and a carved tympanum. Under one of the +stone seats in the porch is a canopy, protecting the head and shoulders +of a small effigy (apparently an ecclesiastic). There is a (late) Norm. +font, with an unusual moulding. Note, too, an old carved stone built +into the exterior of the N. transept. The gable of the porch carries a +curious sundial (as at Tintinhull). + +_Chipstable_, a picturesquely situated village, 3 m. W. from +Wiveliscombe. The church is of ancient origin, but it is difficult to +say how much of the original fabric survives. The Perp. W. tower +appears to have been restored merely, but the nave and aisles were +rebuilt in 1869. The window tracery is good, and the clustered columns +with angel capitals on the S. are noteworthy. + +_Chiselborough_, a parish near the Parrett, 4-1/2 m. N.N.E. of +Crewkerne. Its church has a central tower and spire, built over +unusually low E.E. arches, with a groined vault. One of the bells bears +the inscription "_Carmine laetatur Paulus campana vocatur_," and the +name of the maker. The body of the church was rebuilt in 1842. The +chancel is a makeshift. + +_Christon_, a parish 3 m. S.W. of Sandford and Banwell Station, has a +small but very interesting church. It is without aisles or transepts, +but has a low central tower. The tower-vault has quadripartite +groining, with curious ornaments at the base of the ribs, and is +supported by two Norm. recessed arches, with double chevron and other +mouldings, resting on fluted pillars. The S. door has likewise a fine +Norm. arch with the lozenge moulding. The chancel windows have rear +foliations. The other windows are modern restorations. + +A fine view is obtainable by crossing the hill on the N. which +separates Christon from Hutton. + +_Churchill_, a parish 1-1/2 m. E. of Sandford and Banwell Stations. +Like Wellington, it is associated (though perhaps distantly) with one +of the greatest soldiers our history has known, for _Churchill Court_, +a mansion near the church, was once the home of the family from a +branch of which the Duke of Marlborough sprung. The church itself is +not without interest. There are two aisles, separated from the nave by +arcades of different styles. The N. aisle has a good wooden roof, +whilst the S., in which are hung some pieces of armour, contains a +brass (protected by a carpet) to "Raphe Jenyns" and his wife (1572), +who are said to have been ancestors of Sarah Jennings, who became +Duchess of Marlborough. Note (1) the old font, (2) the carved seat +ends, (3) the squint looking from the S. aisle, (4) the monument to +Thomas and Sarah Latch, with a quaint inscription, said to have been +written by Dr Donne. + +A little way S.E. of Churchill, on the summit of a conspicuous hill, is +_Dolbury Camp_. It occupies 22 acres, is irregularly oblong in shape, +and is defended by a rampart, constructed of fragments of limestone +piled together, outside of which is a ditch, traceable in places. The +camp is presumably British in origin, but was used by the Romans, who +seem to have made their ramparts within the British earthwork. + +_Clandown_, a small unlovely village on a hillside a little to the R. +of the Bath road, 1-1/2 m. N. from Radstock. The church, which is +almost screened from observation by the workings of a colliery, is a +small, modern building, rather foreign in appearance. The Fosse Way +strikes right through the village, and may here be inspected with +advantage. The modern Bath road deserts the Roman trackway to make an +easier descent into Radstock, but the Roman road, _more suo_, +regardless of obstacles, clambered up hill and down dale, and made +straight for Stratton. The lane which passes in front of the +post-office and mounts the opposite embankment keeps the line of the +original route. + +_Clapton-in-Gordano_, a parish 4 m. N.E. of Clevedon. The description, +_in Gordano_, still attached to four places in this neighbourhood, +Clapton, Easton, Walton, and Weston, and formerly affixed to Portbury +and Portishead besides, goes back to the 13th cent. The prevailing +English form seems to have been _Gorden_ or _Gordene_, and the name was +probably applied to the triangular vale in which all these places are +situated, from _gore_, a wedge-shaped strip of land (cp. the +application of the term to a triangular insertion in a garment), and +_dean_ or _dene_, a valley (as in Taunton Dean). Clapton Church and +manor house are both of considerable antiquity. The church has a plain +W. tower, which is said to be of the 13th cent., though the main +building has Perp. windows; it contains a large monument to the Winter +family. At the entrance to the tower is a curious wooden screen, which +is not ecclesiastical but domestic, and originally belonged to _Clapton +Court_, the 14th-cent. manor house mentioned above, which is near the +church. + +_Clatworthy_, a village 4 m. N.W. from Wiveliscombe. The church is a +small Dec. building, of no particular interest, though it contains an +ancient font. About a mile away is an encampment. + +_Claverton_ (said to be a corruption of _Clatfordton_; cp. Clatworthy) +is a parish 3 m. E.S.E. of Bath, situated near the Avon in very +picturesque surroundings. In 1643 it had its peace rudely disturbed by +an engagement between the Parliament forces (under Sir W. Waller) and +the Royalists. The parish church, which has a squat tower surmounted by +a gable, contains within the chancel rails the coloured effigies of Sir +W. Bassett and his wife, whilst in the churchyard is buried Ralph +Allen, the friend of Fielding and Pope. His tomb is under an ugly +canopy, supported on arches. Above the village, to the N.W., is +_Hampton Down_, where there is a large British encampment. + +_Cleeve_, a parish 2 m. E. from Yatton, on the Bristol and Bridgwater +road, with a modern church. Near it is _Goblin Combe_ (take the road +that leaves the highway near the "Lord Nelson" inn, and when past a +schoolhouse enter through a gate). It is a long cleft in the mountain +limestone, wild and solitary, and covered with tangled vegetation. The +whole neighbourhood round is picturesque. + +[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO CLEEVE ABBEY] + +_Cleeve Abbey_, the ruins of a Cistercian monastery, 1/2 m. S. from +Washford Station (G.W.R. branch to Minehead). Leave the station by the +Taunton road, and take first turning to R. It is only recently that +these interesting remains have been rescued from the farmer and made +accessible to the public. The abbey was founded in 1188. With the +proverbial monkish eye for a fine situation and a trout stream, its +builders set it in a fertile valley, to which old chroniclers gave the +name of the Flowery Vale. Contrary to the usual fate of such ruins, the +domestic portions of the monastery have survived; the church has gone. +Entrance is gained through a gatehouse standing well apart from the +main block of buildings. It is generally believed to have been a kind +of combined guest-house and porter's lodge, where the casual visitor +found temporary entertainment. Over its hospitable doorway is graven +the salutation "_Patens porta esto, nulli claudaris honesto_" (This +gate shall ever open be To all who enter honestly). The floor which +divided the upper chamber from the passage below has disappeared. Note +on the front face (1) Perp. window; (2) empty niche; (3) niched figure +of Virgin and Child; and on the back (1) name of the last abbot, +Dovell; (2) crucifix flanked by two empty niches. Crossing a rough +field, the visitor enters the monastery proper by a doorway pierced in +the cloister wall. (Admission 1s. for one, 6d. for each additional +person.) The entrance opens at once into the quadrangle. Immediately on +the L. are the W. cloisters (Perp.), once surmounted by the sleeping +apartments of the lay brothers. Opposite on the E., and easily +distinguishable by its E.E. lancet windows, is the large dormitory +which occupies the whole length of the upper storey of the E. side of +the quadrangle. The chambers beneath this on the ground floor should be +carefully inspected. In succession, from L. to R., are (1) sacristy, +lighted by a broken rose window and containing a painted piscina and +aumbry; (2) treasury; (3) chapter-house, partly vaulted and entered +from the quadrangle by a beautiful E.E. doorway; (4) library and +staircase to dormitory; (5) a passage; (6) entrance to monastic common +room. This last was a kind of parlour running under the S. end of the +dormitory and divided from it by a vaulted ceiling of which only the +supporting piers now remain. On the R., or S. side, of the quadrangle +is the refectory, the most striking feature of the whole group of +buildings. It is a beautiful room, finely proportioned, and well +lighted by some lofty Perp. windows. It still retains its original roof +and some faded wall paintings. Note the stairs for reader's pulpit, and +contrast outer doorway of entrance staircase with doorway of dormitory. +The basement below is taken up by various offices of E.E. date, and the +rest of the block consists of the buttery, abbot's lodgings, and +kitchens. The "lie" of the refectory (parallel with the church) is +unusual for a Cistercian house, but it is the exception which proves +the rule, for in the garden outside, standing in the orthodox position +at right angles to the present structure, is the tiled floor of the +original building. The church stood on the N. side of the quadrangle +and was divided from the cloister garth by a blank wall in which will +be noticed a recess. It has now entirely disappeared, but the site may +be inspected by passing through an opening at the N.E. corner of the +quadrangle. The foundations are traceable, and a few fragments of the +tiled pavement and the bases of the piers are still visible. A stone +cross in the turf marks the site of the high altar. + +_Cleeve, Old_, village half way between Washford Station and Blue +Anchor, 5 m. from Minehead. From the Minehead road the church tower +will be seen picturesquely protruding above the trees. The village has +nothing to recommend it but its rural seclusion. The church has a fair +Perp. W. tower, in which the usual string course is replaced by a band +of quatrefoils. Within, it contains by N. wall under an ogee canopy an +effigy in lay costume (cp. Norton St Philip), with a cat at its +feet--perhaps some local Dick Whittington. Note also (1) foliated +squint; (2) good Perp. font. In the porch are some rough oak benches. +The churchyard contains the base and shaft of a cross, and the remains +of another cross will be passed on the road to Washford. Between here +and Blue Anchor is an ancient lady chapel, once a shrine of +considerable local repute. + +[Illustration: CLEVEDON] + +CLEVEDON, a watering-place 12 m. W. of Bristol, reached by a line from +Yatton. A light railway thrown across the intervening mud flats +connects it directly with Weston. The population in 1901 was 5898. Like +Weston, Clevedon is the outcome of the modern craze for health resorts. +It is now a fashionable collection of comfortable villas, profusely +disposed over the W. and N. slopes of a range of hills which run with +the channel on its way to Bristol. Though approached on the E. by miles +of uninviting marshes, the situation of the town is pleasant and +picturesque. Clevedon offers several points of contrast with its +enterprising rival and neighbour. Besides other things it retains some +remnants of ruder days. A humble row of cottages to the L. of the +station, and an ancient church dumped down in a hollow of the W. +headland, preserve the savour of a former simplicity. To one of these +"pretty cots" Coleridge is said to have brought his bride in 1795. The +reputed house still stands in Old Church Road, but the identification +is now questioned. Along the sea-front there is a pleasant little +promenade, flanked with turf and shrubs. The shore is rocky, and though +the ebb tide uncovers a considerable stretch of mud in the bay, along +the road to Walton the sea is never far away, even at low water. There +is nothing romantically bold about the coast scenery, but it is +pervaded by an air of quiet retirement much in keeping with its +literary associations. The esplanade leads at one end to a pleasant +walk along the cliffs in the direction of Walton, and at the other to a +pathway across the meadows towards the "old church." The main interest +of the church is its association with "In Memoriam," but +archaeologically, too, it is well worth a visit. It is a building with +a low central tower, which is pierced with some Norm, belfry windows, +and rests upon fine Norm. arches N. and E., cut with rather unusual +mouldings. The pointed arches leading to the nave and S. transept are +later (14th cent.). The arcading of the nave is peculiar; above is a +Perp. clerestory. A quaint little altar-tomb, with recumbent effigy of +a child, stands on the S. side of the tower arch, and within the arch +is a slab with the rudely incised figure of a knight. The S. transept +(Dec.) is spacious. Beneath its floor lie the hero of "In Memoriam" and +his father, H. Hallam, the historian. The memorial tablets in marble +are hung against the W. wall. Note also the roof corbels, the windows, +and the founder's niche. The corresponding chapel on the N. is +unusually small, and deserves notice (observe window at E.). In the +nave remark (1) Dec. W. window, defaced to carry modern glass, (2) +stone pulpit and adjoining window. In the porch is a staircase, said to +have once led to a priest's chamber over the S. aisle. The other +churches in the town are modern. + +_Clevedon Court_, "one of the most valuable relics of early domestic +architecture in England," dates from the reign of Edward II. It +underwent both restoration and extension in the days of Elizabeth, and +has been considerably modified since. The porch (containing a +portcullis groove), hall, and kitchen are part of the original fabric. +A room in the first floor, with a window of reticulated tracery, is +believed to have been the chapel. The place is, of course, closely +associated through the Hallams with Tennyson, and Thackeray worked at +"Esmond" whilst a visitor here. The grounds are open to the public on +Thursdays, _Walton Castle_, on the top of a hill E. of Clevedon, is an +old house, octagonal in shape, and surrounded by a low wall with round +towers at the angles. The hill offers a very picturesque view. + +[Illustration: CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE] + +_Clifton Suspension Bridge_, one of the famous sights of Bristol. It is +a structure of remarkable grace, thrown across the gorge of the Avon, +which affords a much-needed means of communication between the Somerset +and Gloucestershire banks of the river. The history of the bridge is a +strange record of commercial vicissitudes. It was originally projected +by a Mr Vick of Bristol (d. 1753), who, with an inadequate conception +of the cost, left £1000 for its construction, which was to be +undertaken when the accumulated earnings of the sum had multiplied it +tenfold. In 1830, the amount in the bank was £8000, and an Act of +Parliament was obtained sanctioning the raising of additional capital, +With £45,000 in hand, the work was commenced under the direction of +Brunel; but funds gave out long before the bridge was complete. For +thirty years the work was at a standstill, but in 1861 another start +was made, and in 1864 the bridge was opened for traffic. The supporting +chains, which were brought from old Hungerford Bridge, are thrown over +lofty turrets, resting in one case on a projecting bastion of rock, and +in the other on a solid pier of masonry. These slender suspenders carry +a roadway and two footpaths across a span of 700 feet. The bridge +stands 245 feet above high-water level, and its altitude seems to +furnish an irresistible temptation to people of a suicidal tendency. +The prospect from the footway is extraordinarily impressive. Looking +down the river, the spectator commands the romantic gorge of the Avon, +and turning round he can view the panorama of Bristol shut in on the +right by the lofty height of Dundry. + +_Cloford_, a small village, 2 m. N.E. of Wanstrow. The church, rebuilt +in 1856, has a tiny side chapel, containing a monument to Maurice +Horner (d. 1621), and a tablet with some quaint-coloured busts to Sir +G. Horner and his wife (1676). + +_Closworth_, a village 2 m, S.E. of Sutton Bingham (L. & S.W.). The +church is Perp. In the churchyard is the shaft of a cross. The rectory +bears date 1606. + +_Clutton_, a parish (with station) 2 m. S. of Bristol, with collieries +in its neighbourhood. The church has been rebuilt (1865), but preserves +a good Trans. S. doorway, and a chancel arch of the same date. The +tower, rebuilt in 1726, is constructed of rather curious stone. + +_Coker, East_, a village 3 m. S.S.W. from Yeovil. The church and hall +are prettily grouped together on rising ground above the roadway. The +church is chiefly Perp. with debased transepts and a N.E. tower of the +same character but greater dignity. Note (1) cylindrical arcade on S., +(2) panelled arches to transept, (3) old oak door on N., (4) Norm, font +with cable moulding. In the churchyard is the effigy of a woman, and +another old tomb with incised figure stands near the church door. The +_Court_ hard by is a modernised 15th-cent. hall. A dignified row of +17th-cent. alms-houses lines the common roadway to the church and +court. Near the bridge on the Yeovil road is the old manor house, now a +farm. It has a two-storeyed Perp. porch and some good windows. It was +the birthplace of Dampier, the navigator (1652). A Roman pavement, +bronzes, and coins have been discovered in the neighbourhood. _Naish +Priory_, 1-1/2 m. away, is now a private residence. It retains its +chapel and one or two other relics of its early conventual days. It is +assigned to the 14th cent. or 15th cent. + +_Coker, West_, a large village 3 m. S.W. of Yeovil, on the London and +Exeter road. The church is spacious, with an unusually low tower; some +small windows in the turret are of horn. The body of the church seems +to be partly Dec. and partly Perp. It contains some seats dated 1633, +and a monument to two daughters of Sir John Portman. In the village is +a 14th-cent. manor house, formerly belonging to the Earls of Devon. + +_Coleford_ (4 m. S. from Radstock) is an unattractive colliery village, +with a modern church (1831). The tower is of fair design. + +_Combe Down_ (a large parish 2 m. S.E. from Bath) possesses some large +freestone quarries. The church is modern (1835). + +_Combe Florey_, a very pretty village 1-1/2 m. N.W. of Bishop Lydeard +Station, which gets its name from the Floreys, the ancient owners of +the manor. Its church, Perp. in the main, contains some interesting +memorials. There are three effigies in the N. aisle--a knight (supposed +to be one of the Merriet family, to which the manor passed from the +Floreys) and two ladies (perhaps his successive wives). In the N. wall +the heart of a lady, "Maud de Merriette," who was a nun of Cannington, +is recorded to have been buried. On the floor at the W. end of the N. +aisle is a brass to Nicholas Francis, who possessed the manor +subsequently to the Merriets. Sydney Smith was rector here (1829-45), +and the glass in the E. window is in memory of him. Note also (1) +angels on piers of arcade (cp. St Mary's, Taunton), (2) carved seat +ends, (3) restored cross in churchyard. In the village is a Tudor manor +house. + +_Combe Hay_, a small village 1-1/2 m. N. of Wellow. The Paulton Canal +here boldly climbs the hillside by a series of locks. The church, which +has been much altered and enlarged, is the burial-place of Sir Lewes +Dyves, the defender of Sherborne Castle. + +_Combe St Nicholas_ (21 m. N.W. of Chard) has a spacious Perp. church, +preserving in the N. aisle a jamb of a doorway belonging to the +original Norm. church, and in the chancel a piscina of the succeeding +E.E. building. There are also piscinas in the N. and S. chapels. Near +the organ are some remains of the old rood-screen, whilst two ancient +fonts are kept in the W. end of the church. In the neighbourhood some +barrows have been discovered, and at _Higher Wadeford_ a Roman pavement +has been found, forming part of a villa. + +_Compton Bishop_, a small parish under the shadow of Crook's Peak, 2 m. +W.N.W. of Axbridge. The church contains a Norm. font (with a wooden +cover dated 1617) and some E.E. work (note especially the jambs of the +S. doorway and the fine double piscina). There is a very good carved +stone pulpit, some ancient glass in the E. window, and a cross with +traces of carving on the shaft. + +_Compton Dando_, a small village on the Chew, 2-1/2 m. E. of Pensford. +The church is of 14th-cent. workmanship, but the chancel and S. porch +respectively bear the dates 1793 and 1735 (probably referring to +repairs). Within is a piscina and Norm. font. The churchyard contains a +good sundial. + +_Compton Dundon_, a village 5 m. S. from Glastonbury Station (S. & D.), +on the main road to Somerton. In the centre of the village of Compton +is the remnant of an old cross. The church, in the hamlet of Dundon, is +half a mile away on higher ground at the foot of Dundon Beacon. It has +a Perp. nave and a Dec. chancel, with a fine E. window. The whole +fabric has been carefully restored. There is a good specimen of a +Caroline pulpit (1628), let into the N. wall, and reached by means of +the rood stairway. The sanctuary contains a sedile and piscina, and a +stoup and a rougher piscina will be found in the nave. In the +churchyard is a very fine yew tree, locally credited with an age of +almost 1000 years. + +To the E. of the church rise the wooded sides of _Dundon Beacon_, a +striking-looking hill with the summit encircled by a camp. A cist, +containing a skeleton and some metal rings, is said to have been +discovered here. + +_Compton Martin_, a village 3 m. E.S.E. of Blagdon. The church is quite +remarkable, and is one of the finest bits of Norm. work in the county. +The nave is entirely late Norm., and possesses the unusual feature of a +clerestory. The fine arcades, with their cylindrical columns and +circular abaci, are too obvious to escape notice, but particular +attention should be paid to the twisted pillar on the N.E. The chancel +has an extremely low quadripartite vault, the effect of which is rather +spoilt by the distortion of the chancel arch through some defect in the +foundations. The aisles are Perp., and the one on the S. curiously +encloses the clerestory. Note (1) the junction of the Perp. arch and +Norm. pillars, (2) recessed effigy of a lady at E. end of N. aisle, (3) +semi-circular recess, probably for additional altar (cp. Cudworth); (4) +Norm. font on a fluted pedestal, (5) Perp. screen, said to have been an +importation. There is a Perp. W. tower of weak design and poor +workmanship, opening into the nave by a panelled arch. + +_Compton Pauncefote_, a village 2-1/2 m. from Sparkford. It lies in +pretty country, and has a church to which the possession of a slender +spire adds picturesqueness. Internally there is little that calls for +remark. There is a squint in one of the piers, and a piscina in the +chancel. + +_Congresbury_ (pronounced Coomsbury), a parish 2 m. S. of Yatton. It is +said by tradition to derive its name from St Congar, an Eastern prince +who took refuge here to avoid an unwelcome marriage, and became a +hermit. In Alfred's time the village had a monastery, given by the king +to Asser. The church has a W. tower surmounted by a good spire, a rare +feature in Somerset. The S. arcade is E.E., with modern detached +shafts, which, unlike the original which they have replaced, do not +support the arches above them. The N. arcade is later (early Perp.). +The clerestory is rather unusual, with curious coloured figures between +the windows. Note (1) the parvise or gallery over the S. porch, (2) the +elaborate sedilia and double piscina, (3) the rood-screen on a stone +base, (4) the Norm. font. + +Near the church is the _Vicarage House_, with a fine carved doorway on +the S. side (15th cent.), bearing, amongst other heraldic devices, that +of Bishop Beckington. There are the remains of two ancient crosses, one +in the churchyard, the other in the roadway. + +_Corfe_, a parish 3-1/2 m. S. of Taunton. It has a church which was +originally of Trans. character, but has been completely restored, the +only remains of the early building being part of the chancel, two +corbels in the nave, and a fine font bowl. The bells are ancient, and +have inscriptions. + +_Corston_, a village 4 m. W. of Bath (nearest stat. Saltford, 1 m.). +Southey was at school here, and did not like it, but the place seems +pleasant enough to the casual visitor. The church, which has been +altered and enlarged, has an E.E. chancel and W. tower, capped by a +short octagonal spire. Note large unique foiled piscina built into the +E. wall of the church, and Norm. doorway. + +_Corton Denham_, a village 2-1/2 m. E. of Marston Magna. The church is +modern, but stands on the site of the original fabric. Its tower is +good, and, standing against the green hillside beyond, makes a pretty +addition to the landscape. The fragment of a canopy will be noticed +built into a wall on the road-side. Some Roman remains have been found +in the neighbourhood. + +_Cossington_, a picturesque village on the Poldens, with a station on +the S. & D.J.R. Its church is beautifully situated, but retains little +to interest the antiquarian, except a brass of the 16th cent. + +_Cothelstone_, a parish at the base of the Quantocks, 2 m. N.N.W. of +Bishop's Lydeard Station, has a church dedicated to St Thomas of +Canterbury. Its most interesting feature is a large S. chapel, +separated from the nave by two arches supported on a Norm. or Trans. +pier, and containing two tombs (each with the effigies of a knight and +lady) belonging to the Stawell family. The one dates from the 14th, the +other from the 16th cent., and both are well worth examining. Note also +(1) stoup, (2) fine Perp. font, (3) large squint, (4) some good +bench-ends, (5) medallions of ancient glass, with figures of St Thomas +a Becket, St Dunstan, St Aldhelm, etc. + +Adjoining the church is _Cothelstone Manor_, the home of the Stawells, +a Jacobean house, partially destroyed by Blake in the Civil War. It is +built round three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth being occupied by a +curious gatehouse or porter's lodge. Note the banded mullions of the +windows. On the arch by the road Judge Jeffreys hung two adherents of +Monmouth's by way of retort to Lord Stawell for remonstrating with him +for his cruelty. On the S. extremity of the Quantocks is _Cothelstone +Beacon_. a round tower, which is a conspicuous object from the valley. +The site affords a fine prospect over Taunton Dean and the adjoining +levels. + +_Coxley_, a village 2 m. S. from Wells, served by Polsham Station, on +the S. & D. branch to Glastonbury. The church is modern (1839). + +_Cranmore, East_, 1 m. E. from Cranmore Station (G.W.R.), has a small +modern church in close proximity to _Cranmore House_ (Sir R. Paget). On +the summit of the neighbouring hill is a tower, one of the most +conspicuous objects on the E. Mendip range. It is a square structure, +with projecting balconies, built in 1862. Though of no artistic merit, +it is worth a visit on account of the extensive panorama which it +commands. + +_Cranmore, West_, a village with station on the G.W. branch line to +Wells. The church has a good Perp. W. tower of the Shepton type, with +triple belfry windows. Within is an ancient bier and some monuments to +the Strode family. + +_Creech St Michael_ is a village lying 3 m. E. of Taunton, on the edge +of the alluvial plain, and perhaps owes its name to an inlet of the sea +which once covered the latter. The embankment which is cut by the road +from Taunton once carried the Chard Canal. The church, which is said to +date from the 12th cent., looks as if it had once been cruciform, with +a central tower. The latter is supported on piers, three of which are +E.E., and the fourth Perp. The present nave is Perp., but there is an +E.E.S. door, concealed by a porch. The chancel arch is exceptionally +wide, and there is an unusual number of niches. Note (1) the carved +reading-desk (1634), (2) the bench-ends in the choir, (3) the oak +cornice, (4) the tomb of Robert Cuffe (d. 1597), (5) carving on face of +the tower. + +CREWKERNE, a market town of 4226 inhabitants, at the S. extremity of +the county, on the borders of Dorset. The station, on the L. & S.W. +line, is a mile away. Crewkerne is a clean and compact little place, +with some reputation for the manufacture of sailcloth, twine, and +shirts. The streets conveniently converge upon a central market-place. +It has, however, few features of interest, with the exception of its +church, which stands on rising ground above the market-place. This is a +fine cruciform structure, with a central tower and a quite remarkable +W. front. The doorway is enriched on either side by carved niches, and +flanked by a pair of octagonal turrets. The W. window is good, and is +surmounted by a niched dragon, which has lost its companion, St George. +Externally should also be noted (1) the vigorous, though defaced, +series of gargoyles above the S. porch, representing an amateur +orchestra; (2) the remains of a stoup; (3) the curious chamber at the +S.E. end of the S. transept. This last is a unique feature; it is +supposed to have been the cell of an anchorite. Beneath the E. window +is a railing which marks the former existence of a sacristy (cp. +Porlock, N. Petherton, Ilminster). The original doorways communicating +with it will be noticed inside. The interior is a trifle disappointing, +and contains few features of interest. Observe, however, (1) wooden +groining to tower, (2) windows and roof of N. transept, (3) ancient +square font on modern base. In the S. transept there are traces of an +earlier church: here, too, note the image of St George. There are +several brasses, but none of much interest. The earliest, on the +chancel wall, bears date 1525. One in the S. transept carries a crest +with a ludicrous resemblance to a well-known advertisement. Note also +two old chests. On the N. side of the churchyard is an old building, +once the grammar school, founded 1499. Some spacious new buildings for +the school have now been erected outside the town, on the Yeovil road. +The road to Chard, which crosses St Rayne's and Windwhistle Hills, is a +breezy highway, and affords an extensive prospect. + +_Cricket Malherbie_, a parish 3 m. N.E. of Chard. The church is a +handsome modern building with a spire. + +_Cricket St Thomas_, 3-1/2 m. E. of Chard, is a parish with a small +church charmingly situated above a valley through which flows the +Dorset Axe. It has a monument to Alexander Hood, Viscount Bridport, and +another to the Rev. William, Earl Nelson, brother of the famous +admiral. _Cricket House_ once belonged to Viscount Bridport, but is now +the property of F.J. Fry. + +_Croscombe_, a quaint-looking village midway between Shepton and Wells, +situated in the pretty valley which connects the two towns. The name +perhaps comes from the Celtic _cors_, a marsh or marshy ground. The +church is late Perp., with aisles, clerestory, and a battlemented W. +tower with a good spire. The tower parapet has niches, some of which +still retain their figures. There is an E.E. doorway to the S. porch. +Within note (1) the unusual feature of a two storeyed vestry (cp. +Shepton), (2) curious little chamber at N.E. with ribbed stone roof. +The building, however, is chiefly remarkable for its elaborate display +of Jacobean woodwork. The screen is a fearful and wonderful piece of +carving, reaching almost to the roof, and the pulpit (the gift of +Bishop Lake, 1616) is of quite barbaric impressiveness. The dark oak +roof of the chancel is of the same date. Some fine candelabra hang from +the roof beams. The remains of a village cross stand at the bottom of +the pathway leading to the church. An old house at the Shepton end of +the village was an ancient hostelry, and is worth inspection. Behind +the church is the old manor house with a Perp. window. Overhanging the +road to Shepton is _Ham Wood_. + +_Crowcombe_, a village 2 m. N. of Crowcombe Heathfield Station, and +1-1/2 m. E. of Stogumber, has a church ded. to the Holy Ghost. The roof +of the S. porch is covered with fine tracery and has a large room above +it, reached from within the church by a staircase in a recess topped by +a turret. Note (1) the large late Perp. windows; (2) the fine +bench-ends (one showing a man slaying a dragon, and another bearing the +date 1534); (3) the splendid octagonal font with carved figures on each +face; (4) the piscinas in chancel and S. aisle. There is a small +ancient screen and a modern reredos. The N. chapel belongs to the Carew +family. In the churchyard there is a good cross (13th cent.) with +niches on the shaft filled with figures now much worn. There is another +cross in the centre of the village. Opposite the church is an old +pre-Reformation building, the basement of which served as an +alms-house, and the upper floor as a school. It is now unfortunately +quite ruinous. + +_Cucklington_ is a parish 3 m. E. of Wincanton, standing on a high +ridge. The church (St Lawrence) has the tower on the S. side, having +been reconstructed, after damage received in a storm, in 1703. The +arcade is severely plain, and is perhaps 13th-cent. work. The font is +Norm. The E. window of the chancel consists of three lancets. There is +a little ancient glass in the E. window of the S. chapel. The figure in +this window represents St Barbara, who is reputed to have suffered +martyrdom in the 3rd or 4th cent.; notice in her left hand the tower, +which is one of her emblems. St Barbara is said to be the patron saint +of hills; hence perhaps her connection with Cucklington. + +_Cudworth_, a small isolated hamlet 3 m. S.E. of Ilminster. The church +is a very plain building without a tower, chiefly Perp., but retaining +some Dec. work, and examples of the still earlier Norm. period. Note +(1) Norm. doorway of the 12th cent.; (2) blocked doorway on the S., +with gabled weather moulding; (3) very curious round-headed recess +beneath E. window of N. aisle, lighted by a tiny round-headed slit; (4) +piscina with stone shelf above; (5) Norm. bases to arcade columns; (6) +Norm. font. + +_Culbone_, a small parish 9-1/2 m. W. of Minehead. It is reached from +Porlock Weir by a woodland walk of a mile along the coast, through the +Ashley Combe estate. Its little Perp. church is remarkable more for its +unusual and picturesque situation (by the side of a delightful combe) +and its diminutive size (35 ft. x 12 ft.) than for any great +architectural interest, though it contains some Norm. work in its font +and a chancel window of two lights, cut in a single stone. The +churchyard contains the base of a cross. The pathway from the Weir is +unfortunately very much broken by a landslip at one point, and +difficult for ladies to traverse. + +_Curland_ is a scattered parish 6 m. S.E. from Taunton, on the road to +Chard (nearest stat. Hatch Beauchamp, 3 m.). Its church (restored) is +noteworthy for its small size but for nothing else. + +_Curry Mallet_, a parish 2-1/2 m. E. of Hatch Beauchamp Station, gets +its distinguishing name from the same Norman lords who once owned +Shepton Mallet and who had a castle here. Its church, which has a good +deal of panel-work, contains a large altar-tomb, and some quaint +17th-cent. mural monuments. Note piscina in N. aisle. + +_Curry, North_, is a considerable and attractive village, 2 m. S.E. of +Durston, lying off the main roads. It has a fine church resembling in +plan its neighbour of Stoke St Gregory, being cruciform, with a central +octagonal tower. In the main it is Perp., but preserves earlier work in +the N. door (Norm.), the base of the tower (E.E.), and the S. transept +(which has a Dec. window). Note (1) the fine S. porch; (2) the effigies +N. of the chancel and in the N. aisle; (3) piscina in N. aisle. Read, +too, the account (preserved in the vestry) of the _Reeves' Feast_, +dating from the time of King John, but discontinued in 1868. The +churchyard cross has a modern shaft on an old base. + +_Curry Rivel_, 2 m. W.S.W. of Langport, is a large village with an +interesting church. It has a lofty tower, with the belfry window +intersecting the string course; the arch is panelled and the vault +groined. There is also a fine groined vault to the S. porch (which has +a good stoup outside). The oldest portion of the church is the N. +chapel, which has a good deal of Dec. work (note the ball-flower +ornament). This chapel contains three foliated recesses in the N. wall, +each with an effigy (said to belong to the L'Orti family), and also a +tomb of Robert Jennings (d. 1593). Between the chapel and chancel is +another tomb of later date with effigies of Marmaduke and Robert +Jennings, surrounded by figures of their families. Both the N. and S. +chapels retain their piscinas and have screens. There is some fine +ancient glass in the N. aisle; and both this and the S. aisle have good +roofs. Note, too, the bench-ends. + +The tall column, visible from the Taunton road, is the _Parkfield +Monument_, erected in 1768 by the Earl of Chatham to the memory of Sir +William Pynsent, who bequeathed to him the neighbouring estate of +Burton. + +_Cutcombe_, a large parish 7 m. S.W. from Dunster. It includes Wheddon +Cross, the highest point of the road between Dunster and Minehead +(nearly 1000 ft. above sea-level). The scenery is very beautiful, +Dunkery being a conspicuous feature in the prospect. The church, which +is 1/2 m. from the main road, has undergone extensive restoration, and +has for the archaeologist little interest. In the graveyard is the base +of an ancient cross, with modern shaft and head. + +_Dinder_, a village 2 m. E. of Wells, picturesquely situated in the +valley which runs up from the city to Shepton. The church (Perp.) forms +a graceful addition to the landscape. Within is a Jacobean stone pulpit +(1621), and there is some old glass in a window above it. In the +churchyard is the base of a cross with modern shaft. _Dinder House_ +stands directly in front of the house, and another mansion, +_Sharcombe_, crowns the hill behind. The serrated ridge on the other +side of the Wells road is _Dulcot Hill_. + +_Ditcheat_, a village 1-1/4 m. S.W. of Evercreech Junction. Both the +church and the former rectory are interesting. The church is cruciform, +with an embattled central tower, crowned by a small pyramidal cap, and +is remarkable for possessing a clerestory to the chancel as well as the +nave. The building seems to have been originally Norm.; but the present +chancel is Dec. (note the lower windows, with their rear foliations), +and both it and the rest of the fabric were altered in the 15th cent., +when the Perp. clerestory was added. Features to be observed are (1) +effigies on W. face of the tower, (2) groined tower-vault, (3) wooden +roof, with traces of paint and gilding, (4) fine wooden pulpit and +reading-desk of Charles I.'s time, (5) initials of John Selwood, Abbot +of Glastonbury (1456-93), on the chancel parapet. The house which was +once the rectory, was built by John Gunthorpe, Dean of Wells, in the +15th cent. (his monogram appears on one of the windows), though it has +undergone subsequent enlargement. The thickness of the walls is +noteworthy. + +_Dodington_, a small parish 7 m. E. of Williton. It has a small church, +retaining a fine stoup and some fragments of ancient glass in the E. +window. Not far from it is a fine and well-preserved Elizabethan manor +house, dating from 1581. It contains a noble hall, with fine oak roof +and screen, minstrel gallery, and a large fireplace (1581), and two +smaller rooms, one of which opens from the hall by a 15th-cent. stone +doorway, which must have been transferred from elsewhere. Of these two +rooms the one has a good oak roof, and the other a curious plaster +cornice. + +_Dolbury Camp_. See _Churchill_. + +_Donyatt_, a village on the Ile, 2 m. S.W. of Ilminster, from which it +is most directly approached by a footpath. The church is Perp., and has +been well restored. There is a stoup at the W. entrance, and another in +the N. chapel. Note the foliage round the capitals of the chancel arch. +In the parish are the remains of an old manor house. + +_Doulting_, a small village 2 m. E. from Shepton Mallet, on the road to +Frome. Its chief interest lies in its remarkable freestone quarries +from which the mediaeval builders hewed their blocks for the walls of +Wells and Glastonbury. The quarries are still of considerable +commercial importance, as the stone is easily wrought and of great +durability. Here, too, St Aldhelm was seized with a fatal illness and +carried into the church to die. His funeral procession to Malmesbury +was an imposing ecclesiastical function, the "stations" _en route_ +being subsequently marked by crosses. A spring in the vicarage garden +is still called St Aldhelm's Well. The church is a small cruciform +building with a central octagonal tower and spire. It has some E.E. +features, but has been largely rebuilt (note the E.E. columns covered +with ivy in churchyard near W. end of church). The N. porch encloses a +Norm. door (note stoup). The S. porch is an elaborate Perp. structure, +beautifully finished and vaulted (cp. Mells). Within the church is a +piscina in S. transept, and a 17th-cent. brass near the vestry door. In +the churchyard opposite the N. porch is a notable sanctuary cross, +bearing the instruments of the Passion (cp. W. Pennard). A few paces +down the Evercreech road is one of the large tithe barns once belonging +to the Abbey of Glastonbury (cp. Pilton). + +_Dowlish Wake_, a village at the bottom of a slight declivity 2 m. S.E. +of Ilminster. It owes the second part of its name to the family of +Wake, the last male representative of which died in 1348. The church is +a modern antique, with a central tower partly original (15th cent.). +The N. chapel is also original, and contains some interesting +monuments. These are (1) serpentine tomb with bust of Captain Speke the +African traveller, (2) effigy of a lady (_temp._ Edward I.), under a +recessed cinquefoiled canopy, the cusps of which are worked up into +faces, (3) altar-tomb, with effigies of a knight (in plate armour) and +a lady--believed to be John Speke (d. 1442) and his wife, (4) small +brass on floor to George and Elizabeth Speke (1528). Close by is a rude +font, probably early Norm. It was brought here from West Dowlish as the +only remains of a church which existed there prior to 1700. + +_Downhead_, a straggling village 2-1/2 m. N.E. of Cranmore Station. The +church is small and devoid of interest. It has been "restored" +regardless of style. + +_Downside_, a scattered parish without a village 1/2 m. S.W. of +Chilcompton station (S. & D.). The church is an ugly little structure, +pseudo-E.E., built in 1837. A quarter of a mile beyond the church in a +field on the right are the "fairy slats." Here is a crescent-shaped +British camp overlooking a picturesque ravine. The precipitous nature +of the ground on the S. side forms a natural defence and accounts for +the incompleteness of the rampart The "slats" are merely slight slits +in the ground caused by the slipping of the unsupported strata. Within +the parish, but contiguous to the village of Stratton, is _Downside +Abbey_, a modern settlement of Benedictine monks, who, after their +expulsion from Douai during the French Revolution, finally found a home +here in 1814. The Abbey Church is a building of noble dimensions but +somewhat lacking in symmetry. It is still incomplete. The present block +consists of choir, transepts, a multitude of chapels, and an unfinished +tower. The choir is rather severe in style, but the chapels are very +elaborate. Attached to the abbey is a large and well-equipped college +for boys. + +_Draycott_, a hamlet 4 m. E.S.E. of Axbridge, with a modern church +(note font) and a station that serves Rodney Stoke. The locality +possesses some quarries of a hard kind of conglomerate, capable of a +high polish. + +_Drayton_, a village 2 m. S. of Langport. The church has been restored, +and the chief feature of interest connected with it is the fine cross +in the churchyard, with a figure on the shaft of St Michael slaying the +Dragon. + +DULVERTON, a market town on the Barle, 21 m. W. from Taunton, pop. (in +1901) 1369. The station on the G.W.R. branch line to Barnstaple is 2 m. +distant. Dulverton is a primitive and not very prepossessing little +place. Its quaintness is quite unpicturesque, and it is generally +unworthy of its situation. It is, however, deservedly beloved of the +angler and the huntsman. It possesses one of the best trout streams in +the W. of England, and its proximity to Exmoor, the haunt of the red +deer, makes it an excellent centre for the chase. But the rod and the +hounds are merely adventitious attractions to Dulverton. Its real merit +lies in its scenery. It not only enjoys undisputed possession of the +lovely valley of the Barle in which it lies, but a short connecting +road enables it to appropriate the beauties of the neighbouring vale of +the Exe. Both torrents descend from the highlands of Exmoor, and it is +difficult to say which is the more beautiful. The valleys are similar, +but have characteristic differences. The Barle has all the piquant +charm of the mountain torrent, whilst the beauties of the Exe are of a +sedater though not less pleasing character. Everywhere about Dulverton +delightful landscapes may be caught, but the "show sight" is Mount +Sydenham, just above the church (ascend lane at E. end of church and +turn in at gate on L. when the first hollow is reached). Dulverton will +find less favour with the antiquarian than with the artist. Such +antiquities as it does possess are more picturesque than important. The +church has been entirely rebuilt (1855) with the exception of the +tower, which is of the plain Exmoor type and is now almost hidden by a +huge sycamore. The other antiquities in the neighbourhood are (1) +_Mouncey Castle_ (a corruption of Monceaux), a rough encampment on the +summit of a wooded hill almost encircled by the Barle, a couple of +miles above Dulverton; (2) the ivy-covered ruins of _Barlynch Priory_, +a branch "cell" from Cleve Abbey, standing in a charming situation on +the banks of the Exe, a mile above Hele Bridge; (3) _Tarr Steps_, a +rude but highly picturesque footbridge over the Barle, 5 m. above +Dulverton. It crosses the river at a ford, and is constructed of large +flag-stones, uncemented, and resting on similar stones placed edgewise. +It is generally regarded as Celtic in origin, and is certainly a great +artistic addition to a charming bit of river. A most delightful walk is +to take the Winsford road through Higher Combe, cross the Barle at Tarr +Steps, and return by the opposite bank through Hawkridge. It is a round +of about 12 m., but well repays the fatigue involved. Another pleasant +excursion is to explore the valley of the Haddeo, a stream which flows +into the Exe from the opposite direction to the Barle, and which fully +maintains the reputation of the neighbourhood for river scenery. Near +Dulverton station is an interesting trout nursery. _Pixton Park_ (in +which there is a heronry) is the seat of the Countess of Carnarvon. + +[Illustration: DULVERTON FROM MOUNT SYDENHAM] + +_Dundry_, a small village 5 m. S.W. from Bristol, standing on the top +of a lofty hill, 790 ft. high. The church tower, which is a conspicuous +landmark for miles round, was built by the Merchant Venturers, _temp._ +Edward. VI. It is a four-storeyed structure of plain design, crowned by +a very elaborate parapet. Its situation is remarkable. The view from +the summit is one of the most famous and extensive in Somerset. Bristol +lies spread out below on the N.E., and beyond are the Severn and the +Monmouthshire hills. On the R. are the highlands of Gloucestershire, +with Beckford's Tower indicating the position of Bath on the verge of +the picture. The S. side commands a different but scarcely less +fascinating landscape. The unbroken line of the Mendips bounds the +prospect in front. Peeping over them on the R. are the Quantocks, and +to the L. lie the Wiltshire Downs. At the foot is a wooded vale dotted +with villages. The church itself (rebuilt in 1861) is without interest. +In the churchyard are the lower portions of a cross, and a huge dole +table (cp. Norton Malreward). + +_Dunkerton_, a small colliery village 2-1/2 m. N. from Wellow (S. & +D.), lying in a deep valley. The church has been rebuilt. The chancel +contains a Dec. piscina, and a fragment of diaper-work is inserted in +the porch. + +[Illustration: DUNSTER CASTLE AND YARN MARKET] + +_Dunster_, a village 24 m. N.W. from Taunton. It has a station 1/2 m. +distant on the G.W. branch line to Minehead. For many people +picturesque Somerset begins with Dunster, and its attractions are +hardly overrated. Here both the artist and the antiquary find +themselves in clover. The quaint wide street, with its gabled houses +commanded at one end by the frowning heights of the castle, and +overlooked at the other by a watch-tower, wears an air impressively +mediaeval. The village was once a noted emporium for cloth, and +"Dunsters" were quoted at reputable prices by every chapman. The +venerable yarn market still stands; the date 1647 is the date of its +repair by the grandson of the builder, George Luttrell. The _Castle_ +claims first attention, as the history of Dunster is largely the story +of the Castle. It was, as might be expected, a legacy of the Conquest. +It was built by Wm. de Mohun, and by his successor was made a sad thorn +in the side of King Stephen. It passed into the hands of the Luttrells +(its present possessors) by purchase. In the Civil War it was +alternately held for the Parliament and the king, and in 1546 it was +regarded as Charles's last hope in Somerset. Its resistance was stout; +for 160 days Colonel Wyndham baffled the assaults of no less an +adversary than Blake, and only surrendered on the total collapse of the +Royal cause (p. 17). The grounds are entered under a gateway (Perp.), +built by Sir H. Luttrell. The oldest part of the castle lies to the R. +of this, flanked by two round towers (13th cent.), built by Reginald +Mohun. (Note door and huge knocker, replacing original portcullis: +another similar tower of the same date will be seen from the terrace). +Of the mansion the portion to the R. of the elaborate doorway is the +oldest (Elizabethan); the part to the L. dates from the 18th cent. In +the grounds should be noticed (1) a lemon tree 200 years old, (2) +cypresses, (3) magnificent yew hedge. The view obtainable from the +terrace is varied and comprehensive, embracing mountain, sea, and park. + +The Mohuns had ecclesiastical sympathies as well as military ambitions, +for in addition to building the castle, they established a priory here +in connection with Bath Abbey. This explains the peculiarity of Dunster +_Church_, which possesses a separate monastic choir. The prior's +lodging, and the conventual barn and dovecot, may still be seen in a +yard on the N. side of the church. The church has a central tower of +rather weak design. Internally this forms the division between the +secular and monastic portion of the building. The chief feature of the +church is a magnificent rood-screen which spans the whole width of the +structure. It has been the model for many neighbouring imitations. The +western half of the church is Perp., with occasional traces of an +earlier Norm. building. The W. doorway is Norm., and on the W. side of +the tower are the piers of a Norm. chancel arch. At the base of the +tower there is a bit of masonry locally claimed as pre-Norman. The +monastic choir and its sanctuary have been restored from indications of +its original E.E. character. Besides transepts, the church has three +chapels--that of the Holy Trinity on the S., St Mary's on the N., and +beyond this the interesting chantry of St Lawrence, which contains a +fine altar slab and a tiled floor. The monuments which call for notice +are (1) in the monastic choir the effigy of a lady (said to be one of +the Everard family), under a canopy; (2) on the N. of the sanctuary the +recumbent figures of Sir Hugh Luttrell and wife (1428-33); (3) at E. +end of the Chapel of Holy Trinity an incised slab with figure of Lady +Eliz. Luttrell (1493); and (4) on S. of same chapel an altar with two +pairs of recumbent figures, also Luttrells. A small brass with the +figures of a man and woman will be found at the W. end of the S. aisle, +bearing date 1470. In addition to features already mentioned, note (1) +the unique E.E. arch at entrance of S. chapel, widened by Perp. +builders for ritual purposes; (2) old alms and muniment chests in N. +chapel; (3) old bench-end near W. doorway, from which the other +woodwork has been copied. Externally should be observed (1) priest's +house at S. entrance of churchyard; (2) recess for stocks in the wall +close by; (3) churchyard cross with round base at W. end of church; (4) +conventual barn and dovecot in yard on N. + +The "Luttrell Arms," at the entrance of the village, has a mediaeval +porch with openings for cross bows, a fine timbered wing at the back of +the buildings, and some plaster work in one of the rooms. The _Watch +Tower_ on Conygar Hill (i.e. _Coney Garth_--"rabbit enclosure") is, as +will easily be seen, a mere shell, built (probably for ornament's sake) +in 1775. Amongst the old houses in which Dunster is peculiarly rich, +the curious three-storeyed building at the entrance of the street +leading to the church claims particular attention. It is locally known +as the _Nunnery_, a curious designation, which points to a possible +connection with the priory, perhaps in the capacity of guest house. The +three storeys overhang one another, and are faced with shingles. At the +bottom of the street which leads into the Dulverton road will be found +a lane to the L. This descends to a stream which is crossed by a +picturesque pack-horse bridge of two spans. There is an old market +cross (locally known as the butter cross) hidden by the hedge on the +right-hand side of the upper Minehead road. + +_Durleigh_, a parish 1-1/2 m. W.S.W. of Bridgwater. It has a church +which retains its old tower (with a gabled roof); but all other traces +of antiquity have been obliterated, save for the remains of a stoup in +the porch. In this parish is an old manor house called _Bower Farm_, +with a picturesque front, showing a small window flanked by two towers. +The porch roof is, of course, modern. Belonging to the farm is a +curious _columbarium_, constructed of mud, in which the nesting niches +are said to number 900. + +_Durston_, a village 5 m. N.E. of Taunton, has a church (rebuilt in +1853) which possesses a good tower. The Communion-table bears date +1635, and there are some carved bench-ends. Near here, at _Mynchin +Buckland_, there used to be a Preceptory of the Knights of St John of +Jerusalem, to which was attached a priory of women belonging to the +same order. It is said to have been very rare in this country for +communities of men and women under vows to exist side by side in this +way. + +_Easton_, a village at the foot of the Mendips, 2-1/2 m. N.W. of Wells. +The church is modern (1843). + +_Easton-in-Gordano_, a village 1 m. W. from Pill (G.W.R.). The church +is a large and dignified modern clerestoried structure (rebuilt in +1872), with a good Perp. W. tower (original). + +_Edington_, a village on the Poldens, with a station 2 m. away. The +church has been rebuilt (1877-79), and contains no ancient features +except a very good Norm. font. On the locality, see p. 13. + +_Elm_, or _Great Elm_, a village 3 m. S.W. from Frome, perched on the +edge of a vale of quite romantic picturesqueness (see _Vallis_). The +church is an unpretentious little building with a saddleback tower. It +bears one or two indications of high antiquity. Note (1) on S. external +wall, herring-bone masonry (cp. _Marston Magna_), (2) Norm, doorway to +tower, and E.E. arch within. The interior has been remodelled in +accordance with early Victorian ideas of ecclesiastical propriety. + +_Elworthy_, a village 4 m. S.W. of Stogumber Station. The small church +(Perp.) contains a carved illuminated Caroline screen (1632). The +pulpit, approached by the rood staircase, is of the same date. In a +small window in the N. wall is some ancient glass. Above the village is +a British camp, called _Elworthy Barrows_, which can be reached from +near the church. Towards Wiveliscombe, on the L. of the road, rises +_Willett Hill_ (950 ft.), crowned by a tower. + +_Emborrow_ (the first syllable perhaps a corruption of _Elm_), a small +hamlet on the Mendips, 1-1/2 m. N. of Binegar Station. The church is a +forlorn-looking building with a central tower containing a 14th-cent. +sanctus-bell. _Emborrow Pool_ is a dismal sheet of water bordering the +main road and surrounded by trees. It has the appearance of being +rapidly silted up. + +_Englishcombe_, a small and rather uncouth-looking village 3 m. S.W. +from Bath, and 1-1/2 m. S.W. from Twerton Station (G.W.R.). It still +retains something of the aloofness which once characterised it as an +English outpost on the Welsh border, and is worth a visit. The church +is of considerable antiquarian interest. It consists of a Perp. nave, a +central Norm. tower, and a Norm. chancel. A Perp. chapel, now occupied +by the organ, adjoins the porch. Externally, note the fantastic corbel +table round chancel. Within, it has two good pointed Norm. arches, and +on the N. wall of tower a well-preserved Norm., arcade. Observe (1) +detached Norm. capitals on N. wall, (2) panelling round splay of W. +window of nave and S. window of chapel. Almost opposite to the S. +entrance to the churchyard is a tithe barn once belonging to Bath +Abbey, which still shows some indication of its ecclesiastical origin. +At the W. end of graveyard is a farm-house with orchard, and beyond +this is a field where may be seen a good specimen of the Wansdyke. Near +the village once stood a castle of the De Gourneys. The site is marked +by a mound on a neighbouring estate. + +_Enmore_, a village 5 m. S.W. of Bridgwater, on the road leading to the +S.E. extremity of the Quantocks. Its church has a good tower, +noticeable for the pinnacles that crown the staircase turret. The +tower-vault is groined, the chancel arch panelled, and there is a Norm. +S. door (belonging to a former fabric) with carved capitals and good +mouldings. Note (1) the carved wooden pulpit, (2) the niche, supported +by an angel, on the S. face of the tower. In the churchyard there is +the broken shaft of a cross. _Enmore Park_ (W.B. Broadmead) is hard by. +It was formerly called Enmore Castle, and once belonged to the Malets. + +_Evercreech_ is a large village 3-1/2 m. S.S.E. from Shepton Mallet, +with a station on the S. & D. J.R. The first syllable of the name +probably means "boar" (cognate with the Latin _aper_), and recurs in +Eversley. It is famed for its church, which has perhaps the most +graceful tower in all Somerset; its double, long-panelled windows, +buttresses, and clustered pinnacles are particularly fine. The earliest +part of the building is the chancel (14th cent.), with Dec. windows at +the E. and N.; the rest of the church is Perp., the S. aisle being +modern. Note (1) wooden roof of nave, the colours of which are believed +to reproduce the original; (2) carving of gallery in the tower; (3) +brackets (perhaps for lights) on piers of N. arcade; (4) quaint +inscription behind the organ, of the date 1596. Outside the churchyard +is a much defaced cross. S.S.E. of the village is the commanding +eminence of _Creech Hill_, where there seem to be traces of earthworks, +and whence a fine view is obtainable, with the town of Bruton in the +valley to the S., and Stourton Tower conspicuous on the hills to the E. + +_Exford_, a village on the fringe of Exmoor "Forest," near the source +of the Exe, 12 m. N.W. from Dulverton Station. It is one of the many +rendezvous of the huntsman, as there are kennels here for staghounds +and harriers. The houses are dropped into a hollow of the moors through +which trickles the stream. The church braves the gale on the hill top +above. It is remarkable for nothing but its exposed situation, a +thousand feet above sea-level--a fact which has no doubt necessitated +its frequent renewal. The tower is original, but the nave and chancel +are modern. The S. aisle appears to have been built chiefly out of a +legacy left by a local blacksmith about 1532. Note the Devonshire +foliage on capitals. The churchyard contains the base of a cross +locally known as the "Crying Stone," from its appropriation by the +parish beadle as a pedestal for proclamations. At the churchyard gate +is a "lipping" or mounting stone. + +_Exmoor_. Though generally associated in the popular mind with +Devonshire, Exmoor is really, in the main, a part of Somerset. It is +the highest, wildest, and most fascinating portion of the county--a +truly delightsome land, a veritable paradise for the sportsman and the +painter. The red deer run wild at will over the moors, or find a +congenial covert in the oak scrub which clothes the combes. Brawling +brooks abound on all sides to entice the angler and interest the +artist, and a charming strip of sea-coast must also be numbered amongst +its attractions. Though mainly given over to the sportsman and the +tourist, efforts have from time to time been made to civilise these +wilds. In general they have proved futile. Mines have been sunk only to +be abandoned, and the agriculturist has fared little better than the +miner. Early in the last century, a Mr Knight made an heroic effort to +enclose a large portion of the moor for the purposes of cultivation. +The heather, however, is still triumphant. The only memorial of his +ambition is a ruined mansion at Simonsbath. The hills are all of +considerable altitude--well over 1200 ft.--but with the exception of +Dunkery few can pretend to any marked individuality. The landscape is a +mere "tumultuous waste of huge hill-tops," which no one takes the +trouble to specify. Perhaps the least praiseworthy feature of Exmoor is +its weather. To adapt a Cornish description of something quite +different, "when it's bad, it's execrable; and when it's good, it's +only middlin'." It has a disagreeable partiality for haze and drizzle. +In such an untamed region "routes" are only an embarrassment. The +regulation drive is from Minehead to Dulverton, and from Dulverton +through Simonsbath to Lynton, which virtually circumscribes the moor. +The best way, however, is to turn oneself loose in the district, and +ramble over the moors at will. The sturdy tourist will find many an +exhilarating excursion. Winsford, Exford, Withypool, and Simonsbath are +all worth seeing. Dunkery Beacon (1707 ft.) may be conveniently +ascended on the Porlock side from Luccombe or Cloutsham, and on the +Dulverton side from Wheddon Cross, near Cutcombe. + +[Illustration: TARR STEPS, EXMOOR] + +_Exton_, a village 8 m. N. of Dulverton Station, picturesquely perched +on the hillside overlooking the valley of the Exe. The church is +without interest. + +_Farleigh Hungerford_, a small village 7 m. S.S.E. of Bath. It is a +place of some interest to the antiquarian, and should be visited in +conjunction with Hinton Charterhouse from Freshford Station (2 m.). Its +attractions consist of a few crumbling fragments of a castle once +belonging to the Hungerfords, and the contents of the castle chapel. +The ruins stand on the shoulder of a deep defile descending into a +wooded bottom called Danes' Ditch. The annals of the castle are long +rather than stirring. An old manor house of the Montforts was +transformed into a castle by Sir Walter Hungerford (d. 1449), who spent +upon the alterations the ransom which he had obtained for the capture +of the Duke of Orleans at the Battle of Agincourt. In the Great +Rebellion it was, curiously enough, held for the king whilst its owner +was commanding the Parliamentary forces in Wilts. To one of the +existing towers a grim story is attached. In the unchivalrous days of +Henry VIII. a Sir W. Hungerford, who, like his royal master, was a much +married man, consigned his third wife to these uninviting quarters, and +kept her under lock and key, with a chaplain for her only attendant. +The lady, however, not only survived this knightly Bluebeard, but had +the courage to contract a second marriage. The general arrangements of +the castle are not very obvious to the casual observer. It seems to +have consisted of a gatehouse and an outer and inner court. The inner +enclosure was flanked by four cylindrical towers, and contained the +dwelling-rooms, which overlooked the ravine. On its accessible side the +castle was protected by a moat. Nothing now remains but the gatehouse, +a few fragments of the enclosing walls, the remains of two towers, and +the chapel. Passing under the gatehouse, the visitor will see the +chapel and inner court on the R. The Chapel of St Leonard (keys to be +obtained at inn above, fee 3d.) is now a museum, and contains a good +collection of armour. Amongst other curiosities on show are a "He" +Bible, a pair of Cromwell's boots, and one of his letters. A gigantic +fresco of St George adorns the E. wall, and beneath the E. window is +the original stone altar. The Chapel of St Anne, on the N., is shut off +by an iron grille, and contains some fine monuments: (1) in centre, a +costly marble cenotaph with effigies of Sir E. Hungerford, the +Parliamentarian, and his wife Margaret (1648), (2) within the grille, +Sir T. Hungerford and his wife Joan (1398-1412), (3) on N., Sir E. +Hungerford and wife (1607), (4) against W. wall, tomb of Mrs Shaa +(1613), with panel of kneeling figures. In the S.E. corner of main +building is a plain altar-tomb of Sir W. Hungerford and son (1596). The +font is said to have been brought from the church. At its foot is a +slab with incised figure of a chantry priest of unknown identity. +Beneath the side chapel is a vault (to which access can be obtained +outside) containing the leaded corpses of several members of the +family. The parish church of St Leonard stands on the other side of the +road on rising ground overlooking the ruins. It is a small plain Perp. +building with square W. tower surmounted by a short pyramidal spire. It +is somewhat quaint, but contains nothing of interest except an altar +made out of an ancient settle. Over the doorway is a semicircular stone +bearing a curious Latin inscription, said to be not later than 1200 +A.D. It is supposed to have belonged either to an earlier building or +to some dismantled church in the neighbourhood. Below the church is +_Farleigh House_, a picturesque modern mansion. + +_Farmborough_, a biggish village 8 m. S.W. from Bath (nearest stat. +Clutton, 2-1/2 miles). The church is modern, but has a Perp. W. tower. +The chancel contains a piscina, and there is a ribbed stone squint. +Near the village is _Barrow Hill_, a conical-shaped eminence. + +_Farrington Gurney_, a pleasant village on the Bristol and Wells road, +8 m. N.E. from Wells (nearest stat. Hallatrow, 1 m.). On the Midsomer +Norton road is an old manor house. The church, which lies beyond the +house in a field, is modern (1843), but occupies an ancient +ecclesiastical site. Over the W. doorway is a small Norm. effigy, +called by the natives "Old Farrington." The churchyard contains the +base of an ancient cross. + +_Fiddington_, a parish 7 m. N.W. of Bridgwater. Its church retains a +few carved seat ends, an oak pulpit, and a piscina, but presents no +other feature of interest. + +_Fitzhead_, a village 2 m. N. of Milverton. The church has been +rebuilt, with the exception of the tower. In the churchyard is a good +specimen of an effigied cross (cp. Wiveliscombe). Hard by is _Fitzhead +Court_, an ancient manor house said to contain a good plaster ceiling. + +_Fivehead_, a parish 5 m. S.W. of Langport. The church has two Dec. +windows in the chancel, the rest are Perp. There is a 16th-cent. tomb +of John Walshe, and an ancient Norm. font with double mouldings. Note +in the S. aisle (1) piscina, (2) remains of canopy. The manor house, +the home of the Walshes, now a farm, preserves the old hall. + +_Flax Bourton_, a parish 5 m. S.W. of Bristol (with a station), is said +to owe the first part of its name to the abbey of Flaxley in +Gloucestershire, which possessed the principal estate in the parish. +The small Perp. church is noteworthy for the 12th-cent. Norm. work +preserved in it, which consists of (1) a S. door, exceptionally tall +and narrow, with banded pillars and a quaint carving of St Michael and +the Dragon; (2) a chancel arch, recessed, with curious carvings on the +chamfer of the abacus and on the capitals. Note also (1) terminals of +the label of the S. chancel windows, (2) font. + +_Foxcote_ (or _Forscote_) is a small hamlet 2 m. E.N.E. of Radstock. +The church is modern, with the exception of the tower. + +_Freshford_, a village near the confluence of the Frome and Avon (with +a station), 5 m. S.E. of Bath. The church is Perp., with a W. tower. +_Freshford Manor House_ once belonged to the priory of Hinton +Charterhouse. + +[Illustration: MARKET PLACE, FROME] + +FROME, a thriving market town of some 11,000 inhabitants, on the E. +side of the county, with a station on the G.W.R. line to Weymouth. +Though its surroundings are pretty, the town itself is an ill-arranged +collection of steep and narrow streets, one of which--Cheap +Street--deserves notice for its quaintness. The spaciousness of the +market-place redeems the narrowness of the streets. With the exception +of a little faint-hearted sympathy shown to Monmouth, Frome has never +helped to make history. Nowadays it does a brisk trade in woollen +cloth, and possesses some large printing-works, breweries, and +art-metal works. The visitor would do well to make his way at once to +the church, which is practically the only thing in Frome worth seeing. +It is a building of much greater dignity within than the exterior +suggests, and has been restored on a very elaborate scale by a former +incumbent, the Rev. W.J. Bennett (1852-66), a figure of note in the +early Ritualistic controversies. The tower, crowned with a spire, is +somewhat eccentricly placed at the E. end of the S. aisle. The interior +is remarkable for its heterogeneous mixture of styles and its multitude +of side chapels, of which St Nicholas's, the Lady Chapel, and St John +Baptist's are on the N., and St Andrew's on the S. A Saxon church was +built on the site by St Aldhelm, and possibly a couple of carved stones +built into the interior of the tower may have belonged to it. This was +succeeded in the 12th cent. by a Norm. church, of which a doorway +remains, leading from St Nicholas's Chapel to the Lady Chapel, and +perhaps a piscina opposite the latter; in the 13th cent. the chancel +arch, the lower part of the tower, and the eastern half of the arcade +were erected The rest of the arcade was added in the 15th cent. The +abrupt change in the mouldings is very noticeable. The Lady Chapel, +originally Norm. (see above), was rebuilt at this time, as well as St +John's Chapel (now the organ-chamber). The chapel of St Nicholas (the +baptistery) dates from the 16th cent.; the old glass in it bears the +rebus of Cable, the founder of it (K and a bell). St Andrew's Chapel is +said to have been founded in 1412 (though it looks like Dec. work). +Interesting features are (1) piscinas above the rood and in the S. +aisle, (2) a _memento mori_ in the Lady Chapel (said to be a Leversedge +of Vallis), (3) brass (1506) on tower wall. The rood-screen, the +statues at the W., the medallions above the arcade, and the _Calvary +Steps_ outside the building are all modern. In the churchyard, beneath +the E. window, is the tomb of Bishop Ken, who, after his "uncanonical +deposition," lived in retirement at Longleat, and, dying in 1711, was +buried at his own request "just at sunrising in the nearest parish +church within his own diocese." + +GLASTONBURY, a small market-town of some 4000 people in the centre of +the county, 6 m. S. from Wells. It has a station on the S. & D. line +from Evercreech to Bridgwater. The site of Glastonbury is almost as +conspicuous in a Somerset landscape as its name is in Somerset history. +Its huge conical tor, crowned by a tower, rises like a gigantic +sugar-loaf from the surrounding plain, and is visible to half the +county. The neighbourhood is a happy hunting-ground for the antiquary, +and one of the "regulation" sights for the casual tourist. No one can +be said to have "done" Somerset who has not seen Glastonbury. Its +associations are romantic as well as historical. Though the modern town +is commonplace enough, poetry and piety, fact and fiction, have +conspired to make it famous. Here was the cradle of British +Christianity. In this "deep meadowed island, fair with orchard +lawns"--the fabled _Avalon_--blossomed the flower of British chivalry +in the persons of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. It was +when a Glastonbury monk that Dunstan made his vigorous onslaught on the +powers of darkness. And it was this "parcel of ground," already +consecrated by the bones of St Patrick, King Edgar, and St David, which +became the favourite burying-place of mediaeval saints and heroes. The +legend which accounted for its early pre-eminence is even in these +sceptical days worth retelling, for from its popularity the future +importance of the abbey sprang. Joseph of Arimathaea was despatched by +St Philip along with eleven companions "to carry the tidings of the +blessed Gospel" to the shores of remote Britain. Providential winds +wafted them across the waters of the Severn Sea, and at length the +wayworn travellers landed at Glastonbury, then an island. As their +leader, like Jacob, leant in worship on the top of his staff on +Wearyall Hill, the rod took root and became a thorn tree, which +blossomed every year as surely as the Feast of the Nativity came round. +The "Holy Grail" (the cup of blessing from the Last Supper), which +Joseph brought with him, he buried at the foot of Glastonbury Tor, and +from the place of its sepulchre gushed forth the Bloody Spring, which +may be duly inspected to this day. The pilgrims made more friends than +disciples, and the king, after a dilatory conversion, set apart for the +maintenance of the newcomers "twelve hides of land." Here the +evangelists possessed their souls in patience and built for worship a +little shrine of wattle and daub, which was many generations afterwards +found intact when fresh missionaries came to re-evangelise the +islanders. Round this _vetusta ecclesia_ gathered the subsequent +glories of the monastery. This long-cherished tradition enshrines +sufficient fact to justify Glastonbury's claim to be "the only tie +still abiding between the vanished Church of the Briton and the Church +of the Englishman." Its authentic history begins with its foundation as +a monastery by that ecclesiastically-minded layman, King Ina (688-726), +who built a church here and dedicated it to St Peter and St Paul. +Dunstan, himself a Glastonbury man, by the austerity of his conduct and +the vigour of his administration, made the fame of this early religious +house. With the coming of the Normans grander ideas prevailed. Abbots +Thurstan (A.D. 1082) and Herlewinus (1101-20) both projected buildings +of some pretensions, but Henry of Blois, brother of King Stephen, abbot +in 1126, was the first great builder. Henry's church was a fabric of +much magnificence, but it completely perished in a fire in 1184, and +Henry II., in one of his occasional fits of piety, charged himself with +its rebuilding, and entrusted the work to his chamberlain Ralph, who, +upon the site of Joseph's legendary shrine, erected the present +beautiful chapel of St Mary (_c._ 1186). With the death of the king the +work languished, for no funds were forthcoming from the empty pockets +of his "lion-hearted" successor; and it was not until 1303 that the +great church whose ruins still survive was finally dedicated. Even then +the fabric was not complete. It took two centuries to add the finishing +touches. Abbot Sodbury (1322-35) vaulted the nave, and it was left for +one of his successors, Walter Monington (1341-74), to fill in the +vaulting of the choir. Not content with the already considerable +dimensions of the church, Monington extended the chancel two bays +eastwards; and Abbot Bere (1493-1524) added another chapel, and propped +the tower by inverted arches. Characteristic traces of the respective +periods may still be observed. Until the Reformation the abbey had a +career of unrivalled influence and splendour. It yielded precedence +only to St Albans, and the abbot was said never to travel abroad with a +retinue of less than 100 retainers. Such wealth was not likely to elude +the comprehensive grasp of Henry VIII. Glastonbury was involved in the +general ruin of the monasteries. The fate of its last abbot, Richard +Whiting, is one of the tragic stories of the time. Though a "weak man +and ailing," he refused to surrender the property of his abbey. But +Thomas Cromwell had a "short way" with passive resisters. In his +private "remonstrances," amongst other jottings was found, "Item--The +Abbot of Glaston to be tried at Glaston, and also executed there." In +accordance with this pre-arranged programme Whiting was arraigned at +Wells, November 14, 1538, on a quite unsupported charge of treason, and +in the great hall of the palace sentenced to death. The next day he was +drawn on a hurdle to the tor, and there hanged, and his head fixed on +the abbey gateway. After this judicial murder the monastic property at +once fell to the Crown. + +[Illustration: ST. JOSEPHS CHAPEL, GLASTONBURY] + +The entrance to the ruins is through a gateway opposite the George +Hotel. The abbey cannot be seen from the street, but this obscure entry +conducts the visitor to the porter's lodge (entrance 6d.). The most +perfectly preserved portion of the buildings is the chapel of St Mary, +commonly known as _St Joseph's Chapel_. It stands on the site of St +Joseph's legendary shrine, and formed a kind of Galilee to the W. +entrance of the church. It is rectangular in plan, with a square turret +crowned by a pyramidal cap rising from each corner, only two of which +now remain. It is one of the most beautiful specimens of Trans. work in +England. The decoration is rich and abundant--"no possible ornament has +been omitted." Note (1) fine N. doorway (which should be compared with +the S. porch of Malmesbury), (2) arcading round interior face of wall, +(3) triplet at W. end, (4) remains of vaulting, (5) shallow external +buttresses. Beneath the now demolished flooring is a small crypt of +15th-cent. work. It was probably excavated to provide extra burial +accommodation. Observe on S. side a well within a round-headed recess. +The chapel originally stood apart from the great church, but was +eventually joined up to the larger building by a continuation of the +chapel walls. The extension is at once detected by the late character +of the work. Note change of arcading from Norm. to E.E., and the E.E. +entrance to the church. Of the latter very little now remains. There +still stand the piers of the chancel arch, portions of the walls of the +choir and nave aisles, and a little chapel which opened out of the N. +transept. But these remains, slight though they are, are sufficient to +indicate the general design of the church and its huge dimensions. +Though there is an evident attempt to keep up the character of the +ornamentation displayed in St Mary's chapel, the workmanship is much +later; and a still later development is noticeable in the two +easternmost bays of the choir, thrown out by Abbot Monington (1371-74). +Note (1) lancets of nave, pointed externally, rounded internally, (2) +pointed lancets of choir, (3) square abaci to pilasters of lancets (cp. +Wells), (4) traces of Dec. work in vaulting ribs of nave, (5) absence +of bench-table in Monington's additions, (6) fragment of Perp. +panelling on E. side of chancel arch. The general plan of the church +followed the arrangements of the great Benedictine abbeys, which were +all designed with a view to a stately ritual and imposing processions. +There was a lofty nave of ten bays, with corresponding aisles, a choir +of three bays, also with processional aisles (Monington's extension was +evidently intended to form a further path behind the high altar), and +N. and S. transepts, each with a pair of E. chapels. A large central +tower surmounted the whole, which, like that of Wells, is said to have +been braced internally with inverted arches. The cloisters abutted on +to the S. aisle of the church (note the higher sills of the windows), +and beyond these again were the cloister garth, the refectory, +dormitory, and domestic offices. The only remains of this part of the +monastery is the _Abbot's Kitchen_, with a contiguous fragment of the +almonry, and a portion of the great gateway of the monastery, now +incorporated in the "Red Lion" inn. The flowering thorn tree--a +descendant of Joseph's budding staff--should be noticed near the +porter's lodge. The _Abbot's Kitchen_ may be inspected at an extra +charge of 6d. (entrance in Magdalene Street, just below Museum). It is +a handsome stone building, now standing by itself in the middle of a +field, and not at all suggestive of culinary appointments. Externally +it is square at the base, but is crowned with an octagonal +superstructure carrying a pyramidal roof and lantern. Within, huge +fireplaces, once surmounted externally by chimneys, are set across the +four corners, making the interior altogether an octagon. On one face is +the effigy of a mitred abbot. The vaulted roof is supported by stone +ribs, and egress for the steam is cunningly contrived in the windows. +Its date is 1435-40. Another surviving remnant of monastic property +will be found in Bere Lane at the top of Chilk-wall Street. This is a +very fine cruciform barn similar to those at Doulting and Pilton, but +rather richer in detail. The windows are traceried, and have above them +figures of the four Evangelists, and ecclesiastical effigies stand as +finials on two of the gables. + +The other objects of interest in Glastonbury are (1) the _George Inn_ +in High Street opposite the abbey entrance--a fine 15th-cent. structure +(said to have been built by Abbot Selwood) which once served as the +pilgrims' hostelry; (2) the _Tribunal_--a few doors higher +up--probably the court-house where the abbey officials interviewed +their clients (observe escutcheon above doorway); (3) the almhouses and +chapel in Magdalene Street (entrance through Red Lion gateway, once +part of the main entrance of the monastery), founded by Abbot Bere in +1512 (note founder's rebus above gateway of court); (4) Market Cross, a +modern structure of good design standing on the site of an ancient +hexagonal cross; (5) museum in Magdalene Street, containing several +"finds" from the neighbouring lake village (see _Godney_); (6) the +churches of St John and St Benignus. The latter, in St Benedict Street, +has a well-designed tower, but is not otherwise noteworthy (observe +stoups in porch and Abbot Bere's rebus on parapet above porch). A flood +which in 1606 inundated the neighbourhood is said to have reached to +the foot of the tower. St John's Church in High Street, built by Abbot +Selwood in 1465, has, on the contrary, some pretensions to +magnificence. The tower especially is worthy of observation, as it is +considered by some to be amongst the finest in the county. This, +however, is an extravagant opinion. The arrangement of the windows +superficially resembles that at Chewton Mendip, those of the belfry +being reproduced in the stage below; but the lower pair are not an +exact repetition of the pair above. It will be noted that the string +courses are carried round the buttresses. The elaborate cresting is +rich but meretricious. The interior, Perp. throughout, is lofty and +spacious, but the general effect is spoilt by the timber supports which +are found necessary to shore up the chancel arch. Note externally (1) +bell-cot above chancel (cp. Wrington), (2) groined S. porch with +parvise above: internally (1) plain altar-tombs on either side of +sanctuary, (2) groined vault to tower, (3) at S.W. end the tomb, with +effigy, of one Camel, an abbey official (observe camels on panels +below), (4) finely carved stone pulpit, (5) wooden roof of nave, (6) +good E. window. + +[Illustration: GLASTONBURY TOR] + +A climb should be taken to the top of the _Tor_--500 ft. above +sea-level. The original chapel of St Michael was destroyed by a +landslide in 1271. The Perp. tower subsequently erected still remains, +though deprived of its upper storey. Note _bas-reliefs_ over doorway, +and tablet with figured eagle below parapet. A spring, called the +"Blood Spring," near the Tor is said to mark the spot where St Joseph +buried the Holy Grail. _Wirrall_, or _Weary All Hill_, near the +station, may also be scaled with advantage, if only for its traditional +associations. It was here that St Joseph landed, and his staff, taking +root, developed into the miraculous thorn tree. The tree, however, no +longer exists, for it was hewn in pieces by a Puritan soldier, who is +said to have cut off his leg in the process as a penalty for his +profanity. An offshoot of the parent thorn grows in the Abbey grounds. + +_Goathurst_ is a village lying at the foot of the S.E. spur of the +Quantocks, 4-1/2 m. S.W. from Bridgwater. It has an old church, with a +heavy battlemented tower. The N. chapel contains a large monument with +the effigies of Sir Nicholas Halswell (d. 1633) and his wife, +surrounded by the kneeling figures of their nine children. The S. +chapel belongs to the Kemeys-Tyntes, and is decorated with numerous +coats-of-arms round the cornice. Note the piscina in the chancel. Near +the church is _Halswell House_ (C.T.H. Kemeys-Tynte), originally built +in the Tudor period, containing some fine carving by Grinling Gibbons, +and pictures by Salvator Rosa, Van Dyck, Ostade, Ruysdael, Reynolds, +and others. + +_Godney_ (1-1/2 m. N.E. of Meare, 2 m. N. of Glastonbury) is famous for +the remains of a lake village which have been discovered here. The +village consisted of a number of dwellings, each built on a +substructure of timber and brushwood, resting upon the marsh which once +occupied the site, and held in position by small piles. Upon this base +was laid a floor of clay, in the centre of which was a circular stone +hearth (about 4 ft. in diameter); whilst the walls of the huts were +made of timber, wattles, and daub. As the floors and hearths gradually +sank in the yielding marsh, they had to be renewed from time to time; +so that several successive layers of them have been found, resting upon +one another. Round the collective huts which formed the village ran a +palisade of piles, the enclosure being irregular in shape. The articles +found in the village (many of which are in the Glastonbury Museum) show +that the inhabitants practised agriculture, spinning, and weaving, and +were acquainted with iron weapons. They are supposed to have been Celts +by race; and the period to which they are assigned falls between 300 +B.C. and 100 A.D. + +_Greinton_, a small parish on the S.W. flank of the Poldens (nearest +stat. Shapwick, 4 m.). The church has an embattled tower with pyramidal +top. The interesting features within are(1) carved bench-ends, dated +1621 (note lily on one); (2) two good wooden doors, N. and S.; (3) +piscina on sill of S. window in chancel. + +_Hallatrow_, a hamlet in the parish of High Littleton, 11 m. S. from +Bristol, with a station on the Frome branch. + +_Halse_, a pleasant village, 2 m. N.W. of Milverton. It has a small but +very interesting church, standing in a beautifully kept churchyard, +which commands a fine view of the Quantocks. Its choicest possession is +a very fine rood-screen: note the old beam above, and window. Other +features deserving attention are (1) glass in E. window, (2) curious +font, probably early Norm., (3) medallions in spandrels of arcade, (4) +piscina on window-sill of sanctuary, (5) painted mural device on S. +wall of nave, (6) fragments of carving in porch, (7) squint. The large +windows in the porch are somewhat unusual. + +_Ham, High_, a village occupying a fine breezy situation on the top of +High Ham Hill, 4 m. N. from Langport. The church in its centre is a +handsome building, typically and consistently Perp. It contains a fair +roof, some panelled bench-ends, and a curious lectern, but its +principal ornament is a fine Perp. chancel-screen. Note (1) stoup in +porch, (2) the vigorously executed gargoyles, especially the pair over +the porch, a mediaeval presentation of Darby and Joan. + +_Ham, Low_, a village 2 m. N. of Langport. The church, which stands in +the middle of a field, is something of a curiosity (call for keys at +farm opposite). It is an excellent example of 17th-cent. imitative +Gothic. Its builder was Sir R. Hext, whose political sentiments may be +inferred from the motto with which he has adorned the chancel-screen, +"My son, fear the Lord, and meddle not with them that are given to +change." At the end of the N. aisle are effigies of the founder and his +wife, and at the corresponding end of the S. aisle is a marble tablet +to the memory of Lord Stawell, who has, however, left his own memorial +outside. The perplexing series of terraces overlooking the church are +all that remains of a fantastic scheme of his to build a mansion which, +like his wife and horse, should be the most beautiful thing of its kind +in the world. But _L'homme propose_...; Lord Stawell never got any +further than these embankments. + +_Hambridge_, a village equidistant from Langport and Ilminster (5 m.). +The church is modern. + +_Hamdon Hill_. See _Stoke, East_. + +_Hardington_, a hamlet 5 m. N.W. of Frome. The church is a small +building with a W. tower. In the neighbourhood is Hardington Park. + +_Hardington-Mandeville_, a village 4-1/2 m. S.W. of Yeovil. The church +was rebuilt in 1864, but retains some ancient features, including a +good Norm. arch and font, and a Jacobean pulpit. + +_Harptree, East_, a village on a spur of the Mendips, 6 m. N. from +Wells. It possesses the attractions of a castle, a cavern, and a combe. +The last is a thickly wooded glen near the top end of the village. On +an inaccessible tongue of land at the far end of the gorge are the +remains of _Richmont Castle_, one of those lawless strongholds which in +the days of Stephen were a terror to the country side. In 1138 it was +strongly garrisoned by its owner, William de Harptree, on behalf of the +Empress Matilda, but was taken by Stephen by the ruse of a feigned +repulse. Now, only a fragment of the keep overlooks the glen. Half a +mile beyond is a remarkable cavern, the _Lamb's Lair_, entered by a +vertical shaft of some 70 fathoms. The chamber is of very considerable +dimensions, and is said by those who have seen it to be quite the +finest cave in the Mendips. The church is not particularly noteworthy +except for the odd device of avoiding a squint by an extension of the +arcading. The walls, font, and S. doorway are Norm. The S. porch is of +unusual size and contains a monument which must be a standing reproach +to a declining birthrate. Under a large Elizabethan canopy is an effigy +of Sir J. Newton (1568), attended by twenty children. At the other end +of the village are two mansions, _Harptree Court_ and _Eastwood_. + +_Harptree, West_, about 1 m. N. of East Harptree. The church has a +Norman tower with an ugly slated spire. The rest of the building has +been reconstructed, but contains a Norman chancel arch, a large Norman +font, and a good piscina. In the churchyard are seven large conical yew +trees. Opposite the church is _Gournay Manor_, a fine Jacobean house, +and near it is _Tilley Manor_, a 17th-cent. building, deprived of its +top storey. They are now farmhouses. + +_Haselbury Plucknett_, a village 2-1/2 m. N.E. of Crewkerne. It has a +Perp. church with an E.E. N. chapel, which is associated with the +memory of St Wulfric, who, born at Compton Martin, resided here, and +died in 1154. The body of the Church has an old font. A priory of +Austin canons, dating from the 12th cent., once existed here. + +_Hatch Beauchamp_, 6 m. S.E. from Taunton, is a village (with station) +situated in very picturesque surroundings. The church (best reached +through the deer park) has a good tower, crowned with numerous +pinnacles. Note (1) the foliaged bands round the pillars of the arcade; +(2) the excellent bench-ends; (3) the fragments of old glass in the +windows of the N. aisle; (4) the large picture, a "Descent from the +Cross," by Perriss; (5) the window in the chancel to the memory of +Colonel J.R.M. Chard, of Rorke's Drift fame, with a wreath preserved +beneath it sent by Queen Victoria. The obelisk near the S. door is said +to have once been the churchyard cross. + +_Hatch, West_, a village 1-1/2 m. W. of Hatch Beauchamp. The church has +been entirely rebuilt (1861). + +_Hawkridge_, a parish 5 m. N.W. of Dulverton Station, consisting merely +of a cluster of cottages and a tiny church. It is perched on the top of +a ridge of high ground separating the Barle from its tributary stream +the Danes Brook. The valleys on either side are beautifully wooded, and +exhibit some of the most romantic scenery in Somerset. The church has a +plain Norm. doorway. + +_Heathfield_, a parish 2-1/2 m. E. of Milverton. Its church is small, +and the only objects of interest which it contains are (1) a mural +monument on the N. of the chancel, with kneeling figures, of the 16th +cent.; (2) a carved oak pulpit (said to be reconstructed from ancient +materials). There is the shaft of an ancient cross in the graveyard, +with a mutilated figure. + +_Hemington_, a village lying at the end of a wide vale, 3 m. E.S.E. +from Radstock. The church has a few features in common with the +neighbouring church of Buckland Denham, viz., (1) peculiar arrangement +of windows in tower, (2) clerestory to nave, though the building +possesses only one aisle. The interior shows (_a_) some good Dec. work +in windows, some of which have foliated rear arches, with detached +shaft; (_b_) plain Norm. chancel arch. Observe also (1) piscina on the +respond of the chancel arcade, (2) the central pier of the arcade (it +is surrounded by four detached shafts). On the hill above the village, +standing by the side of the Trowbridge road, is a square tower of as +much beauty as utility, locally known as "Turner's Folly." The "green" +of the neighbouring hamlet of Falkland retains its ancient stocks. + +_Henstridge_, a large village 7 m. S. of Wincanton, with a station on +the S. & D.J.R. The church has been rebuilt (except the tower and part +of the N. and W. walls), but contains some ancient features. There is a +15th-cent. altar-tomb in the chancel under a carved and coloured +canopy, with two effigies. These represent William Carent (who +inherited the property of two wealthy families, the Carents and the +Toomers), and his wife Margaret (_née_ Stourton). The arms that adorn +the tomb are those of Carent and Stourton. The rhyming inscription +round the arch of the canopy is, _Sis testis Xte quod non tumulus iacet +iste corpus ut ornetur, sed spiritus ut memoretur_. There is also an +elaborately carved niche or tabernacle in the N.E. angle of the N. (or +Toomer) aisle. Note, too, (1) decorated piscina, (2) remains of figures +over the entrance to the N. chapel. The "Virginia Inn" at the +cross-road is said to be the spot where Sir Walter Raleigh's servant +emptied a stoup of beer over his master, who was smoking, in the belief +that he was on fire. At Yeaston, a hamlet between Henstridge and +Templecombe, there once existed a Benedictine priory, attached to an +abbey of that Order at Coutances (Normandy). A field is still said to +bear the name of the Priory Plot. + +HIGHBRIDGE, a growing little town on the Brue, 1-1/2 m. S.E. from +Burnham. It has two stations, one on the G.W.R. main line to Taunton, +the other on the S. & D. Burnham branch. It possesses a town-hall, a +cattle market, and other evidences of prosperity. Brick and tile making +are carried on in the locality, and a large bacon factory and a +timber-yard are amongst its more important commercial undertakings. As +the river is navigable up to this point for small craft it also +encourages a coasting trade. Of antiquarian interest it has none. The +church is as modern as the town. + +_Hill Farrance_, 3-1/2 m. N.E. of Wellington, is a village on the Tone. +Its church (ded. to the Holy Cross) has a massive-looking tower, with +an open-work parapet, bearing the initials I.P. It contains sedilia and +a piscina, and some carved bench ends. On the S. of the building is a +mortuary chapel (14th cent.) of one of the De Vernais (once lords of +the manor), which at the restoration of the church in 1857 was given to +the parish. + +_Hinton Blewitt_, a small and secluded village, 4 m. S.W. from Clutton. +The church is Perp., with a fair W. tower. It possesses a stoup and a +rather poor piscina. The village, which is on the slope of a hill, +commands a pleasant view of the Mendips. + +_Hinton Charterhouse_, a small village 6 m. S. of Bath, on the more +easterly of the alternative roads from the city to Frome. Its sole +attraction consists in a few fragments of a once considerable +Carthusian priory. About 1/2 m. N. of the village, in the corner of a +field near the main road, is what looks like a low gabled church tower, +with a small E.E. chancel and some other out-buildings. These remnants +are all that survive of a house founded here in 1232 by the widow of +William Longsword, for the accommodation of a settlement of +Carthusians; and it is worth noticing that of the Carthusian houses in +England, which never numbered more than nine, Somerset had two. The +ruins, which are very meagre, consist of two groups of buildings. (1) +One is a three-storeyed structure, containing on basement a vaulted, +chapel-like chamber, lighted by side lancets and a terminal triplet, +and possessing a large piscina and an aumbry. This is generally but +quite erroneously described as the "chapter-house." It may have been +the fratry. On the first floor is another vaulted chamber, supposed to +have been the library. It communicated at the end with a pigeon-cote, +and is reached by a good stone staircase, which also gives access to a +loft above. On the L. of the passage leading to the library will also +be noticed a small room lighted by a square-headed window. (2) The +second, in the stable-yard of the adjoining manor house, is the +refectory, a good, vaulted apartment, with a row of octagonal columns +down the centre. At the W. end it opens into the kitchen, in which will +be discovered a fireplace. Of the priory church, which abutted on the +N. wall of the so-called "chapter house," nothing is left but a single +trefoiled piscina and one of the vaulting shafts. The buildings have +evidently been freely used as a quarry for the erection of the +neighbouring manor house. In a dingle in the adjoining field is a +stone-faced, pointed archway, tunnelling the road. The parish church is +an unattractive, ivy-clad building near the village. _Hinton House_ +(J.C. Foxcroft) is a modern mansion, with a fine open green in front of +it. + +_Hinton St George_, a clean and attractive village equidistant (4 m.) +from Crewkerne and Ilminster. It possesses a very fine cross, having on +one face a representation of St John Baptist, which was originally +flanked by smaller figures. The shaft has been barbarously crowned with +a sundial and large ball. The church has a dignified tower with +numerous pinnacles, and a pierced, embattled parapet. The W. front has +a single large window which breaks the string course (cp. Shepton +Beauchamp and Norton-sub-Hamdon). The S. porch has a ribbed and +panelled roof and numerous niches. The interior of the church is not +very interesting, apart from the tombs and monuments of the Pouletts, +dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Most are in a large N. chapel, +but there is one between the chapel and the chancel, and another in +front of the family pew. The font is carved with shields bearing +alternately a cross and the Poulett arms. There is a piscina in the +chancel. _Hinton House_, the mansion of Countess Poulett, in the +neighbouring park, has portions dating from the time of the first Sir +Amyas Poulett (d. 1537), but the rest is later. It has a fine +collection of pictures. + +_Holcombe_, a colliery village 3-1/2 m. S. of Radstock. It has a small +modern church; but an old church, now disused, lies in a dingle in some +fields a mile away from the village. This possesses a good Norm. S. +doorway, with a curious inverted inscription scratched on one of the +capitals. The careless rebuilding of the columns shows that it is not +in its original position. + +_Holford_, a village 6 m. E. from Williton, at the foot of the +Quantocks. Its church is picturesquely situated; in the graveyard is an +old cross with a mutilated figure on the shaft. Past the church, two +pleasant combes may be reached, Tannery Combe and Hodder's Combe (the +latter is perhaps a corruption of the name of Odda, the Earl of Devon +who aided Alfred, see p. 201). The hill between them bears the name of +_Hare Kanp_, possibly preserving the memory of the Saxon armies that +once marched along the trackway that crosses it (M.E. and A.S. _here_, +an army). Near Holford is _Alfoxden_, the residence of Wordsworth in +1797, when Coleridge was at Nether Stowey. + +[Illustration: ALFOXDEN HOUSE, NEAR HOLFORD] + +_Holton_, a village 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Wincanton. Its church is small and +contains a stone 15th-cent. pulpit and a Norm. font. On the S. porch is +an old sundial, and in the churchyard the base of a cross. + +_Holms, The Flat and Steep_, two islands in the Bristol Channel, +forming familiar objects to all visitors to the Somerset sea-board. +Geologically they belong to the county, for they are the last expiring +protest of the Mendip chain against its final submergence in the sea. +The Steep Holm, the nearer and more conspicuous of the two islets, 5 m. +from the coast, is little better than a barren rock rearing its huge +bulk precipitously, nearly 300 ft. above the waves. It is almost +inaccessible, but has perhaps for this reason occasionally afforded an +asylum to refugees from the mainland, although the statement that +Gildas found security in this retreat appears to be an error. There +still remain some fragments of a priory. The Flat Holm, 2 m. farther +off, though of about the same circumference (1-1/2 m.), is a far less +imposing object in the sea-scape, but is more amenable to the +influences of civilisation. It is occupied by a lighthouse and a farm, +and is sometimes made the excuse for a channel trip by visitors from +the neighbouring watering-places, as it affords amongst other +attractions some facilities for bathing. + +_Hornblotton_, a parish 3 m. N.W. of Castle Cary Station. The church, +which stands about a mile from the Fosse Way to Ilchester, is modern, +but the tower of the old church is left standing, and a piscina has +been removed from it to the new building. + +[Illustration: HORNER WOODS AND PORLOCK VALE] + +_Horner Valley_, one of the many charming walks which abound in the +neighbourhood of Porlock. Follow the Minehead road for about a mile and +then strike up the banks of the Horner Water by a lane on the R. On the +way will be noticed spanning the stream a quaint pack-horse bridge +beloved of photographers (cp. Allerford). At Horner village the road +winds round to Luccombe, but a broad path follows the course of the +Horner and leads up through the woods. The scenery is comparable with +that of the E. Lynn. It is a delightful combination of wood, mountain, +and rill, and is everywhere full of charm. The Horner Water descends +from the moors and babbles its way through the valley to the sea. It +receives on the right a contributary rill which flows through a combe +that rivals the main valley in romantic beauty. The second plank-bridge +across the water will lead up a very steep footpath to Cloutsham. + +_Horrington, East and West_, two contiguous villages on the S. slope of +the Mendips, 2 m. E. from Wells, and overlooking the city. At E. +Horrington there is a small modern church (1838). + +_Horsington_, a largish village 1 m. N. of Templecombe. The church is +spacious and has been rebuilt (1884-85), with the exception of the +tower. It contains a 15th-cent. octagonal font with, rudely carved +figures of angels at the angles. Near the church is a cross (said to be +13th cent.) with the canopied figure of an ecclesiastic on the shaft. + +_Huish Champflower_, a village 3-1/2 m. N.W. from Wiveliscombe. The +church is one of the few Dec. churches in the county, but not a pure +example of the style, as the tower and window tracery are Perp. There +is a good arcade of clustered columns with foliated capitals dividing +the nave from the N. aisle. The window at the E. end of the aisle +should also be observed, as the tracery is particularly good, and it +retains some of its original glass. There is a barrow in the +neighbourhood which has recently been excavated. + +_Huish Episcopi_ is a parish situated E. of Langport, the two churches +being less than half a mile apart. It is famed for its beautiful tower, +which, however, is perhaps a little over-praised, for the crown of +pinnacles, graceful in itself, does not seem to spring naturally from +the summit, but to be super-imposed upon it. The belfry storey has +double windows, and each stage is divided from the one below by bands +of quatrefoils which produce rather a formal effect. The S. door is +late Norm., its red colour being due to fire; in the upper corner of +the porch traces of stone stairs are visible. Some Dec. windows remain +in the chancel, but the majority are Perp.: the glass at the E. end of +the S. aisle is by Sir E. Burne-Jones. Note (1) the stoup near S. door; +(2) the piscina in the chancel; (3) the squint in the S. pier of the +chancel; (4) the Jacobean pulpit (dated 1625). + +_Huntspill_, a parish 1-1/2 m. S.S.W. from Highbridge, supposed to +derive its name from Hun, a Somerset ealdorman in the reign of Egbert. +It has a very handsome church which has been rebuilt since it was +destroyed by fire in 1878. The pillars of the arcade still show traces +of the flames. The tower is good, with bold buttresses. The church +contains the effigies of a knight in armour and his lady, within a +recess in the S. wall. Note (1) stoup in S. porch; (2) piscina in S. +chapel; (3) fine black oak pulpit. + +_Hutton_, a small village 3-1/2 m. S.E. of Weston-super-Mare. It lies +at the base of Bleadon Hill, and may be approached from Weston either +through Uphill or by a path that leaves the Worle road. Its small but +picturesque church has a good tower of three stages and preserves an +excellent stone pulpit, reached by a recess in the wall (which once led +to the rood loft), and two brasses to members of the Payne family (one +will be found immediately in front of the altar, the other in a recess +in the N. wall of the chancel). _Hutton Court_, which is close by, is a +15th-cent. building much altered. + +ILCHESTER, a small, decayed town on the Ivel, 4-1/2 m. N.E. of Martock, +which was formerly of considerable importance. Its name recalls the +fact that it was a Roman station, and upon it several Roman roads +converge. It was besieged in the strife between William Rufus and his +brother Robert; and it was fortified in the Great Civil War. It once +had a nunnery, and it was the birthplace of Roger Bacon, who was born +here in 1214. But apart from its historic associations it has little +now to attract attention, its only noteworthy building being its church +(the last remaining of five). This has a short tower which is octagonal +throughout and does not rest, like others elsewhere, upon a square +base. Some Roman bricks seem to be among the materials of which it is +constructed, and there are a few old pieces of carving built into the +walls. The oldest parts of the building appear to date from E.E. times, +but it has undergone a good deal of restoration. Note (1) the E. window +(three lancets under a hood moulding); (2) niches; (3) squint. There is +a market cross, consisting of a cylindrical pillar supporting a sundial +(cp. Martock). Though Ilchester is not now a borough, it was so once, +and a very curious macehead (13th cent.) is still preserved. + +_Ile (or Isle) Abbots_, a village 3-1/2 m. E. of Hatch Station. It gets +its name from its position on the little river Ile (or Isle) and its +former connection with Muchelney Abbey. It possesses an interesting +church with a fine tower, having double windows in the belfry and +numerous niches, which for the most part retain their statuary. The S. +porch has fair groining with a central pendant, and there are some +beautiful pierced parapets. The windows are of various dates--E.E., +Dec., and Perp. Note in the chancel (1) low side-window (cp. Bleadon, +Othery), (2) piscina, surrounded by panelling, (3) triple sedilia. The +font, rudely carved, is Norm. The arcade piers are encircled with the +"Devonshire" foliage. + +_Ile (or Isle) Brewers_ (the latter half of the name a corruption of +_De Bruyère_, the family that once owned the manor) is a parish 5 m. E. +of Hatch Station. The church has been rebuilt (1861), and the tower (on +the S.) is surmounted by a spire. Within is a Norm. font. + +_Ilminster_, a small market town (with station) on the Ile, is a place +of great antiquity but of little present importance, though it has some +lace, shirt, and collar manufactories. It was attached to the Abbey of +Muchelney until the dissolution of the monasteries. It possesses a +noble church, the fine central tower having triple windows in double +tier (cp. Mells and Leigh), and being surmounted by clustered +pinnacles, whilst the vault is beautifully groined. The S. porch and +the transepts are also excellently designed, these parts of the +structure having been built by Sir William Wadham (15th cent.). The +nave (rebuilt in 1824) is much inferior. Note (1) large ribbed squints; +(2) font (probably once attached to a pillar); (3) vestry behind the E. +window (cp. N. Petherton, Kingsbury, Langport, and Porlock); (4) +piscinas in transepts; (5) grotesque corbels. In the N. transept are +the tombs and brasses of (1) Sir William Wadham (d. 1425) and his wife; +(2) Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham (1609 and 1618), the founders of Wadham +College, Oxford. In the S. transept is a monument to Humfrey Walrond +(d. 1580). The communion plate includes two Elizabethan chalices. The +only other building in the town of any interest is the Grammar School, +N. of the church. It bears a motto and the date 1586, and owes its +origin to Humfrey Walrond. It is now a girls' school, the boys having +been transferred to new buildings (reached from the street S. of the +church). + +_Ilton_, a village on the Ile, 2 m. N. of Ilminster. It has a church of +some interest. The windows are partly Dec. and partly Perp., and the +tower is on the S. Note (1) piscinas in chancel and chapel; (2) brass +of Nicholas Wadham (d. 1508); (3) effigy of "Joan," wife of another +Nicholas Wadham (d. 1557). + +_Keinton-Mandeville_, a large village 4 m. E.N.E. of Somerton, lying +for the most part along the Castle Cary road, with a station on the +Castle Cary and Langport loop-line. The church is in a field at the S. +extremity of the village. The nave was rebuilt in 1800, but the chancel +retains some indication of its E.E. origin, and the old Norm. font is +still preserved. The village was the birthplace of Sir Henry Irving, +whose real name was Brodribb. + +_Kelston_, a parish 4 m. N.W. of Bath. The church, which is reached by +a lane to the left, has been rebuilt, with the exception of the tower +and N. porch. The latter has on its left jamb a very small carving of +the Crucifixion. Within note (1) in the chancel some interlaced work on +the N. and a piscina on the S.; (2) in the E. corner of the S. aisle a +musical epitaph; (3) in one of the N. windows of the nave some +fragments of ancient glass (the figure is said to be that of St +Barbara: cp. Cucklington). + +_Kenn_, on the R. of the road between Yatton and Clevedon, was the +original home of Bishop Ken's family. The church retains its ancient +tower, which has a curious cap. The nave has been rebuilt, but contains +a quaint monument on the interior wall of the tower to Christopher Ken +(d. 1593), and a mural tablet to Sir Nicholas Staling, "Gentleman +Usher" to Queen Elizabeth and King James I. (d. 1605). + +_Kewstoke_, a village 2 m. N.E. of Weston-super-Mare. It is best +reached by a delightful road through the woods on the seaward side of +Worle Hill. Its picturesque church is interesting, and, like so many +others, illustrates successive styles of architecture. The S. door is +Norm.; there is an E.E. lancet in the chancel, and the font perhaps +belongs to the same period; the E. window and some windows on the N. +side of the church are Dec. (with foliated rear arches); whilst the +tower and the clerestory (which is rarely found where there are no +aisles) belong to the Perp. period. Note (1) the fine stone 15th cent. +pulpit, a not uncommon feature in the neighbourhood (cp. Worle, Hutton, +Locking, Loxton, Banwell); (2) arch with quaint finial at entrance to +rood-loft stair; (3) old glass in S. chapel. In 1852 a small carved +figure, built into the N. wall of the church, was found to conceal, in +a recess at the back of it, a broken wooden cup, stained with human +blood, supposed to be that of St Thomas a Becket, and to have been +brought from Worspring Priory. It is now in Taunton Museum. Opposite +the church door is a series of steps leading up the hill, called _St +Kew's Steps_, the origin of which is unknown. On the top of the hill is +the village of _Milton_, with a modern church. + +KEYNSHAM, a small town on the Chew near its confluence with the Avon. +It has a station on the G.W. main line to Bristol. Pop. nearly 3000. It +is a long straggling sort of place of not very lively appearance, +resembling an overgrown village. Its history is rather romantic than +reliable. Its patron saint, S. Keyne, a Welsh lady of exceptional +sanctity, dwelt in a neighbouring wood much infested with serpents. The +reptiles, not usually susceptible to the voice of the charmer, were at +her intercession turned into stone--a fact to which the ammonites in +the local quarry bear witness. St Keyne's name occurs also at +Kentisford, near Watchet. Later, the town acquired a borrowed lustre +from its association with one of the greater religious houses. In 1170 +William of Gloster founded here on a magnificent scale a monastery of +Austin Canons. This glory has now departed. The Reformation and the +Bridges family between them made a clean sweep of everything. The abbey +was used as a quarry for building the family mansion, which has by the +irony of fate likewise disappeared. Monastic odds and ends may be +discovered here and there worked into houses and garden walls. A +gateway on the R. of lane leading to station is made up of such +fragments. A heap of débris to the E. of the church indicates the +whereabouts of the original buildings. The church is a spacious rather +than an inspiring edifice. A massive W. tower was built in 1634 to +replace a tower which stood at the E. end of the N. aisle, and was +destroyed by a thunderstorm. The chancel is the most interesting part +of the building, and should be examined externally where the original +E.E. lancets are visible. Within, it has been converted into a kind of +mausoleum for the Bridges family, some of whom are represented in +effigy. Note the round-headed double piscina in sanctuary. The S. aisle +is Dec., and contains a fine Perp. screen. The Caroline screen dividing +the S. chapel from chancel should also be observed. The window tracery +throughout the church is crude. A row of alms-houses near the Wingrove +Hotel were founded by Sir T. Bridges. A Roman tessellated pavement was +discovered in making the railway cutting, and was removed to Bristol. + +_Kilmersdon_, a village 2 m. S. from Radstock. It lies prettily in a +hollow at the foot of Ammerdown Park. The church is a 15th cent. Perp. +building with a lofty W. tower which forms a graceful object in the +vale. The nave within and without bears traces of Norm. work. Note +corbels and scale work on S. external wall, and in the interior the +small Norm. window. In Perp. times the walls were raised, the old +corbel-table being left in its original position. The triple panelling +to the tower arch and the reduplication of the chancel arch is a little +peculiar. A triangular lychgate of unusual design has lately been added +to the churchyard. There is an Elizabethan communion cup dated 1566. +_Ammerdown House_ (Ld. Hylton) stands amongst the trees on the +hill-side behind the village. It is an Italian mansion, designed by +Wyatt. The summit of the hill above is crowned by a graceful memorial +column with a glittering lantern. As the hill is 800 feet high, it is a +conspicuous landmark. + +_Kilton_ is a parish 7 m. E.N.E. of Williton. Its church has been +rebuilt, but retains a good Perp. font, and some small brasses on the +S. wall of the chancel. Two communion chalices belonging to the church +date from 1514 and 1572 respectively. Nearer the coast is _Lilstock_ +church, of which only the chancel remains, serving as a mortuary +chapel. + +_Kilve_, a village on the Channel, 5 m. E.N.E. of Williton, has had its +name enshrined in the verse of both Southey and Wordsworth. From the +shore some pretty coast views are obtainable. Its church retains its +stoup, piscina, and ancient font, and there is some 15th cent. woodwork +near the entrance to the tower. Close to the church are the remains of +a chantry. Though many of the walls are still standing, it is rather +difficult to trace the plan. + +_Kingsbury Episcopi_, 2-1/2 m. N.W. of Martock, is a village wearing an +air of antiquity, and possessing a fine church. The church tower, with +double belfry windows, closely resembles that of its neighbour at Huish +Episcopi. It is inferior in its buttresses and mouldings, but has a +better W. window. The elaborate crown produces a more top-heavy effect +than at Huish. The niches which adorn the tower are noticeable for +retaining in many cases their figures, which are seated (cp. Ile +Abbots). The tower arch is finely panelled with niches on the E. face, +and there is a clerestory (note the angel corbels below the roof). The +piers of the chancel and transeptal arches are ornamented with foliage, +and the chancel windows are large, with traceried transoms. Note (1) +the screen; (2) the fragments of ancient glass in the N. transept; (3) +the piscina in the S. chapel; (4) the sacristy below the E. window (as +at N. Petherton and Langport); (5) the small crucifix over the S. porch +(which originally had a parvise). + +_Kingsdon_, a village 2-1/2 m. S.S.E. of Somerton. Its church, in the +main Perp., has a plain embattled tower and some Dec. windows. The S. +porch has niches for images and a stoup; there are piscinas in the +chancel and the N. transept, and in the same transept the effigy of a +crusader, believed to be one Guy Bryan. On the road between Ilchester +and Somerton, which passes over the hill below which the church is +situated, a fine view may be obtained, embracing the Quantocks, the +Blackdowns, and part of the Mendips. + +_Kingston St Mary_, a village 3 m. N. of Taunton. Its church, prettily +situated on rising ground, has a fine W. tower, crowned with numerous +pinnacles and a turret spirelet. On three sides are canopied niches, +the upper ones supported on cherubs or angels. The arcade of the nave +is Trans. or E.E., that of the chancel Perp., the junction being rather +clumsily effected. There is no chancel arch. The S. porch has a fine +groined roof, with niches and holy-water stoup. Note (1) the carved +seat-ends (one having the date 1522); (2) the large tomb (_temp._ +Edward III.) in the S. aisle belonging to the Warres; (3) black-letter +Bible (1617) and Bishop Jewel's works (chained). The neighbouring +mansion of _Hestercombe_, once the possession of the Warres, but now +belonging to the Portmans, is said to preserve a sword taken by one of +the Warres from King John of France at Poitiers. + +_Kingston Seymour_ is a village about 2 m. W. of Yatton, with a halt on +the Clevedon and Weston light railway. Its church has a tower +surmounted by a spire: the parapet, which is of an unusual character, +rises from the base of the latter. The S. aisle has an exceptionally +large squint, and a piscina; and the churchyard contains the base and +shaft of an old cross. The parish on more than one occasion has +suffered from destructive inundations of the sea. + +_Kingstone_, a small village 1 m. S.E. of Ilminster. The church is +Perp., with a good central tower. The windows contain some fragments of +ancient glass. The shape of the font is curious. + +_Kingweston_ (said to be a corruption of Kenwardston) is a parish 3 m. +N.E. of Somerton. Its church has been rebuilt (1855), and its octagonal +tower is crowned with a tall spire. The doorway and font of an earlier +Norm. church are still preserved, and in the chancel is an E.E. +piscina. The churchyard has the base and shaft of a cross. + +_Kittisford_, a lonely parish 4 m. N.W. of Wellington, near the Tone. +The church has been restored, but retains a piscina and a pulpit of +1610. In the parish is an old manor-house called Cothay, of Tudor date. + +_Knowle St Giles_, a small hamlet on a hillside, 2-1/2 m. N.E. of +Chard. The church has been rebuilt. + +_Lambrook, East_, 2-1/2 m. S. by W. of Martock, is a hamlet belonging +to Kingsbury Episcopi, with a small towerless church. It has a Dec. E. +window with a foliated interior arch, a niche for a small piscina, and +two heads inserted in the walls (perhaps originally for the Lenten +veil). There are some remains of an old house at the post-office which +are worth observing. + +_Lamyatt_, a parish on the slope of Creech Hill, 2 m. N.W. from Bruton. +The little church has a low tower, with a pyramidal top. Note the two +ancient corbel heads built into its W. front. Within there is a Norm. +font with cable moulding. The roof has tie beams with Perp. open-work +above them. + +_Langford Budville_ (or _Botteville_), a parish 2-1/2 m. N.W. of +Wellington. Its church has a battlemented tower, with a turret on the +S. (cp. Wellington). The columns of the S. arcade, which have circlets +of foliage in place of capitals, deserve notice. On one of them is +carved a needle and thread, which has been conjectured to be connected +with some benefaction to the church by a member of Queen's College, +Oxford, where a ceremony is observed in which a needle and thread +(_aiguille et fil_) figures in memory of Queen Philippa. In this aisle +is a holy-water stoup. The N. aisle is modern. + +[Illustration: THE HANGING CHAPEL, LANGPORT] + +LANGPORT, a very small town on the Parrett, with two stations on the +G.W.R. It is built along a ridge rising above the level of the +surrounding marsh lands, and is an unattractive little place, but has +seen some history (it was the scene of a defeat of the Royalists in the +Civil War), and possesses an interesting church. The tower (embattled +and pinnacled) has three windows in the belfry storey, but is inferior +to many of its class, and should be compared with Long Sutton. The +chancel has unusually large Perp. windows, with traceried transoms; and +the E. window is remarkable for its ancient glass (representing ten +saints). The W. window has modern stained glass in memory of Bagehot, +the historian, who was born here. Among other features deserving notice +are (1) the squint in the N. pier of the chancel arch; (2) the niches +on the corresponding S. pier; (3) the piscina on the centre pier of the +S. chapel; (4) the sacristy behind and below the E. window (as at N. +Petherton, Kingsbury and Porlock); (5) the very curious carving in the +S. porch (now used as a vestry). A little way E. of the church there is +a curious little chapel (Perp.), which is built above an archway that +spans the road. It is known as the _Hanging Chapel_ (from its +position), and was once used as a grammar school. + +_Langridge_, a small parish 4 m. N.W. of Bath, situated in a deep +hollow. Its church is remarkably small (50 ft. by 18 ft.), and contains +several features of interest. The doorway is Norm., and so is the +chancel arch. The latter, which has been restored, is exceptionally +narrow, and has above it a piece of sculpture representing the Virgin +and child. Note besides, (1) the stoup; (2) effigy of a lady; (3) +brasses of Robert Walsh (d. 1427) and his wife (the Walshes owned the +manor in the 14th and 15th cents.); (4) font (E.E.); (5) Jacobean +pulpit. + +_Laverton_, a small village 4-1/2 m. N. from Frome. The church is a +small 13th cent. building, with a saddleback tower. + +_Leigh on Mendip_ (pronounced Lye), a bleakly situated village on the +E. Mendips, 6 m. W.S.W. from Frome. It possesses a small Perp. church +with a mean chancel, but set off by the compensating attraction of a +remarkably noble W. tower, which well merits attention. It is of the +reduplicated triple window type (cp. Mells) with a finely pierced +parapet and profusely ornamented with pinnacles, but out of all +proportion to the church. The latter contains (1) a pillar stoup in the +porch; (2) a Norm, font; (3) some old oak benches; (4) fine granite +altar slab, found buried for safety's sake; (5) two small corbels in +the chancel, presumably for supporting a Lenten veil (cp. +Orchardleigh); (6) piscinas in chancel and S. aisle. + +_Leigh Woods_, the hanging woods which cover the W. bank of the Avon, +near Clifton. They form a fine foil to the open downs opposite. To +enter them cross the Suspension Bridge into Somerset, take first +turning to R., cross the intervening combe, which runs up from the +river, by the first available footpath, and then wander at your will. +Hidden away amongst the trees are the remains of a rampart, _Stoke +Leigh Camp_, one of twin fortifications. The other, _Burgh Walls_, on +the Bristol side of the combe, was destroyed to make room for the +present villas. A British trackway, communicating with Cadbury Camp, is +said to have here crossed the river by a ford. From the edge of the +cliff delightful glimpses may be obtained of the bridge and gorge. + +_Leighland_, a hamlet 5 m. S.W. of Williton. The church, originally a +chapelry belonging to Cleeve Abbey, was rebuilt in 1862. The +neighbouring Brendon Hills were once extensively mined for iron. + +_Limington_, a village 1 m. E. of Ilchester. It is interesting as being +the first living held by Cardinal Wolsey (cp. p. 31); and its church +has some features that deserve notice. Chief among them is the N. +chapel (with ribbed roof) which was founded as a chantry in 1329 by Sir +Richard Gyvernay, and contains several effigies. One, a knight in full +armour, under a Dec. recess, is probably Sir Richard himself, with his +lady beside him on a separate slab. A second knight (with bared head) +reposes with his lady on an altar-tomb by the W. wall; this is supposed +to be Sir Gilbert Gyvernay, father of Sir Richard. There is a piscina +in the chapel and another in the chancel. Note (1) the carved ends of +the choir stalls, with the arms of Lord Harington, killed at Wakefield +1460; (2) the grotesque corbels supporting the tower arch. + +_Littleton, High_, a large village 10 m. S.W. of Bath, on the road to +Wells (station, Hallatrow). The church has been more than once rebuilt, +and contains nothing of interest but some mural tablets (15th cent.) to +the Hodges family. + +_Litton_, a village in a dale, 4 m. S.W. from Hallatrow Station. The +church is late 15th cent. Perp. of rather poor workmanship. The chancel +is out of centre with the nave, necessitating a large hagioscope on N. +An ungainly modern N. aisle needlessly emphasises this lop-sidedness. +The chancel contains a good piscina. In the neighbourhood is a large +reservoir in connection with the Bristol water-works. + +_Locking_, a parish 3 m. S.E. of Weston-super-Mare, but most easily +reached from Worle Station, 1-1/2 m. away. The church was rebuilt in +1863, and its earlier features obliterated, with the exception of the +Perp. tower. It contains, however, a very interesting old square font +of Transitional date, with quaint figures at the angles, and a carved +stone pulpit (cp. the neighbouring churches of Loxton, Worle, Hutton, +Wick St Lawrence). + +_Long Load_, a parish 2 m. N. of Martock, with a modern church built on +the site of an old chapelry or chantry. + +_Lopen_, a parish 4 m. N.W. of Crewkerne, is noteworthy as being the +place where Cardinal Wolsey, when holding the cure of Limington, is +said to have been put in the stocks by Sir Amyas Poulett. The church +(Perp.) is ancient, but it has been restored and enlarged, and is of +little interest. + +_Lovington_, a parish 3 m. N. of Sparkford. Its church has unusually +prominent buttresses to the tower, and preserves (1) remains of stoup +in S. porch; (2) piscinas in S. nave wall and chancel; (3) aumbry; (4) +poppy heads to seats. The churchyard contains some old stocks. + +_Loxton_, a village 3 m. S.W. of Sandford Station, facing Crook's Peak. +It has an interesting church, which is not easily observed from the +road, as it is reached by a lane. It has a short tower (said to be +Norman) on the S. side, the lower part forming a porch: in this is a +curious squint. Within note (1) the fine Perp. pulpit, carved from a +single block of stone: (2) a good screen; (3) the piscina in the +vestry, showing that it was formerly a chapel; (4) some old glass. + +[Illustration: LUCCOMBE VILLAGE] + +_Luccombe_, a village at the foot of Dunkery, 2 m. S.E. from Porlock. +Its name ("the enclosed combe") is aptly descriptive of its situation, +for it is effectually screened from observation. A mountain brook and +some fine timber give the place a pretty air of rusticity. It has a +good church and some interesting old cottages--note the projecting +ovens and the curiously small windows that light some of the chimney +corners. The church has a Perp. W. tower, with nave and S. aisle. +Within is an altar tomb on S. and on N. a monument to Rector Byam +(1669), one of the fighting cavalier parsons who came by their own +again at the Restoration. Note (1) E.E. lancets to sanctuary; (2) +piscinas in sanctuary and S. aisle; (3) occasional "Devonshire" +capitals to pillars; (4) rood-loft stair, as at Porlock; (5) faces on +bosses of roof (cp. Selworthy); (6) fragment of stoup in porch. In the +churchyard are some fine cypresses, and the remains of a cross. + +_Lufton_, a small parish 3 m. W. of Yeovil. The church has been +rebuilt, but preserves its Norman font (with cable moulding), and a +holy-water stoup (within the S. door). + +_Lullington_, an obscurely situated village, 3 m. N. from Frome. It +should certainly be visited by anyone in the neighbourhood, as the +church is of exceptional antiquarian interest and contains one of the +finest Norm, doorways in the county. It is a small building having a +low central tower without transepts. A small S. chantry projects from +the nave. Features to be noted are: (1) the Norm, doorway mentioned +above, a little to the right of main entrance. The capitals are richly +carved, and support an arch ornamented with deeply cut chevron and +grotesque bird's beak mouldings. The tympanum bears in relief the +curious device of some winged creatures devouring a tree. Above is a +roundheaded niche containing the figure of our Lord, with hand uplifted +in blessing. (2) Tub-shaped Norm. font, bearing inscription, _Hoc +fontis sacro pereunt delicta lavacro_, and another legend +undecipherable. (3) Clusters of Norm. columns beneath tower supporting +an arch, evidently rebuilt out of original materials (observe S. pier +of chancel arch standing idle). (4) E.E. arch opening into chantry +chapel, and large piscina within. (5) Body stone built into W. wall of +vestry. The whole of the Norm. work is unusually rich for a small +country church, but it may possibly be accounted for by the fact that +Lullington at the Conquest, amongst other good things, fell to the +share of Geoffrey of Coutances, who perhaps brought here his staff of +continental workmen, as the figures on the capitals of the doorway are +known to occur also at Coutances and Caen. The body stone in the +vestry, which may at one time have marked the Bishop's own grave +outside, is also said to bear traces of continental craftsmanship. The +"mediaeval" gateway at the entrance of the neighbouring park is a sham. + +_Luxborough_, a village 6 m. S. of Dunster, lying amongst the Brendon +hills. The gradients are discouraging to any but determined tourists. +The church, though ancient, has been too frequently restored to retain +much antiquarian interest. + +_Lydeard St Lawrence_, a village 1-1/2 m. S W. of Crowcombe Station. It +climbs the hill-side that confronts the Quantocks, and has a church +near the summit, whence a fine view is obtainable. The church tower is +commanding; in spite of its height, it has only diagonal buttresses. +The oldest part of the present building is the chancel of the 14th +cent. (which has a good Dec. piscina and triple sedilia), though a +round-headed window (blocked), a survival of an earlier structure, is +inserted in the N. wall. The capitals of the arcade have very unusual +carving (including interlaced work, and the representation of a fox +seizing a goose). The screen (restored) has traces of painting; the +pulpit is Jacobean; and the font seems to be double, an inverted Norman +basin being surmounted by another of still older appearance. There is a +piscina in the S. wall, and over the S. porch a sun-dial of 1653. +Southey's father was a farmer here. + +_Lydford, East_ and _West_, two small villages about 1/2 m. apart, +lying on either side of the Fosseway, 5 m. W. of Castle Cary. At the E. +hamlet is a small modern memorial church, with a spire (1866). The W. +village, which is traversed by the Brue, has a church which was rebuilt +in 1846, and has undergone several renovations since. + +_Lympsham_, a parish 6 m. S.S.E. of Weston-super-Mare (nearest station +Brent Knoll, 2-1/2 m.). It has a church with a good tower (double +windows in the belfry), which is said to lean westward some, feet out +of the perpendicular. Within note (1) the fine wood roof of the N. +aisle, which was once a chapel (it has a piscina); (2) the 12th cent. +tub font. + +_Lyng_, a village 1/2 m. W. of Athelney Station, situated on the Tone. +Its little aisleless church, which was once a chapelry of Alfred's +monastery at Athelney, has a beautiful, though small, Perp. tower (with +double belfry windows). One of the bells dates from 1609. The body of +the church (of earlier date than the tower) contains much that is +interesting, particularly a good Dec. sedile and some fine carved +bench-ends (16th cent.). Note also (1) the oak pulpit, (2) old glass in +a window on N. of chancel, (3) piscinas, (4) tub font, (5) old chest +hollowed from a single trunk (under the tower). The "isle" of Athelney, +with Alfred's monument, is in this parish. + +_Maperton_ is a pleasant village 3-1/2 m. E. from Sparkford. Of the +church, which is rather screened from view by an adjoining mansion, the +only old portion is the tower. A few corbels of an earlier church and a +piece of interlaced carving are preserved in the S. porch. The piscina +deserves notice; it is said to be Norman. + +_Mark_, a large but scattered village on the marshes between Highbridge +and Wells, 3 m. N.E. from Bason Bridge Station (S. & D.). The houses +straggle along the road-side for a considerable distance. The church, +which is at the far end of the village, is of some dignity, and has +been carefully restored. It has a Perp. tower, with triple belfry +windows of not very successful design, and there is a good parapet to +the nave. The S. aisle is evidently older than the rest of the building +(note the arcade). The fine panelled roof covering the N. aisle should +be observed, and the projecting figures on the wall-plate of the nave. +Other features claiming attention are (1) the unusual direction of the +squints in the chancel arch, (2) Perp. screens (1634), (3) rood-loft +stair and turret in N. aisle, (4) blocked priest's door in sanctuary, +(5) blocked squint in S. porch, (6) carved font under tower. The +chancel contains some finely carved figures of the Evangelists, brought +from Bruges Cathedral by a former rector. + +_Marksbury_, a small village on the Keynsham and Wells road, 4 m. S. +from Keynsham. The church is an ugly little building with a plaster +ceiling and a chancel out of centre with the rest of the structure. The +tower is crowned with an eccentric set of pyramidal pinnacles, and has +a small 17th-cent. inscription on its W. face. + +_Marston Biggott_, a small village 3 m. S.W. from Frome. The church, +which stands in a park, has been rebuilt. Marston House (until lately +the seat of the Earls of Cork) is a large modern "Italian" mansion, +imposingly situated on a wooded hillside. The site of the original +house, of which nothing remains, is locally known as _Marston Moat_. +Close by is a field traditionally called _Conqueror's Meads_, and is +popularly reputed to have been the scene of some ancient battle. + +_Marston Magna_, a village 5 m. N.E. of Yeovil, with station on G.W.R. +line to Weymouth. The church, though devoid of picturesqueness, has +several features of architectural interest. Traces of herringbone work +will be discovered on the N. exterior wall of the chancel, where, too, +should be noted the flat buttresses and Norm. window. The peculiarity +of the church is, however, the little chapel adjoining the N. porch, +and divided from it by a rude screen surmounted by a gallery. Note the +elaborate niche on the N. The chancel is lighted at E. by an E.E. +triplet; and some old glass will be observed in a window on the S. The +font has a fluted basin, and is doubtless Norm. The central battlement +of each face of the tower bears the Tudor rose (cp. East Pennard). The +fine old Jacobean house near the W. end of the church should not escape +attention; and in the field to the S.E. is a moated paddock, locally +known as _Court Garden_, and generally reputed to be the site of an +ancient manor house. + +MARTOCK is a small town (with station) 5-1/2 m. N.W. of Yeovil, +consisting virtually of one long street. It has no historic +associations to speak of, though in 1645 it was the scene of a public +thanksgiving by the Parliament forces for the capture of Bridgwater. At +the present time it is chiefly engaged in the manufacture of gloves and +jute matting. The population is about 3000. It has a noble church, the +earliest part of which is the E. wall (E.E.; note the five lancets and +gable-topped buttresses). In it, on a level with the floor, is a large +recess, perhaps intended for relics. The rest of the church is Perp. +The tower (with double belfry windows) is rather plain; but the nave is +very impressive, being exceptionally lofty, and having a clerestory +lighted by unusually large windows, divided by niches containing +paintings of the Apostles. There is a good deal of panel-work, and a +splendid oak roof, with embattled tie-beams. The pierced parapet is +remarkably good. Note (1) vault of S. porch; (2) piscina in S. chapel, +(3) brass to George Bisse and wife (1702 and 1685). At the extremity of +the graveyard is a defaced effigy. + +Near the church are two ancient buildings. The one (approached through +a small ruined arch) is a 14th-cent. manor house, with a hall lighted +by windows that are square without and foliated within. Note (1) oak +roof, (2) curious brackets. The other (now the church-house) was +formerly a grammar school, founded by William Strode of Barrington in +1661; note arms and motto. A small building, surrounded by a moat, is +said to occupy the site of a manor house given to Lord Monteagle for +bringing about the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. The market cross is +a column crowned by a sundial and ball (cp. Ilchester). + +_Masbury_, a station on S. & D. line from Bath to Templecombe. Here the +railway, after an arduous ascent, at length reaches the summit of the +Mendips. To the E. of the station is Masbury Ring, a large circular +encampment. It is probably of British origin, but was, no doubt, also +occupied by the Romans, as it lies on the line of the old Roman road +from Uphill to Old Sarum. The fosse is now partly filled with trees. +The ring may be regarded as the summit of the E. Mendip range, which +here reaches 958 ft. About a mile to the E. is a thicker clump of fir +trees crowning _Beacon Hill_, another high spot. The view from Masbury +is most extensive. Below are the towers of Wells and Glastonbury Tor. +On the W. horizon are the Blackdowns and Quantocks; and on clear days +Dunkery and Exmoor are visible. To the E. are the Wiltshire Downs and +Alfred's Tower, whilst right in front, to the N., is Dundry Hill. + +_Meare_, a village 3-1/2 m. N.W. from Glastonbury (nearest stat. +Ashcott, 1-1/4 m.). It betrays by its name the former condition of the +country round it, it having been an isle (like Athelney and Muchelney) +only approachable (it is said), even as late as 1808, by a bridle-path. +It belonged to the abbots of Glastonbury, who frequented it for +fishing; and of their connection with the place there are surviving +memorials in a _Manor House_ (where they stayed) and a _Fisher's +House_. The first (E. of the church) contains on the first floor a fine +dining-hall with large hooded fireplace and Dec. windows; the building +at right angles to it is said to have been the chapel. The second, +where the abbey fisherman lived, is in a field adjoining the Manor +House; it is roofless (the consequence of a fire), but the walk are +intact, and the building is a good example of a mediaeval +dwelling-house (erected 1335). The parish church has a 14th-cent. +chancel with a Dec. E. window; the nave (Perp.) dates from the 15th +cent., and has on the parapet of the S. aisle the monogram of Abbot +Selwood, the penultimate Abbot of Glastonbury. There is a 15th-cent. +stone pulpit. + +_Mells_, a large village 3 m. W.N.W. from Frome (nearest stat. Mells +Road). Mells possesses a fine church, several old houses, and a +well-merited reputation for picturesqueness. The church is a rich +example of 15th-cent. Somerset Perp., with the usual low chancel and an +elaborately panelled and pinnacled W. tower (cp. Leigh). Note (1) fine +groined porch (cp. Doulting); (2) octagonal vestry on S. with chamber +above; (3) mural tablet with emblem of peacock, on N. wall of tower, +designed by Burne-Jones; (4) Norm. font. There are some modern brasses +to former incumbents, and in N. chapel a tablet to Sir J. Homer (1659). +Immediately adjoining the church on W. is a fine gabled Elizabethan +manor house. _Mells Park_ (J.F. Horner) is a plain freestone mansion, +standing in some well-timbered grounds at the farther end of the +village. The founder of the family is popularly reputed to be the +"little Jack Horner" of nursery fame. In the neighbourhood of Mells are +three camps, _Newbury_ and _Wadbury_, on the road to Elm, and +_Tedbury_, on the way to Frome. The last mentioned is triangular, +occupying a point of land between two ravines (cp. Ruborough). + +[Illustration: MELLS VILLAGE] + +_Mendips, The_, a chain of hills some 25 m. long, running in a straight +line across the county in a N.W. direction from Frome to the Channel. +On its S.W. face the ridge drops abruptly into the plain, but the +opposite side gradually shelves away in a series of irregular +undulations, though the descent becomes sharper as the hills approach +the coast. Viewed from the sea-board the outline of the chain is on +either side sharply defined, and forms a prominent and shapely feature +in the landscape. From the low-lying central flats of the county the +Mendips have a quite fictitious impressiveness. Nowhere does their +altitude reach 1100 ft., and their ridge-like summit is nothing but an +extended plateau, in places from 2 to 3 m. wide. They have, however, +even on the top a certain picturesqueness, for the undulating tableland +is relieved by copses, and diversified by little wooded "bottoms," +scooped out by prehistoric torrents. Nearer the sea the uplands become +more desolate, the "bottoms" are replaced by rocky combes, like the +gorges at Cheddar and Burrington; villages become less frequent; and +traces of discarded mines give a weirdness to the solitude. The moors +are, however, healthy, and nowhere lacking in interest. Geologically +the structure of the Mendips is simple. A core of old red sandstone, +which occasionally crops out at the surface, and through which in one +spot, near Downhead, a vein of igneous rock has forced its way, is +thickly coated with a crust of mountain limestone. The once +superincumbent coal-measures are huddled together on one side in a +confused heap near Radstock, and on the other are probably buried +beneath the Glastonbury marshes. The detached hills in their +neighbourhood are doubtless only the remnants of an oolitic covering +which once completely enveloped them. A noteworthy feature of the +Mendips, but one shared by other limestone formations, is the number of +caverns and "swallet holes" with which they abound. Of the former the +_Cheddar Caves_ and _Wookey Hole_ are the most remarkable; and a good +example of the latter is the _Devil's Punch Bowl_ near E. Harptree. The +chief antiquities consist of the old Roman lead-mines and an +amphitheatre near Priddy, the old Roman road linking Uphill with Old +Sarum, and a few camps, such as those at Masbury and Burrington. The +hills are fairly uniform in height, the chief prominences being Beacon +Hill (near Shepton), Masbury Ring, and Blackdown (1067 ft.). A fairly +good road traverses the range from Frome to Cheddar or Burrington; and +a ramble taken anywhere along its length will repay the pedestrian. + +_Merriott_, 2 m. N. of Crewkerne, is partly, occupied, like the +neighbouring town, in the manufacture of sail-cloth. The church, in the +main Perp., has been restored, but retains its massive tower, which is +singularly plain, with a pinnacled turret in the middle of the S. face. +The tower arch looks like E.E., and there is a fine E.E. (restored) +piscina in the chancel. The S. entry has some intricate carving above +it, and there are some quaint figures on a stone inserted over the +vestry door. + +_Middlezoy_ (6 m. S.E. from Bridgwater, 4 from Athelney Station) has a +church (ded. to the Holy Cross) which contains some interesting +features. The tower has double belfry windows (not triple, like Weston +Zoyland). The chancel is Dec. (the E. window being good), and has a +large piscina under a foliated canopy. There is a second piscina in the +S. aisle, which likewise has a low side-window (cp. Othery). Note (1) +the roof (with a few pendants); (2) the early Jacobean pulpit (dated +1606); (3) some carved seat ends; (4) Perp. screen; (5) old chest with +three locks; (6) some fragments of ancient glass in the N. chapel; (7) +a small brass (in the middle of the nave) to "Louis Chevaleir (_sic_) +de Misiers," a French gentleman serving in the English army, who was +killed at Sedgemoor (here called "the battle of Weston"). + +_Midford_, a station on the S. & D. line to Bath. There is a pretty +view to be obtained from the platform, which overhangs a deep valley. +Some of the S. surroundings of Bath may be conveniently explored from +here by good walkers. Midford Castle, a modern antique, built in the +shape of a triangle, stands just above the railway. + +_Midsomer Norton_, a thriving and populous village 14 m. S.E. from +Bristol, with a station on the S. & D. line to Bath, and another at +Welton on the G.W. branch to Bristol. It obtains its name from a little +rivulet, the Somer, which partly embraces the village. Though situated +on the same coalfield, it is a more pleasing-looking place than its +neighbour Radstock. The church is a not very inspiring example of +modern Gothic (1830), and is said to have superseded a Norm, building. +The tower, which may embody some portions of the original structure, is +in keeping with the rest of the church, though of greater age. It +contains a niched effigy of Charles II., who, though an unlikely church +benefactor, is said to have given the bells. Besides having a large +output of coal, the locality does a brisk trade in boots and shoes. + +MILBORNE PORT, a small town of some antiquity but of no modern +importance, situated on a southern projection of the county jutting +into Dorset. The station (L. & S.W. main line) is 1-1/2 m. N. of the +town. In pre-Reform days it was a pocket borough, returning two +members. It has now little save its quaint air of antiquity to make it +remarkable. The church, however, is interesting and will repay study. +Externally and internally it bears evidence of a very early origin. The +nave has been rebuilt and enlarged, but the tower and chancel should be +carefully observed. Without, note (1) fine Norm. S. doorway; (2) base +of tower with its peculiar stair turret; (3) Norm, panelling on S. side +of chancel and blocked low side-window; (4) Norm, lancets in E. and N. +wall of vestry; (5) traces of Norm, arcading on N. face of tower. The +original niches and stoups of the W. front will be found built into a +small mortuary chapel at the N.W. corner of the churchyard. Within, the +tower arch claims first attention as the most exceptional feature of +the church. It is of majestic dimensions, and the workmanship is bold +and rugged. The N. and S. transeptal arches retain their round heads as +originally constructed, but the E. and W. piers carry pointed arches. +The carving on the capitals is regarded by some as bearing traces of +Saxon craftsmanship, but this is doubtful; note in some cases absence +of abacus. The S. transept is also worthy of close examination; note +the effigy in recess in S. wall, the Norm. windows, and the piscina. +Other objects worthy of observation in the church are (1) fine old +font; (2) piscinas in sanctuary and S. wall of nave; (3) ancient +vestry. The chancel and N. transept are Perp. The massive severity of +the central arches lends an air of great impressiveness to the whole +interior, though the peculiar position of the pulpit indicates how +difficult it has been to adapt the building to congregational purposes. +In the central thoroughfare of the village are the remains of an old +market cross, and on the S. side of the street near the present market +hall is the old Guildhall, containing a Norm. doorway with good +details. At the E. end of the village by the side of the Salisbury road +is _Venn_, the seat of the Medlicotts. It is a Queen Anne mansion of +characteristically formal aspect. Between Milborne Port Station and the +little hamlet of _Milborne Wick_ is the site of a camp with steep +flanks, and defended on the most accessible side by a strong rampart. + +_Milton Clevedon_, a small parish 2-1/2 m. N.W. of Bruton. The church +contains the effigy of an ecclesiastic (N. of the chancel), and there +is some ancient glass in the N. transept. Note, too, a curious +inscription on the external E. wall of the S. transept, date 1615. + +MILVERTON, a small town of 1427 people, 4 m. N. of Wellington, with a +station on the G.W.R. Barnstaple branch. It is a poor little +place--more village than town--apparently existing on its past +importance. It once had a flourishing market, and did a big business in +woollen cloth. The church stands on a slight eminence, at the bottom of +which lies the town. It is a good stately building without a +clerestory, and is not quite in line with its tower, which is of the +rough Exmoor type with a square turret flush with the E. face. The +interior has a remarkable display of carved bench-ends (notice the +"aspergillum" in central aisle, and the arms of Henry VIII. near +pulpit). The screen is modern, but embodies some old panels. The aisles +(note octagonal piers) terminate peculiarly at the W. end in chambers +surmounted by galleries. The font is Norm. The churchyard has the +sculptured base of a cross. The vicarage is said to have once been the +country residence of Cardinal Wolsey. The country round Milverton is +pleasant, and some delightful views of the Quantocks are obtainable in +the neighbourhood. + +[Illustration: MINEHEAD] + +MINEHEAD, a seaside town of 2500 people, 25 m. N.W. from Taunton, with +a terminal station on the G.W. branch from the latter place. The name +seems to be a hybrid, the first syllable being the Celtic _maen_, stone +(cp. _Men_dip). Once a Channel port second in importance only to +Bristol, Minehead has of recent years abandoned merchandise, and given +itself over to the entertainment of visitors. It has blossomed into a +watering-place of some pretensions with a pier, an esplanade, and a +generous profusion of public walks. It has, moreover, one claim to +distinction peculiarly its own. Exmoor, the home of the red deer, lies +behind it, and Minehead is the metropolis of the hunt. The advent of +the stranger was not always so eagerly welcomed. The inaccessible +situation of "the old town," as it is called, suggests that one of the +chief perils of ancient Minehead was the frequent incursions of +marauding Danes and Welsh. But the proximity of the Cambrian coast +opposite nevertheless had its occasional conveniences. In the Civil War +Lord Hertford, foiled in his attempt on Dunster, found Minehead a +serviceable stepping-stone to security amid the Welsh fastnesses. The +general appearance of the town is eminently attractive. A promenade, +which might well be extended, borders the sands, and an avenue fringed +with lime trees runs up from the station to the market-place and shops. +The church and older portions of the town are perched amid modern +residences on the hill side above, and a quaint row of mariners' +cottages (Quay Town) lies at the seaward foot of the headland. The huge +bulk of the N. hill forms an effectual windscreen at the back of the +town, and the abundance of flowers in the gardens testifies to the mild +climate which Minehead enjoys in consequence. The parish church of St +Michael stands out conspicuously on the hill side. It has a +well-designed Perp. W. tower, and both within and without shows several +features of interest. Externally should be noted (1) the fine +projecting window which lights the rood-loft stairway; (2) the +_bas-reliefs_ on the E. and S. sides of the tower; (3) the figures +supporting the weather-mouldings of one of the E. windows (one of which +carries a shield with date 1529), and the inscription in the masonry +above. There is a plain cross on the N. side of the graveyard. Within +the church remark (1) fine rood-screen (cp. Dunster); (2) carved +Elizabethan altar; (3) oak box and black-letter books; (4) canopied +tomb of priest in eucharistic vestments, and holding fragment of +chalice; (5) curious wooden arch to vestry; (6) fine font; (7) defaced +brass of a lady under the tower. No visitor can leave the churchyard +unimpressed with the panorama spread at his feet. Beyond the cliffs at +Blue Anchor may be discerned Weston pier. A new church in the +market-place provides further accommodation for the influx of summer +visitors. Beneath the churchyard wall of the new building stands a +stout statue of good Queen Anne, which once adorned the parish church. +It was the gift of a Swede (Sir J. Bancks), who married in 1696 the +well-portioned widow of one of the Luttrells. In the main street, +opposite the Assembly Rooms, is a venerable building, once a +court-house. A lane leading off by the new Market Hall gives entry to a +quaint row of alms-houses, built by R. Quirck in 1630. The court +contains the stump of an old cross. Minehead abounds in pleasant walks. +The North Hill in particular furnishes many a pleasing ramble: its +summit may be gained by taking a scrambling path at the E. end of the +old church. The whole range of the hill can be traversed as far as +Selworthy Beacon, and a descent may be made either to Wood Combe or +Greenaleigh farm. + +_Misterton_, a village 1/2 m. S.E. of Crewkerne. Its church is of no +antiquarian interest, though it possesses an ancient font. + +_Monksilver_, a parish 3 m. S. of Williton, rather less from Stogumber +Station. The last half of the name is probably the Latin _silva_. The +little church does not retain many features of interest, but note (1) +the screen and pulpit; (2) a panelled altar-tomb, without inscription, +N. of the chancel; (3) the piscina; (4) a bracket for a figure at the +E. of the S. aisle; (5) the curious devices on some of the seat-ends; +(6) the grotesque gargoyles (one seems to represent the extraction of a +tooth); (7) some ancient glass (with symbols of the Evangelists) in a +window of the S. aisle. + +_Monkton Combe_ is a village 1 m. W. of Limpley Stoke Station, with a +church that has been entirely rebuilt. + +_Monkton, West_, a parish 4 m. N.E. of Taunton, which gets its name +from the fact that the monks of Glastonbury owned property in it. Its +church, mainly Perp., but containing in the chancel arch work of +earlier date (perhaps 13th cent.), is noteworthy for its lofty tower. +The nave has a clerestory, and a good oak cornice. Note (1) stoup in S. +porch; (2) piscinas; (3) mural tablet in chancel to the memory of +William Kinglake, a physician (d. 1660), with its curious inscription. +In the churchyard are the parish stocks. The old leper hospital in +Taunton (_q.v._) really belongs to this parish. + +_Montacute_, 4 m. W. of Yeovil, is an attractive village (with station) +which derives its name from two neighbouring pyramidal eminences, one +of which, crowned by St Michael's Tower, is the site of a former +castle. There are several places of interest in or near it. Its church +preserves work of various periods, Norm. (chancel arch and moulding on +N. wall of nave), E.E. and Dec. (windows in chancel and transepts), and +Perp. (tower and nave). The tower is good, with its stages divided by +rows of quatrefoils. Note (1) groining of N. porch (the ribs are +inaccurately centred), (2) brackets beneath organ (the eastern alone is +ancient), (3) elaborate niches in chancel arch, (4) squint and piscina, +(5) texts round reredos, dated 1543, (6) effigies of the Phelipses, the +earliest dating from the 15th cent. In the churchyard is the carved +shaft of a cross. Near the W. end of the church is a beautiful +15th-cent. gateway, once belonging to a Cluniac Priory (founded in the +time of Henry I.), with oriel windows N. and S., the latter flanked by +two turrets of unequal height. Note over N. window a portcullis, and +over the S. the letters _T.C._, the initials of Thomas Chard, the last +prior but two. In the village square is a picturesque house with the +initials _R.S._ (Robert Sherborne, the last prior) between two figures +with fools' caps. _Montacute House_, the seat of the Phelipses, is +built in the form of the letter H, and dates from the reign of Queen +Elizabeth (1580-1601). The E. and W. fronts are handsome, the former +being decorated with nine large statues, supposed to represent various +martial characters, historical, legendary, and biblical. The two large +upper-storey windows that project from the N. and S. sides, light a +gallery running the whole length of the house. The building was +designed by John Thorpe, the architect of Longleat. Note the "gazébos" +in the garden (cp. Nether Stowey). + +[Illustration: MONTACUTE HOUSE] + +_Moorlynch_, a village on the S. edge of the Poldens, 4 m. S. of +Shapwick Station. The churchyard commands a good view of Sedgemoor, +with the towers of Othery, Middlezoy, and Weston Zoyland rising +conspicuously from it. The church (said to be E.E., but altered in +Perp. times) has some features of interest: (1) pillar piscina, (2) +carved bench-ends, (3) Norm. font, (4) effigy of lady (preserved under +the tower), (5) bits of old glass in chancel windows, (6) consecration +crosses on exterior chancel wall. There are some carved bench-ends and +old oak seats. + +_Muchelney_, 2 m. S.E. of Langport, is a small village rich in +antiquities. Like Athelney, it was once a marsh-girt "island "--the +largest, or _muckleey_, amongst its peers. Its church has a fair tower +(double windows in the belfry), though much inferior to those of Huish +and Kingsbury. At the W. door there is a fine stoup. There are N. and +S. porches with parvises or chambers, and the vault of the S. porch is +groined. Within should be noticed (1) quaint paintings on the nave +roof, (2) piscina and sedilia with fine canopies, (3) group of canopied +niches E. of the S. aisle, (4) fine carved Perp. font. In the +churchyard, E. of the church, is a fine panelled tomb. S. of the parish +church are the foundations of the _Abbey Church_. The Abbey was founded +by the Saxon Athelstan, about 939. The remains may be traced of (1) an +apsidal Norm. Lady Chapel, (2) a square-ended Lady Chapel of later +date. A few tiles are preserved in the adjoining church. S. of the +churchyard is the _Abbot's House_, which exhibits much of interest +(especially a room with a settle of Henry VIII.'s time), if admission +can be obtained. A panelled (interior) wall may be seen from the road: +behind it is a cloister (now a cider cellar). N. of the parish church +is another interesting building, the old Vicarage House, dating from +the 14th or 15th cent. In another house hard by is a fragment of Norm. +carving. Note, too, the village cross (restored.) + +_Mudford_ is a village on the Yeo, 3 m. N. of Yeovil. The church has a +good tower, but contains little of interest. The pulpit appears to be +Jacobean, and there is a curious bracket near one of the S. windows. + +_Mudgeley_. See _Wedmore_. + +_Nailsea_, a village (with station) 9 m. W.S.W. of Bristol. Its church +preserves some features of interest, among them being (1) stone pulpit, +entered through the wall by a staircase which formerly led to the +rood-loft, (2) curious carving on the capitals of the arcade, (3) +piscina, (4) monument to Richard Cole and his family, with its punning +Latin epitaph and free translation. Some way from the village is +_Nailsea Court_, a manor house of partly Tudor, partly Elizabethan +construction. + +_Nempnett Thrubwell_, a small village 7 m. S.W. from Pensford Station, +and 10 S.S.W. of Bristol. It stands on high ground overlooking a deep +valley. In the neighbourhood some very fine views may be obtained of +the Mendip Hills, the Blagdon Reservoir, and the Wrington valley. The +church is a small building with a Perp. W. tower, from the W. face of +which project two curious and uncanny carved heads of a man and beast. +The walls of the nave still bear the original 13th cent. consecration +crosses. The chancel is modern, and contains a rich modern screen and a +good E. window of Munich glass. Note (1) rude Norm. S. doorway filled +with Perp. tracery; (2) Norm. font carved with a curious device by some +later craftsman. Near the porch in the churchyard is (1) base of +ancient cross; (2) tomb of first rector--Robert--bearing an incised +cross. The parish once contained a remarkably fine tumulus of masonry, +said to have been one of the finest in Britain, in the chambers of +which skeletons have been discovered. A few vestiges of it now only +remain, the rest has been used as a lime-kiln. + +_Nettlecombe_, a parish 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Williton. Its church stands in +the park of _Nettlecombe Court_, the seat of Sir J.W. Trevelyan. Though +restored in 1869 it retains several features of interest. The tower has +the staircase turret at the N.W. angle (cp. Martock and Yeovil). In the +interior note (1) the foliage round the capitals of the arcade piers; +(2) the fine ancient glass in two windows in the N. aisle, representing +seven saints; (3) the octagonal font, with carved sides (much defaced), +seven of them supposed to represent the seven sacraments; (4) the +effigies under two E.E. recesses in the S. aisle, representing (i) a +crusader, (ii) a knight (hip-belted) and his lady. They probably belong +to the Raleigh family, the former owners of Nettlecombe Court. There is +also a slab with an inscription to John Trevelyan (d. 1623). The pulpit +is approached by the old rood staircase. The Communion plate dates from +the 15th cent. (1479). + +_Newton, North_, a parish 4-1/2 m. S. of Bridgwater and 2 m. N. of +Durston Station. Its church has been wholly rebuilt with the exception +of its very ancient tower (which is thought by some to be of Saxon +origin). The only antiquities which the building contains are (1) a +beautiful screen, with four figures in relief, three of which represent +Faith, Hope and Charity (cp. the similar figures at Stoke St Gregory +and Thurloxton); (2) a carved door leading into the vestry, with +figures of the Ten Virgins; (3) a Caroline pulpit (1637). In this +parish there was found, in 1693 a jewel set in gold, with an +inscription on the rim: AELFRED MEE HEHT GEWYRCAN (Alfred directed me +to be made). It is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, whilst a copy +of it may be seen in Taunton Museum. + +_Newton, St Loe_, a well-kept village 3-1/2 m. W. of Bath, standing on +high ground on the outskirts of _Newton Park_. The church has been much +restored, but retains on the S. the original Dec. arcade and a squint. +There is some good modern carving. In the graveyard are the base and +stump of what was once a fine cross. The church possesses a chalice of +the date 1555. + +_Northover_, a parish adjoining Ilchester, on the opposite side of the +Ivel. Its church (restored 1878) has an ancient tower, and contains a +Norm. font and a plain Jacobean pulpit. + +_Norton Fitzwarren_, a village 2 m. N.W. of Taunton. Its church +(restored) is of late 14th cent. origin, with Dec. windows, and the +tower is Perp. The edifice is interesting chiefly for its fine +rood-screen, supposed to date from about 1500; the carvings on it +deserve attention (note dragons, ploughman and team, and name of +churchwarden). The figures above it are modern. There are some carved +seat-ends in the body of the church. On the hill above is a circular +British camp, about 13 acres in extent. + +_Norton Malreward_, a small and secluded village under Maes Knoll, 1 m. +N.W. of Pensford. The church (rebuilt 1861) retains its original tower, +a good Norm. chancel arch, and a Norm. font. In the churchyard is a +square dole-stone, similar to the one at Dundry, but smaller. + +[Illustration: THE GEORGE INN, NORTON ST PHILIP] + +_Norton St Philip_, a comely village equidistant (3 m.) from Midford +(S. & D.) and Freshford (G.W.R.) Stations. It stands on high ground +near the crossing of the roads from Frome to Bath, and from Radstock to +Trowbridge. In mediaeval days Norton was the scene of a considerable +cloth fair, the tolls of which were the perquisites of the prior of +Hinton. At a later date it was the scene of a sharp skirmish between +the Duke of Monmouth's forces and a body of regulars under the Duke of +Grafton. The church has an extraordinary W. tower, the eccentricities +of which have led some to conclude that it was constructed out of odds +and ends from the dismantled monastic buildings at Hinton. Note the +singularly deep buttresses and the _quasi_-porch formed between them. +The body of the church is likewise peculiar, but of more merit. It is +one of Sir G. Scott's restorations. In the S. wall of the nave is the +recumbent effigy of a layman (cp. Cleeve). Beneath the tower is a +tablet commemorating a local "freak"--the two ladies of Foxcote, who +appear to have been an early edition of the Siamese Twins. A +neighbouring garden contains a good Elizabethan dovecot. Norton St +Philip claims to possess the oldest licensed house in England--the +George--a stately 15th cent. hostelry standing at the top of the +village. It is a fine old half-timbered building, with a small bay +window in front and an octagonal projecting staircase and gallery at +the back, and is well worthy of inspection within and without. It was +probably built for the accommodation of the merchants of the staple in +the old cloth fair-days. + +_Norton-sub-Hamdon_, a village at the foot of the S.W. flank of Hamdon +Hill, 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Montacute Station. The church has a fine tower, +which was rebuilt in 1894 after destruction by lightning; it is +characterised by large single windows extending from the belfry into +the storey below (cp. Shepton Beauchamp and Hinton St George). The body +of the church was restored in 1862; the oldest part would seem to be +the S. porch, which has a ribbed stone roof (cp. Tintinhall). The +interior is imposing by reason of the height of the nave and chancel, +but it contains little that calls for notice. In the E. wall is a +piscina and two niches. The modern and very ugly font is made of a +single block of alabaster. The most interesting object is in the +churchyard, which contains a circular dovecot, quite perfect, supported +by buttresses. + +[Illustration: NUNNEY CASTLE AND VILLAGE] + +_Nunney_, a village 3 m. S.W. from Frome. It possesses the unusual +attraction of a ruined _castle_. The castle is an excellent specimen of +a 14th cent. fortified dwelling-house. The walls are still complete, +but bear abundant traces of the ravages of time and warfare. In plan +the castle consists of a rectangular parallelogram with a cylindrical +tower at each angle The interior is gutted, but as the beam-marks still +remain, the general arrangements are easily reconstructed. It was +divided into four storeys by wooden floors, the dining-hall being (as +the large fireplace indicates) on the first floor. Access was gained to +the different apartments by a large spiral staircase winding round the +interior of the N. turret. The top storey of the S. turret, marked +externally by a Perp. window, was evidently furnished as an oratory; an +altar slab and piscina can still be seen projecting from the wall. The +position, not naturally strong, was rendered more defensible by a moat, +beyond which flows a stream. The castle was built by Sir J. de la Mere +in 1373 out of the spoils of the French wars. It afterwards passed +successively to the families of Pawlet and Prater, and during the Civil +Wars was held by Colonel Prater for the king. After a determined +resistance it surrendered on terms to Fairfax. The neighbouring church +has a picturesque Perp. tower with a projecting spiral stair turret. On +the W. face is a panel representing a key and a knotted cord, thought +to be a Delamere badge. Internally the fabric has been much pulled +about and altered. It contains a heavy Norman font and a small oak +chancel screen. Behind the organ in the N. aisle are two altar tombs +with double recumbent effigies (15th cent.), and a third (14th cent.) +with a single figure--that of the founder of the castle--is shelved on +the window-sill above. The effigies furnish excellent illustrations of +the armour of their periods. + +_Nynehead_, a village 1-1/2 m. N. of Wellington. From the neighbouring +village of Bradford it is approached by a deep artificial cutting +picturesquely overhung with creepers. The church is something of a +"show place." Its chief attraction is a remarkable collection of marble +statuary and Della Robbia work. Notice in particular the tablet +representing the Trinity, by Mino da Fiesole, on the W. wall of S. +aisle, the Madonna and Child on same wall, and the "Nativity" beneath +the tower. The church itself is Perp., but largely rebuilt. It contains +a very fine oak screen. Note also (1) squint on N.; (2) rough piscina +in chancel; (3) monument to the Clarkes of Chipley (1679) in N. chapel. +In the beautifully-kept churchyard is the base of a fine cross, now +prettily overgrown with ferns and lichen. In close proximity to the +church is a large but uncomely-looking manor house. + +_Oake_, a parish 3 m. S.E. of Milverton. Its little church, sadly +dilapidated, has the tower on the S. side. Over the porch (1601) is a +pierced parapet, bearing the monogram _I.P._ (cp. Hill-farrance). The +interior contains nothing of note except a carved pulpit and an old +font, and some fragments of ancient glass in a window of unusual size, +which is said to have been brought from Taunton Priory. Outside is a +stone for doles. + +_Oakhill_, a large village on the N. slope of the Mendips, 2 m. S.E. of +Binegar Station (S. and D.). It is chiefly dependent upon a large +brewery. The church is modern (1861). + +_Oare_, a small village 7 m. W. of Porlock, situated in a delightful +valley between heather-clad hills. It is a favourite drive from +Porlock, and may be reached by two routes, the better being along the +main Porlock and Lynton road almost as far as County Gate. Oare church +is quaint, but contains little of interest. 3/4 m. away is +_Malmesmead_, where the Oare Water joins the Badgeworthy Water, which +for some distance constitutes the boundary between Somerset and Devon, +and is familiar to readers of _Lorna Doone_. + +_Odcombe_, a village 3 m. W. of Yeovil. The church occupies a very +elevated position and commands a good view. In plan it is cruciform, +with a central tower resting on piers which seem to belong to the Dec. +period, though the E. and W. arches have been altered in Perp. times. +There is a good piscina in the chancel, and the basin of the font is +ancient. The ribbed and panelled roof of the S. porch deserves notice. +Odcombe was the birthplace of Tom Coryate, who, early in the 17th +cent., tramped through Europe and the East. After his first journey he +is said to have hung up his boots in the church. + +_Orchardleigh_, a modern mansion, 2 m. N. from Frome, built to replace +the ancient seat of the Champneys. In the park is a knoll crowned by +three huge stones, which were once a cromlech, and are supposed to mark +a place of sepulture. Upon an island in a lake is a small church, quite +a little gem in its way. It contains a carved cup-shaped font, a +beautiful Dec. priest's doorway, and an elaborately sculptured aumbry +and piscina. The unique features of the building, however, are the +small projecting figures on the N. and S. walls of the sanctuary; the +hand of the one on the S. will be seen still grasping the staple on +which was once suspended the Lenten veil (cp. Leigh-on-Mendip). + +_Orchard Portman_, a parish 2 m. S. of Taunton, which represents in its +name an alliance between a Portman and the heiress of the Orchards. The +most noteworthy features of its small Perp. church is a Norm. S. door, +and an ancient font (likewise presumably Norm.) of curious shape. Note, +too, (1) carved wooden pulpit; (2) carved stalls; (3) brass on chancel +S. wall to "Humfredus de Collibus" (_Anglice_, Coles or Colles), who +died 1693 (cp. Pitminster). + +_Othery_, a parish on the Sedgemoor plain, 3 m. N.E. of Athelney +Station. Its church has quite a number of interesting features. It is +cruciform in plan, with a central tower, and is said to be an E. E. +building, which has been altered in the Dec. and Perp. periods. The +tower is noticeable for its "batter," for its belfry window of four +lights, and for its niches and figures. The chancel, like some others +in the county, has a low side-window, outside of which a neighbouring +buttress is perforated to permit some object (possibly a lamp) placed +in the window to be seen. The cross on the E. gable is said to be +Norm., but if so, is probably not in its original position, since it is +little weathered. Within note (1) the manner in which the narrow +central tower is joined to the wider nave; (2) the ancient glass in the +N. transept; (3) squint and piscinas. Most of the woodwork is modern. +At the present churchwarden's house is preserved a 15th cent. cope, +which has been converted into an altar frontal. + +_Otterford_, a parish 6 m. N.W. of Chard. The hamlet of Bishop's Wood, +the most thickly populated part of the parish, lies in a broad defile, +through which trickles the Otter brook. The church is 2-1/2 m. away on +the hill-top. It is not of great interest, but contains a stoup, a +piscina, and a Norm. font. + +_Otterhampton_, a parish near the estuary of the Parrett, 7 m. N.W. of +Bridgewater. It has a small aisleless church, the most remarkable +feature of which is the wall separating the chancel (which is modern) +from the nave. It is pierced by a chancel arch without mouldings, and +has on its W. face several niches. There is a small but old screen, and +a Norm. font. Attached to Otterhampton is _Combwich_, identified by +some with "Cynuit," the scene of the battle between The Dane Hubba (one +of the murderers of St Edmund) and Earl Odda in 878, which by others is +placed near Appledore in Devon. The Saxon Chronicle, indeed, definitely +states that Hubba met his death in Devonshire; but at that time Devon +probably extended as far east as the Parrett, and Hubba was possibly +co-operating with the Danish force that was observing Alfred at +Athelney (see p. 13). (With Hubba's name cp. _Hobb's Boat_ on the Axe). + +_Paulton_, a populous mining and manufacturing village, 1-1/2 m. S.E. +from Hallatrow Station. The church is an uninteresting bit of early +Victorian re-building (1839) with an 18th cent. tower, a woefully poor +imitation of Perp. work. + +_Pawlett_, a parish 4 m. N. of Bridgwater (nearest station Dunball, +1-1/2 m.) It has a cruciform church (with W. tower), possessing (1) a +Norm. S. door, with some unusual but much defaced mouldings; (2) a tub +font (on a later base); (3) a screen with vine ornamentation; (4) a +Jacobean pulpit. + +_Peasedown St John_, a bleakly situated colliery village, 6 m. S.W. +from Bath. It consists of a long string of cottages and a modern +church. + +_Pendomer_, a small hamlet, 2 m. W.S.W. from Sutton Bingham (L. and +S.W.). A combination of situation and family associations is +responsible for its name (Dummer's Hill). The church is noteworthy only +as containing a remarkable monument. In a cinque-foiled recess on the +N., faced with a square canopy surmounted by pinnacles, is the +recumbent figure of a knight clad in coat of mail. It is believed to +represent Sir J. de Dummer (d. about 1321), son of Sir William buried +at Chilthorne Domer. Note (1) grotesque figures supporting canopy; (2) +cusps worked up into figures of angels (cp. Dowlishwake); (3) iron +prickets for lights. The church windows contain some old glass, and the +arms of the Stourton family. The neighbouring farmhouse is a 16th cent. +building. + +_Pennard, East_, a village 1-1/2 m. N.W. from Pylle Station (S. and +D.). There is a painful neatness about this little group of cottages +characteristic of a manorial appurtenance. The church, which partakes +of the same trimness, is Perp. The tower is of rather an unusual type, +being low and squat, and unrelieved by battlements. The staircase is +only a flat projection on the S. side, carried half way up. Upon the N. +face of the tower is a Tudor rose (cp. Marston Magna). Note (1) stoups +in S. porch and outside N. door; (2) Jacobean stalls; (3) piscina and +aumbry; (4) niche in E. wall of N. aisle; (5) richly carved square +font. The nave retains its original 15th cent. roof supported on large +corbels. In the churchyard is the shaft of a cross. A good view is +obtainable from the neighbouring Wrax Hill. + +_Pennard, West_, a village 5 m. S. from Shepton Mallet, with a station +on S. and D. line to Glastonbury. The church, which stands some little +distance away, is a large and strikingly handsome Perp. building of +uniform design (_temp._ Edward IV.). The W. tower carries a lead spire. +Its chief interest is its general comeliness. It has neither chapels +nor monuments. One or two features, however, are deserving of notice: +(1) good screen; (2) large squint (containing rood stairway) on N.; (3) +corresponding doorway on S.; (4) stoup at W. doorway. In the churchyard +is a good cross bearing emblems of the Passion on its base (cp. +Doulting). + +_Penselwood_, a parish 4 m. N.E. of Wincanton. It occupies high ground, +which in early times has been strongly defended. Hard by are the +British earthwork known as Cenwealh's Castle, and the Norm, moated +mound called Orchard Castle. In the neighbourhood, too, are Pen-Pits, +circular cavities in the ground (extending over 200 acres), which are +believed to have been excavated for the purpose of obtaining +grindstones. The parish church, mainly Perp., retains a Norm. S. door +(note the carving on the lintel) and a Norm. font; and over the gable +of a door in the S. wall is another piece of carving (the Virgin and +Child and two kneeling figures), which probably was, once part of the +cross. There are some bits of early glass in one of the windows. One of +the bells is said to date from the 13th cent. + +_Pensford_, a village with a station on the G.W.R. Frome and Bristol +line. It lies immediately at the foot of a lofty viaduct, which +commands a pretty prospect of the valley of the Chew. Like other places +on the bank of a stream, the village was once the centre of a brisk +cloth trade. The church has been rebuilt, but contains a Jacobean +pulpit and a Perp. font (cp. Dundry). The inverted fragment of a +piscina may be seen in the churchyard, built into the wall of a shed. + +_Perrott, North_, a small village on the Parrett (which doubtless gives +it its name), 2 m. N.E. of Crewkerne. The church is a small cruciform +Perp. structure of rather poor workmanship, with a low central tower. +The tower arches are panelled, and there is a piscina in the chancel. +The manor house hard by is a handsome gabled modern mansion. In the +parish Roman remains have been discovered. The companion village of +_South Perrott_ is in Dorset. + +_Petherton, North_, a village 3 m. S.W. of Bridgwater, deriving its +name from the neighbouring Parrett. In the time of Alfred the country +around was one of the royal forests, the others being Selwood, Mendip, +Neroche, and Exmoor. There is a fine church, with a noble tower, +perhaps the best of its class. It belongs to the type that is +characterised by double windows in the belfry, but is more elaborate +than most of its compeers. The stages are divided by bands of +quatrefoils (cp. Huish and Kingsbury), whilst the wall-face above the +belfry windows is beautifully panelled. The W., N., and S. sides are +decorated with niches containing figures; and the summit is finished +with an ornate crown. The turret (as at Lyng) ascends only half-way up. +There are two porches, the S. having a chamber, or gallery, looking +into the church. The most peculiar features of the building are the +slenderness of the piers carrying the chancel arch, and the sacristy +below the E. window (the latter peculiarity occurring also at Langport, +Kingsbury, Porlock, Ilminster, and formerly at Crewkerne). Note the +piscina at the end of the S. aisle. In the churchyard there is the +octagonal base, carved with quatrefoils, of an ancient cross. + +PETHERTON, SOUTH, 3 m. S.W. of Martock, is a small town, interesting +mainly for its noble church, which has a central (rather attenuated) +octagonal tower on a square base. The oldest parts of the building +appear to be the basement of the tower, the chancel, the S. porch, and +the N. transept, the difference in the masonry between these portions +and the rest being instructive. The tower still retains some lancets of +the E.E. period; but the earliest windows in the chancel and N. +transept are Dec. The body of the church is Perp., and the W. window +deserves attention. Note, too, (1) stoup outside N. porch; (2) +fragments in S. porch of the same zodiacal signs that appear at +Stoke-sub-Hamdon; (3) piscinas (especially that in the chancel); (4) +tomb of Sir Giles Daubeny (d. 1445) and one of his wives, with a fine +brass (there is also a brass to his second wife on the floor, concealed +by matting); (5) 17th-cent. mural tablets in the S. and N. chapels. +_King Ina's Palace_ is the name of an interesting house on the Martock +road. It is said to date from Richard II.'s time (with later +alterations), and contains a hall, with minstrel gallery, and a good +fireplace. Near the church there are one or two other ancient houses +which invite notice. + +_Pill_, a populous village, 6 m. N.W. of Bristol, standing on a muddy +creek of the Avon. A sufficient impression of the place may be obtained +from the station platform. The church is modern. + +_Pilton_, 1-1/2 m. N.W. of West Pennard Station, lies in pretty +country. Its church is spacious, and contains much of interest. +Architecturally it belongs to various periods. The S. door is Norm., +the porch later. The columns and arches which separate the nave from +the aisle are late Norm. or Trans.; the roof was raised at a later +date, and a Perp. clerestory was inserted. The chancel is Perp., with a +panelled arch and a clerestory. Note (1) the fine wooden roof; (2) the +screen that encloses what was once a chapel (it has a piscina); (3) the +"Easter sepulchre," under a recess in the N. wall, with a +representation of our Lord cut in the stone; (4) the fine brass +chandelier (1749); (5) the curious old chest at the base of the tower, +which contains the remains of an old 16th cent. cope, which has been +converted into an altar frontal; (6) the Jacobean pulpit (1618). The +communion plate includes a paten of about 1500. Near the church is a +noble cruciform barn, once belonging to the abbots of Glastonbury, with +the emblems of the Evangelists at the gables. + +_Pitcombe_, a parish 1-1/4 m. S. of Bruton. The church, with the +exception of the tower, has been rebuilt, and contains nothing of +interest, except an ancient font. + +_Pitminster_, a large village, 4-1/2 m. S. of Taunton. The church is +noticeable for its octagonal tower, which is surmounted by a spire. +There are two large monuments of the Coles family on either side of the +chancel, and a third at the W. end, dating from the 16th and 17th +cents. The font is elaborately carved. Note (1) the bench ends; (2) the +old glass in the tracery of the E. window of the N. aisle; (3) the two +piscinas. + +_Pitney_, a village 2-1/2 m. N.E. of Langport. The church (Perp.) has +an interesting stoup in the porch, and a ribbed squint, with a curious +little recess beneath. A Roman pavement has been unearthed in the +parish; some specimens of the tiles are preserved in the Taunton +Museum. + +_Podimore_, a village 2 m. N.E. of Ilchester. Its church has an +octagonal tower on a square base (cp. Weston Bampfylde), the upper part +of which is lighted with small lancets. The way in which the octagon +has been superimposed on the square may be observed from the interior. +The windows of the church are partly Dec., partly Perp. The E. window +has some fragments of ancient glass. The chancel arch is unusually +narrow. Note (1) the piscina and aumbry; (2) the old font; (3) the +stoup in the S. porch. There is the base of an old cross in the +churchyard. + +[Illustration: OLD BANK, PORLOCK] + +PORLOCK, a small town near the Devonshire border, 7 m. W. from +Minehead, from which it is reached by coach. Its name--"the enclosed +harbour"--indicates its former maritime character, but more than a mile +of meadow land now separates it from the sea. Its attenuated shipping +trade finds what accommodation it can at the _Weir_, 1-1/2 m. to the W. +The village enjoys a reputation second only to Cleveleys' for +west-country quaintness. It has certainly much to recommend it to the +lovers of the picturesque. It lies snugly ensconced at the bottom of a +wooded valley, enclosed on three sides by the heathery slopes of +Exmoor, but open in front to the sea. Southey has penned a testimonial +to its scenery; and its creeper-clad cottages, with roses and clematis +reaching to their round Devonshire chimneys, still furnish many a study +for the pencil or camera. In Anglo-Saxon times it was much raided by +the Danes, and Harold's sons also paid it a visit, which procured for +them a rough welcome from the shoresmen. The church (ded. to St +Dubricius), which stands in a rather cramped position in the centre of +the village, is externally much in keeping with the old-fashioned +aspect of the surrounding cottages. It consists of a Perp. nave and S. +aisle, with a truncated shingled spire at the W. end. Internally it is +comely and of interest. Its chief curiosities are a small sacristy at +the E. end (cp. Langport and N. Petherton), and a richly canopied tomb, +uncomfortably crowded under the E. bay of the arcade. The recumbent +effigies are finished in much detail, but a certain mystery hangs about +their identity. They are now regarded as those of Baron John Harington +of Aldingham (d. 1418) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth, _née_ Courtney +(1472). The lady's head-dress, in the shape of a mitre, is particularly +noteworthy. On the N. side of the sanctuary is an altar tomb panelled +with devices of the Five Wounds. It is supposed to have served as an +Easter sepulchre. An earlier model of the same tomb stands in the N. +porch. In the S. aisle is a round-headed founder's recess, containing +the mail-clad figure of a knight, supposed to be Simon Fitz-Roger +(_temp._ Richard I.); close by is a smaller recess. The rood-loft has +disappeared, but a stairway and window mark its former position. Note +the indications of the earlier character of the sanctuary in the E. +window and double-drained piscina. In the churchyard is a restored +cross. The "Ship" at the fork of the Lynton road is a venerable +hostelry, once patronised by Southey; and there is another quaint house +on the road to Minehead. Specimens of an oak jug peculiar to Porlock +may be obtained in the village. The nearest approach to the sea is by +the road to the _Weir_. Here a pebble ridge encloses the tide and forms +a natural pill, which a pair of dock gates transforms into a rude +harbour. The view across the bay to Hurlstone Point and Bossington is +delightful. Pretty views may also be obtained from Park Road, a long +zigzag ascent which finally joins the Lynton road. Another pleasant +walk can be taken in Hawkcombe valley (past W. end of church); whilst a +third, passing "Doverhay," may terminate at the Horner Valley (L.), or +at Stoke Pero (R.). A visit should be paid to _Allerford_, where there +is an ancient pack-horse bridge of two arches, and whence the summit of +Bossington Beacon may be reached by some charming zigzag paths through +the woods. + +[Illustration: ALLERFORD] + +_Portbury_, a village 8 m. N.W. of Bristol (nearest stat. Pill). It is +a place where many Roman remains have been found. It possesses a +spacious church, which has a fine Norm. recessed S. door. The chancel +arch is also of Norm. origin, but has undergone alteration. There is a +good E. window and a sanctuary bell-cot. The triple sedilia (E.E. or +Dec.) and the 17th-cent. brass in the N. aisle should be noticed. At +the junction of the roads to Portishead and Clapton are the remains of +a priory, which are now used as a school. It is said to have belonged +to an Augustinian Abbey at Bristol. + +PORTISHEAD, a small town with a population of 2544, situated on the +Bristol Channel, 11-1/2 m. W. from Bristol and 8 from Clifton +Suspension Bridge. It is connected with the city by a G.W.R. branch +line, of which it is the terminus. Portishead makes a successful +attempt to combine business with pleasure. It has a biggish dock and +some large grain warehouses, and is a flourishing little port. It is +now awaking to its possibilities as a watering-place. Its chief +attraction is a wooded promontory rising behind the docks. Round this +is cut an excellent road, which finally ends in a queer little attempt +at a promenade. The "Point" has figured in history, for the possession +of a fort upon it was contested by the Royalist and Roundhead forces in +the Civil War. The church is in the middle of the old village, which +lies back from the sea. It has a stately Perp. tower crowned with a +spirelet. The interior is unreformed and disappointing. Note (1) music +gallery above S. porch, (2) Norm. font, (3) curious arch in N. aisle, +(4) sculptured heads built into chancel wall, perhaps removed from +original position as suspenders of Lenten veil (cp. Orchardleigh), (5) +pulpit reached through S. wall. Near the church is an ancient manor +house with an Elizabethan turret. Portishead possesses a fine new Naval +College, built to replace the old training-ship _Formidable. +Nightingale Valley_ is a favourite walk. + +_Preston Plucknett_, a village 1-1/2 m. W. of Yeovil. Its church is not +particularly interesting, the ancient features being disguised by +recent restorations. The body of the building is thought to be late +Dec., the tower Perp. Note (1) piscina in S. transept or chapel, (2) +small doorway in N. transept, which probably once led to the rood-loft, +but now affords access to the pulpit. Hard by is a fine tithe barn with +finials on the gables, and a 15th-cent. house with a most picturesque +porch and panelled octagonal chimney. + +_Priddy_, a lonely village on the top of the W. Mendips, 5 m. N.N.W. of +Wells. It enjoys a certain celebrity as one of the bleakest and most +remote spots in Somerset. Though some considerable distance from +Cheddar, it is generally regarded as part of the Cheddar _entourage_. +Nowhere can the characteristic scenery of the Mendips, with its moors, +mines, and swallets, be sampled to better advantage. Priddy, ever since +Roman times, has been the centre of the Mendip mining area (cp. p. 11), +and wild tales used to be told of the Priddy "groovers." Lead and zinc +ores are still worked in the locality. The village surrounds a large, +three-cornered green, which was once the scene of a considerable fair. +The church stands about a stone's-throw away on rising ground. It is a +Perp. building of irregular design and rough workmanship. It has a good +pillared stoup in the porch, a Jacobean screen, and fragments of a +stone pulpit. In the neighbourhood are two groups of barrows. + +_Priston_, a village in a secluded dale 5-1/4 m. S.W. from Bath +(nearest stat. Camerton, 3 m.). The church is something of a deception, +for a good Norm. doorway and an exterior corbel table prepares the +visitor for the Norm. arches and arcading within; but these are +entirely modern. There is, however, some good Dec. work in the chancel; +and notice should especially be taken of the priest's doorway, the +foliated rear arches of the windows (cp. Frome), and the fine pillar +piscina. Observe also (1) old wooden door, (2) the lion serving as a +finial to W. gable. The tower, the base of which is perhaps Norm., is +incongruously finished with a balustrade and urn-like pinnacles. + +_Publow_, a village on the Chew (nearest stat. Pensford). One of the +prettiest features of the landscape from Pensford Station is the +graceful tower of Publow Church. It is a stately structure of four +stages, with the customary projecting stone turret and spirelet. The +interior is not particularly interesting, but note (1) panelled arch on +N. of sanctuary, (2) aumbry in N. aisle, (3) square font. The pulpit +has been constructed out of two old pews. Near the church is an old +cylindrical "lock-up." + +_Puckington_, a small village 3 m. N.E. of Ilminster. The oldest part +of the church (Perp.) is the chancel, which has Dec. windows, a +piscina, and triple sedilia (E.E.) (cp. Shepton Beauchamp). There is +also a Norm, font with cable moulding. + +_Puriton_, a parish 3-3/4 m. N.N.E. from Bridgwater, 3/4 m. from +Dunball. The church, though old, has lost whatever features of interest +it once had. The S. porch seems formerly to have had a gallery or +parvise (note the staircase), and there is a small plain oak screen. +The neighbouring large house is _Puriton Manor_. + +_Puxton_, a small village 7 m. E. of Weston-super-Mare, with a station +3 m. away. The church is a small building with a leaning tower. +Originally it was E.E. (note one of the windows), but many parts of the +fabric are much later. The porch is dated 1557. There is a good oak +pulpit, with hourglass holder, and some heavy 15th-cent. benches. + +_Pylle_, a village with station (S. & D.), situated a little off the +Fosse Way, 4 m. S. of Shepton Mallet. The church (St Thomas à Becket) +has, with the exception of the tower (Perp.), been rebuilt (1868). +Opposite is a farmhouse, which was once a manorial residence of the +Berkeleys: part of the original Elizabethan building still remains. + +_Quantocks, The_, a range of hills forming the W. boundary of the +spacious plain which occupies the centre of the county. Geologically, +they belong to the Devonian series of rocks. They are not of great +extent, being a comparatively narrow ridge, stretching from the +neighbourhood of Taunton in a north-westerly direction some 10 or 12 m. +to the sea, whilst their tallest summit (Will's Neck) is only 1270 ft. +But their natural attraction of woodland dells, heathy moorlands, and +mountain air are great, and are enhanced by interests which appeal both +to the lovers of sport and the lovers of literature, for upon them the +red deer is hunted (as well as upon Exmoor), and near them Coleridge +and Wordsworth made their homes. They are easily accessible on the E. +from Bridgwater, whence good roads lead to Cothelstone Beacon and +Nether Stowey (to the latter the G.W.R. runs a motor car), and on the +S. from Taunton, whence the railway to Minehead skirts their W. flanks +all the way to the coast, with stations at intervals (Bishop's Lydeard, +Crowcombe, Stogumber, Williton). On the E. side, they are cut by +numerous long and leafy combes (notably _Cockercombe_ and _Seven Wells' +Combe_), which afford easy ascents; but on the W. the slopes are much +steeper and barer. Their tops are covered with bracken, heather, scrub +oak, and quantities of whortle berries, the ripening of the last +marking the beginning of the summer holidays for the village children, +who then go "whorting." The most conspicuous summits in order from S.E. +to N.W. are _Cothelstone Beacon, Witt's Neck, Danesborough_ (where +there is a British camp), and _Longstone Hill_. A track (not fit for +cyclists) runs the whole length of the range, starting from where the +road from Bridgwater to Bagborough begins to descend to the latter +place, and ending where the hills slope towards the sea between E. and +W. Quantoxhead. _Triscombe Stone_, near the head of Cockercombe, is a +famous meet for the staghounds. At Adscombe, near Seven Wells' Combe, +are the remains of a chantry which is said to have belonged to the +monastery at Athelney. The W. window, with door beneath, still +survives. + +_Quantoxhead, East_, a parish 4-1/2 m. N.E. from Williton, near the +shore. Its church retains a few interesting features, among them being +a tomb of Hugh Luttrell (1522), some carved seat ends (one with the +Luttrell arms), a Caroline pulpit (1633), and a piscina. In the +churchyard is the shaft of a cross. Near the church is Court House, an +old manor house, with the remains of a pierced parapet. It formerly +belonged to the Luttrell family. + +_Quantoxhead, West_, a parish 1-1/2 m. E. of Williton. The church of St +Etheldreda (Audrey), which is beautifully situated, has been wholly +rebuilt (1856), the only ancient feature being the shaft of the +churchyard cross. In the parish is _St Audries_, the seat of Sir A.F. +Acland Hood. + +_Queen Charlton_, a small village 2 m. S.W. of Keynsham, with the abbey +of which it once had an intimate connection. A fine Norm. doorway, +built into a garden wall, was originally the gateway of the abbey +court-house. The church has a central Norm, tower, but is otherwise +without interest. A Dec. arcade, now blocked, seems at one time to have +divided the sanctuary from some demolished chantry. The base and shaft +of a cross ornament the village green. + +_Raddington_, a village on the border of Devonshire, 2 m. N. of Venn +Cross Station. The church contains a good panelled oak roof and a fine +screen. In the chancel is a mutilated piscina. + +RADSTOCK, a small town 8-1/2 m. S.W. from Bath, with two stations close +together in the centre of the main street. It possibly derives its name +from its proximity to the Fosse Way. It is now the metropolis of the +Somerset coalfield. It is a rather disconnected sort of place, lying in +a deep valley surrounded by coal-pits, and throwing out long rows of +workmen's cottages up the hillsides. The church, originally a small +building (as the rood-stair on the S. wall indicates), has been +restored and enlarged out of all recognition. A curious _bas-relief_, +with the Crucifixion on one side and the Virgin and Child on the other, +has been built into the E. wall of the S. porch. Within the church is a +heavy Norm. font and a mutilated piscina. + +_Redlynch_, a small hamlet 1-1/2 m. S.E. from Bruton. The church is +without interest. _Redlynch Park_ is the seat of the Earl of Ilchester. + +_Rimpton_, a village 3/4 m. S.E. of Marston Magna Station. It has a +pretty church, cruciform in plan, with a chancel of E.E. or Dec. +origin. There is a niche for a stoup inside the S. door, and piscinas +in the chancel and S. transept. The pulpit is Jacobean, whilst some of +the carved bench-ends date from the 15th or 16th cent., and bear the +Tudor rose. Note the squint and ancient font. + +_Road_, a village on the borders of Wiltshire, 4 m. N.N.E. from Frome. +The church has a heavy embattled tower, from the top of which Charles +II. is said to have reconnoitred the surrounding country after his +hurried flight from Worcester. The interior is disappointing. There is +an empty canopied recess in the S. aisle, and a piscina in the chancel. + +_Rodden_, a small parish 1-1/2 m. E. from Frome. There is no village. +The church stands in a farmyard, and has to be reached by crossing the +fields. It is a quaint little pseudo-Perp. structure with a toy tower, +built 1640. + +_Rowberrow_, 2-1/2 m. E. from Winscombe or Sandford Stations, is a +parish which was once the centre of a mining district, but the mines +are now disused. Its little church lies under Dolbury Camp. Above the +S. porch is a stone with interlaced carving. + +_Ruborough Camp_. See _Broomfield_. + +_Ruishton_, a village 3 m. E. of Taunton. Its church has a massive +tower, with double belfry windows and prominent buttresses, but the +absence of parapet and pinnacles gives it an unfinished appearance. +Traces of Norm. architecture remain in the S. porch, and there is some +Dec. work, in the S. chapel, but the nave is Perp. The font is richly +carved. A poor painting--the Adoration of the Magi--which is supposed +to be Flemish, forms an altarpiece. In the churchyard is the base of a +large cross. + +_Runnington_, a village 1 m. N.W. of Wellington. Its church is a +characterless little building at the bottom of a lane. It retains its +rood stairway. + +_St Catherine_, a parish 4 m. N.E. of Bath. It is reached by a road +from Batheaston (2 m.), through a very pretty valley (where the road +forks, turn to the L.), and has much that is interesting. Portions of +the church are late Norm. or E.E. (note the tower and chancel arches, +and the fine font, with its variety of mouldings); but it was rebuilt +by Prior Cantlow of Bath in the 15th cent. The beautiful E. window, +with its stained glass, bearing a Latin inscription, is of that date, +and so is the carved pulpit, the colours of which are believed to +reproduce the original. There is a monument, with figures, to William +Blanchard and his wife (1631), N. of the chancel. Note, too, the roof +of the choir, and the ancient glass in the S. windows. Near the church +is a cruciform tithe barn. The Grange, close by, is also the work of +Prior Cantlow; but the porch is a later addition, of Jacobean times. + +_St Decuman's_. See _Watchet_. + +_St Michael Church_, a small parish 1 m. N. of Durston. Its church is +correspondingly small, with a low N. tower surmounted by a pyramidal +roof. It contains one or two monuments of the Slade family. + +_Saltford_, a large village (with station) 6 m. W.N.W. of Bath, +situated on the Avon. Its church, restored in 1851, is without +interest, though it has a good Norm. font, with roughly carved heads +below the bowl. + +_Sampford Arundel_, a small village 2-3/4 m. S.W. of Wellington. Its +church, in which nave and aisles are covered by a single roof, has a +curious bit of sculpture (hands holding a heart) inserted in the N. +wall. + +_Sampford Brett_, 1 m. S.E. of Williton, a village deriving its name +from the family of Brett, one of whose members took part in the murder +of Thomas à Becket. The church is cruciform, but the plan is obscured +by the position of the tower and a chapel on the S. side. The only +objects of interest are (1) the carved seat ends, one of which has the +figure of a lady (supposed to be Florence Windham, of whom it is +related that she was buried when in a trance, from which she was +awakened by the sexton, who opened her coffin in order to steal her +rings), (2) the effigy of a mailed warrior (in the vestry), presumably +one of the Bretts. + +_Seavington St Mary_, a small village 3 m. E. from Ilminster, on the +road to Ilchester. The church stands by the wayside, a little apart +from the village. It is a fairly good specimen of a plain E.E. country +church. As examples of the style note (1) S. doorway, (2) chancel arch, +comprising two remaining members of a triplet, with squint; (3) lancets +in chancel, (4) plain round font. The tower, the internal arch of which +is peculiar, has been reconstructed in Perp. times. The sanctuary +contains a trefoiled piscina and an aumbry. Inside the church doorway +is a bench bearing date 1623; it was originally the parish bier. + +_Seavington St Michael_, a parish 4 m. E. of Ilminster. The church is +small, without tower or aisles. It retains two piscinas and an ancient +font; and built into the side walls are two boldly carved heads +(perhaps originally supports of the Lenten veil). Outside, exposed to +the weather, is the effigy of a woman. + +_Selworthy_, a charming village 4 m. W. of Minehead, on the road to +Porlock. It is best reached from Holnicote, along a pleasant shady +lane, 1/2 m. long. There is much to repay the visitor. The church +(Perp.) has a curious pew over the S. porch, and the S. aisle (rebuilt +in 1490) has a very good roof. The mouldings of the arcade piers should +be observed, and two of the capitals have the Devonshire foliage. Note, +too (1) piscinas in the chancel and S. aisle, (2) fragments of early +glass in the E. window of the N. aisle, (3) some 16th and 17th-cent. +brasses. On the road to the church is a 15th-cent. tithe-barn; whilst +W. of the church, lying in a hollow, are some interesting almhouses, +known as "Selworthy Green." _Selworthy Beacon_, rising above the +village, is 1014 ft. above the sea. + +_Shapwick_, a village 4-1/2 m. W. of Glastonbury, situated on the +Poldens. Its church has a central tower (no transepts) supported on +E.E. arches. There are piscinas in the S. and N. walls of the aisles, +and a large mural monument of the 17th cent.; otherwise it contains +nothing of interest. + +_Shepton Beauchamp_, a village 4 m. N.E. of Ilminster, and about the +same distance S.W. of Martock. The church has a fair tower, which (like +that of Hinton St George) is lighted by a single large window, common +to the belfry stage and the stage below. The W. face has in a niche the +figure of a bishop or a mitred abbot; the S. side has St Michael. The +tower arch is panelled and the vault groined. The arcade has pointed, +chamfered arches, supported on octagonal pillars, and there is a small +clerestory. The massive character of one of the piers of the arcade +suggests that the church originally had a central tower. The chancel +has a Dec. E. window (restored), a piscina, and triple sedilia, E.E. +There is also a piscina in the N. chapel. The font is ancient. There is +an old Perp. house opposite the church, now used as an institute. + +SHEPTON MALLET, a market town of 5238 inhabitants, on the S.E. slope of +the Mendips, 5 m. E. from Wells. It has two railway stations, one (S. & +D.) putting it in touch with Bath and Templecombe, the other (G.W.R.) +with Wells and Frome. The ancient Fosse Way skirts the town on the E. +It is a place of some antiquity, deriving its name from its former +connection with the Mallets of Curry Mallet, and has had a career of +respectable commercial mediocrity. Cloth, crape, and knitted stockings +once formed its staple trade; but its present prosperity rests chiefly +on beer, a gigantic brewery being now its principal business +institution. The town has few attractions for the casual visitor, for +the streets are narrow and inconvenient without being venerable. It +possesses, however, a remarkably fine late 15th-cent. hexagonal +market-cross, crowned with a very graceful spirelet: note brass on one +of the piers to Walter Buckland and Agnes, his wife. The church has a +good W. Perp. tower (spoilt by the stump of a spire), which has served +probably as the model for some of its neighbours (e.g., Cranmore). +The interior, originally E.E., was never handsome, and has been ruined +artistically by the erection of some huge aisles, with galleries, which +have absorbed the transepts. The wooden roof to the nave is, however, +the most splendid in the county. It contains 350 panels, each +displaying a different device. Note (1) E.E. chancel and transeptal +arches, and arcade of nave; (2) fine 15th-cent. stone pulpit, (3) +double pillar piscinas, E.E.; (4) effigies of knights in armour, +supposed to be Mallets, stowed away on the window sills; (5) organ +chamber, once a double-floored vestry; (6) old font and good brass to +Wm. and Joan Strode of Barrington, beneath tower. The proximity of the +town to the Fosse Way has led to the unearthing of several Roman +remains, which may be inspected in the museum near the church. The +foundations of a Roman brick-kiln were discovered on the site of the +brewery. A few old houses--the relics of the old cloth-working +days--may be found amongst the crowd of cottages on the banks of the +stream. The road to Wells runs through a beautiful valley, which, by +some sinister inspiration, has been chosen as the site of the town +sewage works. + +[Illustration: SHEPTON MALLET CROSS] + +_Shepton Montague_, a village 2 m. S. from Bruton. The church stands by +the side of the railway some distance away from the houses. It is a +Perp. building, with a tower on the S. side (cp. Stanton Drew). The +interior contains piscinas in chancel and on S. wall, and a circular +Norm. font. In the churchyard is the base of a cross. + +_Shipham_, a village on the Mendips 2 m. E. from Winscombe (G.W.R.). +The church is modern. + +_Skilgate_, a village 5 m. E. from Dulverton. The church has been +rebuilt (1872). + +_Solsbury Hill_. See _Batheaston_. + +SOMERTON, a small town of nearly 2000 people, 7 m. S. of Glastonbury, +with a station on the G.W.R. loop line from Castle Cary to Langport. +Though centrally situated and occupying a prominent position on high +ground, Somerton has all the appearance of a town which the world has +forgotten. An air of placid decadence hangs about its old-fashioned +streets, and few would guess that here was once the capital of the +Somersaetas, the Saxon tribe from which Somerset derives its name. +Beyond its possession of a small shirt and collar factory it has no +pretensions to modern importance, and it has evidently done its best to +cover up its traces of ancient dignity. Its castle has long ago been +absorbed by the "White Hart" (the thickness of its walls in one place +is very noticeable). A market cross of 1673, with an open arcade, still +stands as the memorial of its former merchandise. The church is a good, +dignified building, with one or two features of interest, notably a +splendid panelled roof, which will repay inspection. An octagonal tower +with a square E.E. chapel beneath it stands at the E. end of the S. +aisle. The rest of the church (with the exception of the chancel, +clerestory, and upper part of tower) is Dec. Within are a few old +bench-ends, a dated pulpit (1615) and altar (1626), and a somewhat +incongruous reredos, which is said to have been originally a screen. +Note (1) in the N. chapel, 17th-cent. brass; (2) in S. chapel, effigy +of female ascribed to the 11th cent.; (3) early piscina. In the wall of +porch is a recess which might be either a niche or a stoup. After the +Battle of Sedgemoor the key of the church (it is related) was turned +upon a batch of rebel prisoners, who relieved the tedium of their +captivity by playing ball. Some of their balls are said to have been +found in the roof during repairs. A good view of the surrounding +country is obtained from the road to Langport. + +_Sparkford_, a village 7 m. N. from Yeovil, with a station on the +G.W.R. line to Weymouth. This is the nearest station for Cadbury Camp. +The church, with the exception of the tower, was rebuilt in 1824, in +the sham Gothic of the day. It is of interest only to the bell-hunter. +It possesses a pre-Reformation bell with an inscription, _Caterina, ora +pro nobisi_. _Sparkford Hall_ stands in a park bordering the Ilchester +road. + +_Spaxton_, a village 5 m. W. of Bridgwater. Its church possesses +several features of interest. Though mainly Perp., it retains two Dec. +windows in the N. wall, and the E. window has plate tracery, though +this may not be original. Some of the pillars of the arcade exhibit the +Devonshire foliage. Note (1) in the chancel, the fine 14th-cent. tomb, +supporting two effigies in exceptionally good preservation--possibly +one of the Hulles (or Hills), who possessed the manor in the 14th and +15th cents.; (2) carved seat ends, one representing a fuller at his +work (cloth was formerly much made in the W.), and others bearing the +dates 1536 and 1561; (3) ancient alms-box, with its three locks; (4) in +the churchyard, a fine cross, with the rood carved on two sides of the +head (very rare), and a figure on each of the others. Near the church +are some ancient buildings (now a farm). + +_Standerwick_. See _Beckington_. + +_Stanton Drew_, a village 1-1/2 m. W. from Pensford Station. In summer +a conveyance meets some of the trains to carry visitors to the site of +the Somerset Stonehenge, for which the village is famous. There is a +more direct footpath across the fields. _En route_ should be observed, +on a spur of the hill to the R., a large tumulus, _Maes Knoll_. One of +the curiosities of the place is _Hautville's Quoit_, which, to save +time, should also be looked for on approaching the village. (Enter iron +gate on L. a few hundred yards before reaching tollhouse, and search +backwards along the hedge bordering road.) It is a large stone, which +legend says was hurled by Sir J. Hautville (whose effigy is in Chew +Magna Church) from the top of Maes Knoll. The famous "druidical remains" +will be found near the church. About 50 yards from the entrance to +the churchyard take a lane to the L. leading to an orchard: the stones +will be observed in the field beyond (admission free, but field closed +on Sundays). The "remains" consist of three contiguous circles. The +first is of considerable area, and is marked out by twelve large +stones, only three of which remain upright; a smaller circle of eight +stones lies just beyond; and a third circle of eight will be found +farther away in an orchard on the R. The two larger circles have each a +few scattered stones thrown off as a kind of avenue. Standing apart +from the circles is a curious group of three stones huddled together in +a garden abutting on the churchyard, from which they can be easily seen +by looking over the W. boundary wall. These mystic rings probably had +the same origin (whatever that may have been) as that of the more +famous circle at Avebury in Wiltshire, with which they should be +compared. The proximity of Maes Knoll is comparable with that of +Silbury Hill. A ridiculous theory suggests that the monoliths were +erected as a trophy after one of Arthur's victories. The country story +is that a local wedding once took place on a Sunday, when the frivolous +guests would insist on winding up with a dance. The penalty for a +"Sabbath" thus "profaned" was the prompt transformation of the bridal +party into stone. Hence the local appellation of "The fiddlers and the +maids." The church is of very secondary interest: there is nothing in +it calling for detailed notice. But the fine mediaeval rectory should +be observed. It stands near the bridge at the entrance of the village, +and bears the arms of its builder, Bishop Beckington. The farm near the +church has an ecclesiastical-looking window and some carved finials. + +_Stanton Prior_, a small and secluded village 6 m. W.S.W. of Bath, +situated at the bottom of a lane a little to the E. of the Wells and +Keynsham Road. The church contains on N. wall a quaint memorial to some +member of the Cox family (1644-50). Some figures in Puritan costume are +carved in high relief, kneeling beside a bier. Note in porch (1) stoup +and recess at side of doorway, (2) in jamb of doorway within, an +earlier stoup, (3) Dec. tabernacle. Facing the village is the wooded +hill of _Stantonbury_ (to be distinguished from its barer neighbour +Wynbury). The summit contains a fine camp of considerable area, and +commands a remarkable prospect. (Take lane to Corston, turn into a +field adjoining an orchard on L., and ascend). The view from the far +side of the camp is striking. Bath and Keynsham lie near at hand; on +the N.W. are Dundry and the factory chimneys of Bristol, and in the +distance the Monmouthshire hills; to the S. is Stanton Prior in the +foreground, and beyond, the long line of the Mendips stretching away to +the R.; whilst on the L. may be discerned the Wiltshire Downs and +Alfred's Tower at Stourton. + +_Staple Fitzpaine_, a parish 5-1/2 m. S.E. of Taunton. Its church is +distinguished for an exceptionally beautiful W. tower. Though it is not +lofty, its decoration is unusually rich. It has double windows in the +belfry stage, and the single windows in the stage below are flanked +with niches; whilst the summit is crowned with pierced battlements and +graceful crocketed pinnacles. The S. door is Norm., with rather +uncommon mouldings. The interior is of less interest: it contains a +small screen. The cross in the churchyard has a modern head, +elaborately carved with figures and scenes. + +_Staplegrove_, a parish which is virtually a suburb of Taunton. Of the +church the only ancient part is the tower (on the S. side). The rest of +the fabric has undergone restoration, though it retains a hagioscope +and two piscinas. + +_Stavordale_, a small hamlet 3-1/2 m. N.E. of Wincanton. Here an +Augustinian priory was founded in 1263 by R. Lovel, the existing +conventual church being built in 1443. The remains are now converted +into a private residence. The shell of the church is intact, and a +small bell-cot will be seen marking the division between the chancel +and the nave. The roof of the chancel is unusually flat. On the N. is a +projecting chapel containing a fan-traceried roof of considerable +merit, but the interior of the building is not now on view. + +_Stawell_, a parish 3-1/2 m. S.W. of Edington Station. Its church +(restored in 1874) has a low gabled tower, and once had an aisle, the +piers of the arcade being still visible; but it has been restored, and +its early features lost. + +_Stawley_, a village on the Tone, 3 m. S.E. of Venn Cross station. The +church is a small E.E. building with a W. tower, on the face of which +is a series of twelve panels bearing the inscription, _Pray for the +souls of Henry Hine and Agnes his wyffe_, A.D. 1522. + +_Stockland Bristol_, which derives its name from the fact that it +formed part of the endowment of Gaunt's Hospital, in Bristol, is a +parish 7 m. N.W. from Bridgwater. Its church has been entirely rebuilt +(1865), but retains its Perp. font. + +_Stocklinch_, a village 2-1/2 m. N.E. of Ilminster. Its small church +has no tower. The E. window is Dec.; there is a sun-dial of 1612, and +an ancient font. + +_Stogumber_, 5 m. S. by E. of Watchet, with a station about a mile +away. It is a large village at the foot of the Brendons, and preserves +in its name the memory of its Norman lord, Stogumber being a corruption +of Stoke Gomer (cp. Stogursey). A spring on the hillside has medicinal +qualities, and the water is used for brewing a particular kind of ale. +The church, in the main Perp., is an interesting structure, with a +tower at the S.W. corner. The tower arches, pointed and recessed, are +supported on chamfered piers without capitals, and two piers of the S. +arcade have only rude capitals, and are constructed of different stone +from other parts of the church. They are presumably much older than the +rest of the building. There are two porches and two chapels, the N. +chapel having been built by Cardinal Beaufort, whose manor-house +(_Halsway_) is at the foot of the Quantocks (see _Bicknoller_). Note +(1) the squint, passing through two piers (very exceptional); (2) the +seat-ends, one with arms and motto, _Tyme tryeth troth_; (3) the tomb +of Sir George Sydenham (d. 1664), with his two wives beside him, and +three infants (swaddled) and their nurse at his feet; (4) the brass on +the N. wall to Margery Windham (d. 1585). On the exterior of the +building there are some very good animal gargoyles, and two curious +figures on the gables of the S. chapel. The churchyard cross is modern. +_Combe Sydenham_, 2 m. away, was the seat of the Sydenham family, one +of whose members became the wife of Sir Francis Drake. + +_Stogursey_ or _Stoke Courcy_, a village 9 m. N.W. of Bridgwater. It +derives its name from the Norman family of De Courcy, and is a place of +much interest. Its spacious church, originally cruciform in plan, with +a central tower surmounted by a lead-covered spire of disproportionate +size, is remarkable for its series of Norm. arches (in parts restored) +which lead into the chancel, transepts, and chapels. The pier-capitals +exhibit great variety of carving, some having rough volutes of a +classical type, whilst several of the arches have the "tooth" ornament. +The font is also Norm. The body of the church dates from the 15th cent. +The W. window deserves notice, the upper lights representing the six +days of creation, with Our Lord as Creator. The N. transept was +dedicated to St Erasmus, the S. to "Our Lady of Pity." The chapel of +the latter contains two tombs (1) of Sir Ralph Verney (d. 1352); (2) of +Sir John Verney (d. 1461): note on the shield of the second the ferns +or "verns." Other features of interest in the church are (1) the three +piscinas, (2) carved seat-ends, (3) chamber over vestry, (4) door +leading from S. transept to neighbouring Priory. Of this Priory (which +was attached to the Benedictine Abbey of Lonlay, in Normandy) all that +remains is the dove-cot, the circular building in the farmyard near the +church. + +The De Courcys had a castle here, of which there are a few fragmentary +remains, including the base of two round towers. In the course of its +history it underwent many changes of ownership, finally passing into +the hands of 1457, during the Wars of the Roses, by Lord Bonville, +brother-in-law of the Earl of Warwick. + +In the village street is the base of an ancient cross; whilst a bell on +some alms-houses, which rings at six every morning and evening, is said +to date from the reign of Henry V. + +_Stoke, East_ (or _Stoke-sub-Hamdon_), 1-1/2 m. W. from Montacute. It +has a remarkably interesting church, exhibiting an exceptional +combination of various styles of architecture. At present it is +cruciform in plan, with a tower on the N. (cp. Tintinhull) the basement +of which constitutes the N. transept; but originally it consisted of a +Norm. nave and chancel only. Of the Norm. church note (1) N. porch, +with quadripartite groining, supported on quaint corbels; (2) N. +doorway, with carved tympanum exhibiting the zodiacal figure +_Sagittarius_ aiming at a lion, with the _Agnus Dei_ above (King +Stephen is said to have assumed Sagittarius on his badge because he +obtained the kingdom when the sun was in that sign); (3) S. doorway, +now blocked; (4) two very small windows in nave, one displaying outside +a rude representation of St Michael and the Dragon; (5) recessed +chancel arch; (6) round-headed window in chancel, visible only on the +outside; (7) corbels under chancel roof; (8) flat buttresses at W. end; +(9) font with cable and lozenge mouldings. To this Norm. building an +E.E.N. transept was added, with a tower above (the groining supported +on beautifully-carved corbels) which has two lancets on each face. In +the Dec. period there was added the S. transept; foliated lancets were +inserted in the nave and chancel walls (those in the nave breaking the +splays of the Norm. slits); a large window (with reticulated tracery) +was placed at the W. end, and a second with flowing tracery introduced +into the ribbed chamber over the N. porch. Still later, Perp. windows +were inserted in the E. and S. walls. Other noteworthy features are (1) +the piscinas, one (double) being under a massive canopy at the S.E. +corner of the chancel, a second in the S. transept, and a third (for +the rood-loft altar) on the E. pier of the transept; (2) Perp. stone +screen under the tower (obviously not in its original position); (3) +squints; (4) effigies, one (in the chancel) of a knight under a +Renaissance canopy, the other (in the S. transept) of an ecclesiastic; +(5) Jacobean pulpit; (6) stand for an hour glass; (7) low side windows +in the chancel. + +At the hamlet of _West Stoke_ is _Parsonage Farm_, originally a chantry +house, where should be noticed the Tudor gateway, the hall, a gabled +room surmounted by a bell-cot, and a circular columbarium. The chantry +which was served by the priests who resided here, no longer exists. + +Above the village is _Hamdon Hill_, an eminence 426 ft. above sea +level. It consists of inferior oolite, which furnishes excellent +building stone, and the hill in consequence is honeycombed with +quarries. On the summit is a very extensive British camp covering 2O0 +acres, part of which was subsequently occupied by the Romans in order +to command the ford where the Fosseway (which runs near) crossed the +Parrett. The rampart is nearly 3 m. in circumference. Near the N. side +of the camp is a hollow called the "Frying-pan," which is thought to +have been an amphitheatre; but it looks too small to have served for +this. + +_Stoke, North_, a small village 5 m. N.W. of Bath (nearest stat. +Kelston, 1-1/2 m.). The church has a low tower originally Norm. The +tower arch is round-headed, without mouldings, whilst the chancel arch +is pointed and probably rather later than that of the tower. There is a +very massive rectangular font, said to be Saxon; note the roughly +carved heads at the corners. A very fine view of the neighbourhood may +be obtained by proceeding from the village to the Lansdowne golf links. + +_Stoke Pero_ a parish on the edge of Exmoor, 3-1/2 m. S. of Porlock. +Its little church, with its gable tower, lies under a spur of Dunkery, +and is interesting more for its isolated situation than for anything +else. It may be reached either by the Horner woods and Cloutsham, or +from Porlock by a path that crosses Ley Hill. The wooden N. doorway is +ascribed to the 14th cent. + +_Stoke, Rodney_, a village prettily situated at the foot of the +Mendips, 5 m. N.W. from Wells (nearest stat. Draycott, 1 m.). Its +little Perp. church (St Leonard) is principally noteworthy for a +mortuary N. chapel, containing several tombs and monuments of the +Rodney family. One of these--that of Sir Thomas Rodney--dates from the +15th cent.; the others are later. Other features which deserve +attention are (1) large stoup in N. porch; (2) ancient font (late +Norm.), with its cover; (3) screen (1624, given by Sir Edward Rodney +whose monument is among those referred to above); (4) carved pulpit. + +_Stoke St Gregory_, a parish 2 m. S. of Athelney Station. It has an +interesting church, which, like that of its neighbour North Curry, is +cruciform with a central octagonal tower. The oldest parts are E.E. +(note in particular the E. windows of the S. transept, of which the +piers have E.E. capitals as bases, and the base of the tower). The rest +of the building was reconstructed in Perp. times. The figures (of +Apostles) on the outside of the tower are modern, though the pedestals +are ancient. There is a little ancient glass in one of the N. windows; +but the most noteworthy features of the church are the carved Jacobean +pulpit, a cupboard in the vestry made from the former reading-desk, and +the carved bench ends. The pulpit has five figures in relief which +should be compared with similar ones at Thurloxton and North Newton. +They represent Time, Faith, Hope, Charity, and (probably) the Virgin +and Child. There are also five carved figures on the vestry cupboard, +which are possibly the five Wise Virgins. The W. door is closed by a +bar inserted in the wall. Note the niched figure in the S. porch. At +_Slough Farm_ is an old moated manor house. + +_Stoke St Mary_, a parish 2 m. E. of Thorne Falcon Station. Its church +(restored) is prettily situated, but contains nothing to interest the +antiquarian. + +_Stoke St Michael_ (or _Stoke Lane_), a compact but uninteresting +village, 3 m. N. of Cranmore Station. Its church is an instructive +example of architectural depravity, but internally has been much +improved. The tower is ancient but poor. About a mile E. of the village +are the ruins of a villa once owned by the notorious Duke of +Buckingham. + +_Stoke, South_, a parish 2-1/2 m. S. of Bath. The church has a fine +Norm. doorway, with carved tympanum and pillars, and zigzag and other +mouldings round the arch. + +_Stoke Trister_ is a small hamlet of mean appearance, 2 m. E. of +Wincanton. It has a modern church (1841). + +_Ston Easton_, a small wayside village, 2-1/2 m. S. of Hallatrow +station. The church is an unpretentious little Perp. building, with a +rather fine Norm. chancel arch, and has been well restored. _Ston +Easton House_ stands in a well-wooded park, and possesses an old carved +oak ceiling and an ancient staircase. + +_Stowell_, a very small parish 1 m. W. of Templecombe, which probably +gets its name from the spring seen near the church. The church itself +was originally built in the 15th cent., but only the tower arch belongs +to this date. The nave is quite modern (1834), but it preserves a Norm. +font. + +_Stowey_, a parish 2 m. W. of Clutton. It has a small church, +noteworthy for the irregularity of its windows (the small one in the S. +wall was originally the S. door). It has a 14th cent. font (note the +cockle-shell); and an interesting bit of sculpture is built into the +exterior N. wall of the chancel. Near it is an incised pair of shears +(a woolstaplers' mark). Not far from the church is an old manor house, +half of which has been destroyed. Within the parish is _Sutton Court_ +(Sir E. Strachey), a house which has historical associations, for here +Bishop Hooper found an asylum during the Marian persecution. The +mansion is of considerable antiquity, parts of it dating from the reign +of Edward II., and others from Tudor times. + +_Stowey, Nether_, a village 9 m. W. from Bridgwater (from which place +there is a motor service). It owes its interest to having been the +residence of S.T. Coleridge from 1796 to 1798: his cottage, marked by a +tablet, is at the end of the village on the Minehead road. Both +"Christabel" and "The Ancient Mariner," as well as several of his +shorter poems, are said to have been partly written in this +neighbourhood. Here he must have entertained Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, +William Hazlitt, and many others of his literary friends. A movement +has been recently started to purchase the cottage for the nation. The +church contains nothing of note except a mural tablet in memory of +Thomas Poole, described as the friend of "Wordsworth and Davy (i.e. Sir +Humphrey), Southey, and Coleridge": his tomb is on the W. side of the +S. door. The two painted mitres beneath the roof-beams commemorate two +vicars who became bishops (Majendie of Chester and Fisher of Exeter). + +[Illustration: NETHER STOWEY] + +Near the church is _Stowey Court_, a 15th cent. mansion which was +garrisoned in the Civil War. There are three fish ponds in the grounds, +and a curious summer-house (called the "Gazébo") overlooking the road +(cp. Montacute). On Castle hill (take road to left where the highway +from Bridgwater forks at the sign-post) are the foundations and +ramparts of a castle, the last owner of which, James, Lord Audley, was +executed for supporting Perkin Warbeck. The site is worth visiting for +the prospect alone. + +_Stowey, Over_, a parish 9 m. W. of Bridgwater, situated on the slopes +of the Quantocks. Its church has some carved bench ends of an ordinary +type, but otherwise contains little of interest. _Quantock Lodge_ (E.J. +Stanley) is in the parish. + +_Stratton on the Fosse_, a village standing (as its name implies) on +the old Roman road, 1 m. S.E. from Chilcompton Station. The parish +church (ded. to St Vigor) is entirely overshadowed by its Roman +neighbour, Downside Abbey. It is a poor little building, with a debased +tower; but preserves one or two remnants of Norm. work (e.g. a S. +doorway and a fragment of the original apse). Within is a small 15th +cent. stone pulpit, and a Norm. font. + +_Street_, a populous village 1 m. S. from Glastonbury Station. It +spreads itself at considerable length along the Bridgwater road, and is +a busy and stirring place, devoted chiefly to the manufacture of boots +and shoes. It also possesses some large lias quarries which have been +prolific in fossils. The church is a disappointing building standing +well back from the village street, mainly Perp., with a rather poor +Dec. chancel; and is made still more depressing by the addition of a +very debased modern N. aisle. There is a piscina and double sedilia in +the chancel. The village is furnished with a good modern Institute, +which contains a large assembly hall and a small museum of local +geological specimens. + +_Stringston_, a small village 6 m. E. of Williton. Its little church +has a broach spire of red tiles, a great rarity in this part of the +country, and retains its piscina and the fragments of a stoup. Its most +interesting possession is its cross (14th cent.), with carvings +supposed to represent (1) the Crucifixion; (2) the Virgin and Child; +(3) a knight; (4) a bishop. + +_Sutton Bingham_, a small parish on the Dorset border, 3-1/2 m. S. from +Yeovil, with a station on the L. & S.W. main line. The church is of +considerable interest and should be visited. It is a 12th-cent. +building standing on rising ground on the farther side of the station, +and shows traces of the Norm., E.E., and Dec. styles. It has no tower +or projecting bell-cot, but a couple of bells are let into the W. +gable. A good Norm. arch, only 6 ft. wide, with zigzag ornament, +divides the aisleless nave from the chancel; and other indications of +Norm. workmanship are found in the N. porch and in two windows of the +nave. The chancel is E.E. and is lighted by lancets. Round the walls +and in the splays of the windows are a series of 14th-cent. frescoes, +representing the Coronation of the Virgin, and a number of bishops, +saints, and virgins. A figure in the splay of the E. window has been +carefully erased by some "conscientious objector." Note (1) E.E. +piscina in chancel; (2) late Norm. font. In the churchyard is a curious +cross, consisting of a headless shaft mounted on a raised slab, +seemingly a tombstone. + +_Sutton, Long_, a village 3 m. S. of Somerton, said to have been the +quarters of Goring before the Battle of Langport. Its church (Perp.) +will repay inspection. The tower is unusually lofty, and has triple +belfry windows; but in workmanship it is inferior to most of its class, +too much space being left between the windows and the parapet. The most +interesting feature of the church is its woodwork. The nave roof is +very good, having embattled tie-beams, ornamented with angels, and open +Perp. tracery above. There is a rich painted and gilded Perp. screen, +with loft carrying the organ, and a highly decorated wooden pulpit of +the same period (restored 1868). Note also (1) stoup outside W. door; +(2) fine niche in N. porch; (3) piscinas on N. chancel pier and in +chancel; (4) blocked squints; (5) sedilia (resembling those at Shepton +Beauchamp). In the churchyard is the carved socket of a cross. + +_Sutton Mallet_, a hamlet near the base of the Polden Hills, 4 m. S. of +Edington Station. Its church, of "debased" character, is of no +interest. + +_Sutton Montis_, a parish 2 m. S.E. of Sparkford, lying under the S. +side of Cadbury Hill (hence its name). Its church has a low W. tower, +with a massive belfry staircase and a most incongruous "classical" +porch attached to the S. door (cp. Queen Camel). Inside is a good Norm. +chancel arch, Dec. chancel windows (restored), and a large piscina +(restored). One of the bells is of pre-Reformation date. + +_Swainswick_, a village 3 m. N.N.E. of Bath, reached by a lane from the +Cheltenham road. Its name is perhaps connected with the Danish chief +Swegen (Sweyn); and it was the birthplace of William Prynne (b. 1600). +The church has a gable-topped tower, and retains some ancient features. +The S. door is Norm. (note the stoup), whilst the tower arch seems E.E. +A window in the S. wall has flowing tracery with an ogee moulding. Note +(1) in N. chapel a piscina; (2) in chancel a brass (said to have once +been on an altar-tomb) of the date 1439. + +_Swell_, a parish 4 m. S.W. of Langport. It has a small Perp. church +(very dilapidated) which retains a Norm. door. Note in the interior (1) +piscina and niches; (2) fragments of ancient glass; (3) pulpit and +reading-desk of 1634. + +_Tatworth_, a parish 2 m. S. of Chard. The church is modern, but a +Baptist place of worship, a plain, thatched building at South Chard, is +supposed to have been an ancient chapel. It is locally known as St +Margaret's, and over the doorway is an empty niche. For a curious +custom of holding a sale by candlelight, see under _Chedzoy_. + +[Illustration: TAUNTON FROM THE RIVER] + +TAUNTON, county town on the Tone (whence its name), 163 m. from London, +and 44-1/2 S.W. from Bristol; pop. 21,000. A spacious station on the +G.W.R. main line, Bristol to Exeter, forms a junction for the Yeovil, +Chard, Minehead, and Barnstaple branches. The town is commodious, and +its railway facilities make it an excellent centre. The streets are +spacious and well-built, and converge upon a triangular market place +which is rather spoilt by an ugly market hall in its centre. Though +Taunton wears a prosperous and progressive air, it has behind it a very +venerable history which is not without a flavour of stirring times. It +finds a place in our national annals on four notable occasions. (1) In +710 King Ina of Wessex pushed the West Welsh beyond the Tone and +erected a castle at Taunton as a barrier against their return. The site +was subsequently fortified afresh by the Normans. (2) In 1497 Perkin +Warbeck, in his dash for the throne, seized the town, but fled in +terror at the approach of the Royal forces. (3) During the Civil War it +was alternately occupied by the Royalists and Parliamentarians, and in +1643 Blake successfully withstood here attacks from Hopton and Goring; +and the town was punished at the Restoration for this robust resistance +by the demolition of its fortifications and the loss of its charter. +(4) In 1685 the sentiments of the place were again enthusiastically +"agin the government," and Monmouth was accorded here a royal ovation +and was proclaimed king in the market-place. But this _coup de théâtre_ +was only an introductory farce to the grim tragedy which followed. When +Monmouth's hopes of sovereignty were rudely shattered by the _mêlée_ at +Sedgemoor the town was handed over for pacification to the tender +mercies of Kirke and the brutal justice of Jeffreys. The rebels got +short shrift from both. Kirke, without preliminary inquiry, swung the +culprits from the sign-board of his lodgings, and Jeffreys' law was +notorious for its despatch. So numerous were the executions that Bishop +Ken complained to the king that "the whole diocese was tainted with +death." The name Tangier still attaches to the district where Kirke +penned his "lambs," and the old "White Hart" (now a shop) at the corner +of Fore Street marks the Colonel's own quarters. Jeffreys' lodgings +have been demolished, perhaps under the impression that nothing was +needed to keep alive the memory of the "Bloody Assize." The +ecclesiastical interests of Taunton were from early days associated +with the see of Winchester, and the establishment of a priory here +early in the 12th cent. was the see's acknowledgment of its +obligations. Nothing of this benefaction now remains but the monastic +barn near St James's Church. + +The parish church of _St Mary Magdalene_, though far the finest church +in Taunton, was originally only a subordinate chapel-of-ease to the +monastery. It is a spacious building, noteworthy for its imposing tower +and quadruple aisles. Its probable designer was Sir R. Bray, Henry +VII.'s architect, and the king is supposed to have contributed to its +erection. The present tower is claimed to be a conscientious +reproduction of the original fabric, removed in 1858 as dangerous. It +is a lofty and ornate structure of four storeys, decorated with a +triple tier of double windows, and divided at the stages by bands of +quatrefoils. A crown of elaborate tabernacle work--a perfect medley of +battlements and pinnacles--forms the cresting. The general design, +though highly artificial, is well balanced. Note (1) the stoups on +either side of the W. doorway; (2) the carvings (part of the original +fabric) in the spandrels above. The S. porch--a very successful and +noteworthy feature of the church--is dated 1508, The rest of the +building must be nearly contemporaneous. The interior is rich, but +somewhat devoid of interest. Note (1) the four aisles--an unusual +arrangement, occurring also at Manchester Cathedral and St Michael's, +Coventry; (2) the E.E. piers to N. aisle; (3) the fine oak roof of +nave; (4) canopied figure (modern) of St Mary Magdalene on one of the +nave piers; (5) monument of Robert Gray, with a laudatory and rhyming +epitaph in N. wall; (6) figures of apostles between clerestory lights +(cp. Bruton). _St James's Church_ has a good tower with turret and +spirelet--likewise rebuilt. The interior is well proportioned and gains +an air of great spaciousness from an unusually lofty chancel. The most +noteworthy feature of the church is its splendid font, richly adorned +with figures of apostles and ecclesiastics. The pulpit is dated 1633. +Hard by, and in close proximity to the county cricket ground, is the +_Priory Barn_, the only remnant of Taunton's once considerable and +wealthy priory: note the windows--perhaps insertions from other +fragments of the monastic buildings. _The Castle_, after centuries of +complete neglect, underwent a well-intentioned but unfortunate +restoration by Sir B. Hammet, but is now in the appropriate possession +of the Somerset Archaeological Society, who have transformed it into a +museum. The buildings, as they now stand, include (1) an outer +gateway--the Castle Bow--now incorporated with Clarke's Hotel (note the +portcullis groove); (2) a rectangular block consisting of Edwardian +additions to an original Norm. keep and a great hall (fee for entrance, +2d.). Note (1) the arms of Bishop Langton, of Winchester, and Henry +VII. over central gateway; (2) the drum tower (now the committee-room +and library) at S.W. corner; (3) the immense thickness of the walls of +the keep with its Norm. buttresses, and the lighter superstructure, +with its Dec. windows, above; (4) the Great Hall, the scene of the +Bloody Assize--a remarkably spacious chamber built by Bishop Horne, +1577. The shelves of the museum are stocked with a large collection of +antiquities add natural-history specimens: the case containing the +relics from Sedgemoor is of special interest. The exhibition as a whole +would gain in point by being confined to objects connected with the +county. + +Other things worthy of attention in Taunton are (1) the old Grammar +School in Corporation Street, now incorporated with the Municipal +Buildings, (2) the two fine old houses opposite the Market Hall, (3) +Gray's and Pope's alms-houses in East Street, (4) the old thatched +alms-houses (originally a lepers' hospital) at the E. extremity of the +town, in East Reach, bearing on the wall Abbot Bere's monogram and +arms. A visit should be paid to _Vivary Park_ at the end of High +Street, a tastefully laid-out public recreation ground on the site of +the old monastic fishponds. The Shire Hall, in Shuttern, a somewhat +pretentious modern building, contains a number of busts of Somerset +worthies. A rough lane striking off to the R. from the Trull road leads +to an old Roman causeway crossing a narrow, one-arched bridge locally +known as _Ramshorn Bridge_. + +_Tellisford_, a small village 1 m. S. of Farleigh Hungerford. Its +church has a passing likeness to that at Farleigh; it preserves within +the porch a stoup and a fair Trans. doorway. + +_Templecombe_ (or _Abbas Combe_), an inconsiderable village at the S.E. +extremity of the county, with an important station on the S. & D. and +L. & S.W. lines. The church is ancient but uninteresting, and seems to +have been considerably altered. It contains a curious E.E. font. The +tower is somewhat peculiar, and forms the S. porch. On the rising +ground at the S. of the village are the remains of a _preceptory_ of +the Knights Templars, founded in the 12th cent. by Serlo Fitz-Odo. From +this foundation the place takes its name. A long building, which was +perhaps once the refectory, but which is now used as a barn, will be +noticed abutting on a farm-house along the road to Milborne Port. In an +orchard at the back of the farm are the ruins of a small chapel. + +_Thorne_ (or _Thorne Coffin_), a parish 2-1/2 m. N.W. of Yeovil. Its +small church (without a tower) contains nothing of interest except a +pulpit of the date 1624 (cp. Chilthorne Domer). + +_Thorne St Margaret_, a village 3 m. W. of Wellington. Its church has +been rebuilt, and the only object of interest that it retains is a +small brass (affixed to the W. wall) with an inscription in Latin and +English, of a punning character, to a person called Worth. + +_Thornfalcon_, a parish 3-1/2 m. E. of Taunton, with a station on the +Taunton and Chard line. Its Perp. church preserves some good bench-ends +dated 1542. There is a holy-water stoup inside the S. door, and an +ancient font. Not far from the church, at a spot where four ways meet, +is a roadside cross. + +_Thurlbear_, a parish 3-1/2 m. S.E. of Taunton. It has a small church +which is remarkable for having fine Norm. arcades N. and S., it being +one of a very small number of churches in the immediate neighbourhood +of Taunton that retain much Norm. work. The squint is peculiar, and +there is an early font under the belfry. + +_Thurloxton_, a parish half way between Taunton and Bridgwater (lying a +little off the main road), and 3 m. N.W. of Durston Station. The small +church of St Giles is noteworthy for (1) the carved oak screen, which +has rests for books attached to it, (2) the fine oak pulpit (dated +1634), with four figures in relief, three apparently representing +Faith, Hope, and Charity (cp. Stoke St Gregory), (3) the W. door, made +of one solid block of wood; over the entrance is the date 1500. +Observe, too, the piscina and the old tub font. + +_Tickenham_, a village 4 m. E. from Clevedon and 3 m. from Nailsea +Station. Its church, dedicated to SS. Quiricus and Julietta, is +interesting. The tower (as at Wraxall and Brislington) is characterised +by having niches on each face rising above the parapet between the +pinnacles, and containing effigies. Externally, there should be +observed (1) the square sanctus-bell cot, (2) the E.E. porch. The +interior is very plain. The square piers of the arcades have no +capitals, and are possibly Norm., though one has at two of its angles +small pilasters with carved capitals. The chancel arch is round-headed, +probably early Norm., without mouldings. In the N. aisle there are +three life-sized effigies (two knights in full armour and a lady), +assigned to the 13th cent., and supposed to be members of the Berkeley +family. Note (1) font, (2) ancient glass. + +A neighbouring farm contains some remains of an old 15th-cent. house, +once the residence of the Berkeleys. + +Above Tickenham on the N. lies _Cadbury Camp_, covering about 7 acres. +It is protected by double ramparts and ditches, the former consisting +of piled limestone fragments, now almost entirely covered with turf. +Roman coins have been found within it. The position commands a fine +view, both landward and seaward. + +_Timberscombe_, a small wayside village, 3 m. S.W. of Dunster on the +Dulverton road. The church (Perp.) has an unimposing tower (rebuilt +1708) with slate pyramidal spire. Within is a small coloured +rood-screen resembling that at Carhampton, but with staircase intact. +Note (1) piscinas in chancel and aisle, (2) old wooden door to N. +entrance, (3) Devonshire foliage on one of the arcade piers (cp. +Luccombe). In the churchyard is a restored cross. Half a mile beyond +the village is the manor house of _Bickham_, one wing of which was +originally a chapel. + +_Timsbury_, one of the colliery villages near Radstock, 1 m. N.W. from +Camerton. Like its neighbour Paulton it stands high, but it is both +more attractive and more pleasantly situated, commanding a pretty +prospect towards Camerton, which it overlooks. The church was rebuilt +in 1826, but the chancel was added later from designs by Sir G. Scott. + +_Tintinhull_ (formerly _Tyncnell_), a village 1-1/2 m. N. from +Montacute Station, preserving some old houses and possessing an +interesting church. The latter appears to be E.E. with Dec. and Perp. +insertions and additions. The massive tower is unusually placed on the +N. side, and has in the basement a blocked squint. Features of the +church which deserve notice are (1) the S. porch, which has a ribbed +roof, and supports on its gable an odd kind of sundial (cp. Middle +Chinnock), (2) stone base of rood screen, on which is a mutilated +piscina, (3) double piscina (E.E.) in chancel, (4) bench-ends (1511), +with the old seats hinged to them, (5) ancient tiles (14th cent.), (6) +Jacobean pulpit; (7) brasses, one to John Stone (d. 1416), and another, +with effigy, to John Heth (d. 1464). At one end of the churchyard is a +gate-post with an inscription; and not far away is the former rectory +(now called the _Court House_). In the village, beneath a magnificent +elm, are the ancient stocks. + +_Tolland_, a village 4 m. N. by E. of Wiveliscombe. Its small church +contains little of interest, except some ancient tiles and some carved +woodwork. In the parish is an old manor house called _Gaulden Farm_, +with a large hall decorated with a fine plaster ceiling, with pendant +and cornice, but inspection of it is not easily obtained. James +Turberville, Bishop of Exeter, is said to have lived here in seclusion, +when deprived of his see in 1559. + +_Treborough_, a small village 6 m. S.W. of Williton. The district is +hilly, and the church small. + +_Trull_, a village 2 m. S.W. of Taunton, on the Honiton road. Its +church is of no great architectural interest, but is remarkable for its +woodwork--rood-screen, pulpit, and seat ends. The screen is very good: +note above it the tympanum, projecting below the chancel arch and +formerly joined to the rood-loft by an oak addition. The pulpit has +five figures in high relief, which seem to represent an apostle, a +pope, a cardinal, and two bishops (or perhaps a bishop and a mitred +abbot). Among the bench-ends are panels representing figures in a +religious procession, including (1) a boy with a cross, (2) a man with +a candle, (3) a man with a reliquary, (4) and (5) two ecclesiastics (or +perhaps choristers) with books. The artist's name (Simon Warman) and +the date of his work (1560) are engraved at the W. end of the N. aisle. +There is also some excellent ancient glass in the E. and S. windows of +the chancel. In the churchyard, under a tree, are preserved the parish +stocks. + +_Twerton_, a populous working-class suburb on the W. side of Bath, with +a station on the G.W.R. main line to Bristol. The name of the place +(the town at the weir) betrays its Saxon origin, but the only thing +known of its early history is that the Bath monks had a cloth mill +here. A large clothing factory, which is one of the chief industries of +the place, after a fashion perpetuates the tradition. The old village +and church lie on the S. side of the railway embankment, and may be +found by passing under the station archway. The church has more than +once been entirely rebuilt, but still retains a commonplace Perp. +tower. A photograph in the vestry shows a curious inscription on one of +the battlements. A good Norm. doorway, now built into the N. porch, and +a Norm. font, are relics of the original church. Henry Fielding lodged +in one of the houses in the village and penned a portion of "Tom Jones" +here. + +_Ubley_, a village 2 m. S.E. of Blagdon. The church tower has rather an +odd appearance, as in addition to a low spire, it has a prominent stair +turret with pyramidal cap. Within, the N. arcade has been pushed out of +the perpendicular by the weight of the roof. At the entrance of the S. +chapel is a chained copy of Erasmus' Paraphrase of the Gospels, 1522 +(cp. Bruton). The pulpit is Jacobean, and the altar bears date 1637. +The churchyard is beautifully kept, and a very handsome restored cross +stands on a little "green" fronting at the churchyard gate. + +_Uphill_, a village at the mouth of the Axe, 2 m. S. of +Weston-super-Mare. It is an unattractive collection of cottages without +any present-day interest. Somewhere, however, in the neighbourhood once +existed the old Roman seaport of Axium, where the lead dug from the +Mendips was shipped for export. The church is early Victorian Gothic, +with a new chancel. The old ruined church on the hill is a conspicuous +landmark from Weston. It is a Norm. building, altered in Perp. times, +with a low central tower. Note (1) the restored Norm. N. doorway; (2) +three-faced gargoyle on S. side of tower. Near the church is the shell +of a watch-tower. The old Roman road which ran across the Mendips from +Old Sarum had its terminus here. Uphill was once notable for a bone +cavern, but this has now been destroyed by the encroachments of a +quarry. The contents, which included many valuable remains of extinct +animals, have been scattered amongst neighbouring museums. + +_Upton_, a village on the Haddeo, 6 m. E.N.E. of Dulverton. The +neighbourhood is very picturesque. The church has been removed to a +more convenient position at Rainsbury, but the tower of the old fabric, +which has been allowed to remain, marks the original site. + +_Upton Noble_, a parish 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Witham Friary. The church has +a small gable-roofed tower, and preserves in the E. wall of a S. chapel +a defaced crucifix within a nimbus. The font is early. + +_Vallis_, 1 m. N.W. from Frome--a prettily-wooded bottom, through which +flows a stream pleasantly margined by a strip of pasture. The vale is +sufficiently romantic to make it a favourite trysting-place with the +neighbouring townsfolk, but it is being rapidly ruined by extensive +quarrying operations. The rocks, however, are geologically of much +interest, as upon the edge of the upturned strata of mountain limestone +will be noticed horizontal layers of oolite. On the side of the defile +is the old manor-house of the Leversedges, now applied to farm +purposes. The ruins of the original banqueting-hall (_temp._ Henry +VII.) will repay investigation. The pedestrian should approach the vale +from Frome across the Lees, and may either return to the town by +following the course of a tributary brook to Egford, or may prolong his +walk along the banks of the main stream to Elm and Mells. + +_Venn Cross_, a rural station on the G.W.R. line to Barnstaple. It +stands on the very border of the county, and serves a number of +neighbouring villages. + +_Vobster_, a small village 2 m. S. of Mells Road Station. Its uncouth +name is said to be derived from some Dutch weavers who once worked a +mill on the banks of the neighbouring stream. The church is a neat +little modern building. + +_Walton_, a village 3 m. S.W. of Glastonbury. The church is modern. At +the W. end of it is a thatched 15th cent. parsonage with some +ecclesiastical windows, now a farm. From the hill behind the village +(marked by a windmill) an excellent view of the full extent of +Sedgemoor may be obtained. + +_Walton-in-Gordano_, a village 1 m. N. of Clevedon, very prettily +situated near the Channel. Of the church, the only ancient part is the +base of the tower (15th cent.), under which a few fragments of carved +stones are preserved. The present building is said to be modelled on +the style of the old. + +_Wanstrow_, a village 6 m. S.W. of Frome, with a station on the G.W.R. +branch to Wells. The church is ancient, but without interest. + +_Washford_, a large hamlet in the parish of Old Cleeve, with a station +(on the G.W.R. branch to Minehead) which affords easy access to Cleeve +Abbey. + +WATCHET, a small port of some 2000 inhabitants, situated on the Bristol +Channel. It has always been of some trading importance, as giving +access to the valley between the Brendons and Quantocks, and has seen +some history. In Saxon times it was more than once raided by the Danes, +and on the road to Williton is a spot called "Battle Gore," which may +preserve the memory of a fight with the invaders. Its church, _St +Decuman's_, on the way to Williton, is interesting. It has a good +tower, with a figure of the saint on the S. face. There is a stoup +outside the W. door, and remains of another in the S. porch. It will be +seen that the chancel roof is a continuation of that of the nave. In +the interior note (1) the group of four bishops, and St George (or St +Michael) with the Dragon on some of the arcade piers; (2) the oak roof, +pulpit and cornice; (3) the screen (which, however, is mostly modern). +There are two chapels, Holy Cross on the S. and St Peter's on the N. +The latter is filled with tombs and brasses of the Wyndham family, +chiefly 16th and 17th cent. In the churchyard is a restored cross. The +farm-house of Kentisford, near the church, was once a manor-house, and +preserves the name of St Keyne. + +_Wayford_ is a village 3 m. S.W. of Crewkerne Station. Its church +occupies an elevated position, and displays several ancient features. +Its windows are E.E. or Dec., some having the interior arch foliated. +There is a good double piscina under a foliated canopy, and an old +octagonal font. + +_Weare_, a large village near the Axe, 3 m. S.W. of Axbridge. It is +said to have been a borough in the early part of the 14th cent., +sending two members to Parliament. The church has a good tower, rather +deficient in height, with triple belfry windows. The treatment of the +belfry staircase is unusual, and deserves notice. The interior of the +church contains comparatively little of antiquarian interest. In one of +the N. windows are some fragments of ancient glass, bearing seemingly +the initials of Thomas Beckington. Note (1) piscina and small brass +(late 15th cent.) in the sanctuary, (2) square Norm. font, (3) Jacobean +pulpit (1617). There is a cross in the churchyard. + +_Wedmore_, a large village 4 m. S. of Cheddar, situated on rising +ground, which affords a good view of part of the Mendips and of the +hamlets resting upon their slopes. The place is famous as the scene of +Guthrum's "chrisom-loosing" after his baptism at Aller, and of his +treaty with Alfred (see p. 13). Its church (Perp.) is an interesting +building. The tower is central (as at Axbridge, Yatton, etc.), with +triple windows in the belfry; and as it has no pinnacles, it presents a +very plain outline (cp. Yeovil). The original cruciform plan of the +church is disguised by the N. and S. aisles and chapels. The oldest +parts are the tower arches and the S. doorway, which are late Trans.; +the S. chapel has a Dec. window; the rest of the structure is Perp. +Note (1) gallery or parvise over the porch; (2) groined vaulting under +tower; (3) wooden roof of N. chapel; (4) sedile, piscina, and squint; +(5) fine Jacobean pulpit; (6) mural brasses to Thomas and George Hodges +(1583 and 1630). There appear to be traces of a double rood-loft (as at +Axbridge and Crewkerne). There is a cross in the churchyard, and a +second (with defaced sculptures) in a garden on the L. hand of the +Glastonbury road. + +At _Mudgeley_, a hamlet 1-1/2 m. away, King Alfred is believed to have +had a palace, and the foundation of walls have been discovered in the +course of recent excavations. + +WELLINGTON, a market town 7 m. S.W. from Taunton, with a station on the +main G.W. line to Exeter. Population, 7283. No one seems to know why +the hero of Waterloo chose to immortalise this quiet little +west-country town: he does not appear to have had any original +connection with it. The reputation of Wellington, made by war, is now +maintained by woollens. The town is girdled by large cloth and serge +mills. In general appearance the place is not unprepossessing. The +streets are wide and airy, and their arrangement compact, but the shops +are poor, and create an impression of dullness. The only object of more +than passing interest is the Parish Church, inconveniently situated at +the E. extremity of the town. It is chiefly remarkable for a good Perp. +W. tower, distinguished by the local peculiarity of a stair turret +carried up the centre of its S. face. The interior--Perp. throughout, +with the exception of an E.E. east window--is lofty, but not +particularly impressive, and has an unusually high chancel. The +fragments of an elaborately carved reredos which the building once +possessed are now in Taunton Museum. There are two monuments of note: +(1) fine Jacobean tomb with canopy and effigies of Lord Chief-Justice +Popham and wife (1607); (2) defaced effigy of ecclesiastic in recess at +E. end of N. chapel. The other features to be observed are (1) old +carved reading-desk and pulpit; (2) very fine piscina in chancel; (3) +crucifix on mullion of E. window of S. chapel, now obscured by the +organ. + +The _Wellington Monument_, a conspicuous landmark on the summit of one +of the Blackdowns, is nearly 3 m. S. of the town. It is a triangular +column, erected by public subscription to commemorate the Iron Duke, +and was originally intended to be surmounted by his statue. The site +commands an extensive prospect in the direction of the Quantocks, +Brendons, and Exmoor. + +_Wellow_, a largish but somewhat declining village, lying in a valley 6 +m. S. from Bath, with a station on the S. & D. line. St Julian's Church +is a fine specimen of early Perp. architecture (1372). It is +interesting within and imposing without. The tower is severe but +dignified, and a good effect is obtained by a small octagonal turret +over the rood-loft staircase. The chancel is new (1890). Within note +(1) the good bossed and panelled roof, (2) dark oak screen, (3) old +benches, (4) the E.E. font attached to one of the pillars and furnished +with a book rest, (5) effigy of a priest with an incised chalice on +breast (cp. Minehead), (6) piscina on splay of S. sanctuary window. The +Hungerford chapel--now filled by an organ--is an interesting little +chamber, with a gaily coloured roof and an effigy of some Lady +Hungerford under an Elizabethan canopy. At the bottom of a ditch in a +cottage garden to the E. of the church is the site of St Julian's well, +said to have been the trysting-place of the Hungerford family ghost. A +flat stone is now the only indication of this once uncanny fountain. +Opposite the school is a grim-looking gabled farmhouse, once a manorial +residence of the Hungerfords. It is said to contain an oak room and +some fine carving, but the occupants do not encourage visitors. Half a +mile to the W. of the village, in a field nearly opposite the cemetery, +the foundations of a Roman villa were unearthed in 1685. Four upright +stones at the top of the field mark the site, and portions of the +tessellated pavement are still said to lie beneath the sod. Another +antiquity of great interest will be found in the centre of a sloping +field nearly a mile S.S.W. of the village. This is _Stoney Littleton_, +a large Celtic tumulus composed of masonry, but now entirely overgrown +with brushwood. The mound is easily observable (call for key at +neighbouring farm-house). An inscription at the entrance claims that at +a restoration in 1858 everything was replaced as found. A low passage +gives access to a number of small chambers constructed of flagstones. +Skeletons are said to have been found within when these were first +opened. + +[Illustration: WELLS CATHEDRAL] + +WELLS, a cathedral city of some 5000 people, 20 m. S.W. from Bath, 20 +m. S. from Bristol, 20 m. E. from Bridgewater, 32 m. N.E. from Taunton. +Geographically the situation of Wells is fairly central, but it is +neither easy of approach by road nor particularly accessible by rail. +To reach the city from the N.E. the pedestrian or cyclist has to +clamber over the Mendips; and though two railways (S. & D. and G.W.R.) +have stations here, the connection is indirect and the service +leisurely. Wells has been enthusiastically described as "one of the +most beautiful things on earth," and though a cold-blooded visitor may +be disposed to cavil at the extravagance of the praise, yet it will be +universally admitted that this "city of waters," picturesquely planted +at the foot of the hills, with its antiquities mellowed but unimpaired +by age, is possessed of peculiar charm. There are other cities with +cathedrals, but the ecclesiastical atmosphere of Wells is almost +unique. It is a cathedral city pure and simple. It has come down to us +from the Middle Ages practically unchanged. Here may be seen the +machinery of a great mediaeval ecclesiastical foundation in actual +working order. Wells probably owes its immunity from change to the +secular character of its church, in consequence of which it escaped the +upheaval that overthrew religious houses like its neighbour +Glastonbury. Apart from its cathedral life, Wells has had few +interests. It is an unenterprising little town. Bishop Goodwin once +described it as a place of "little antiquity." It has less history. Its +civil annals are short and simple. It gave a loyal welcome to Henry +VII. on his return from stamping out Perkin Warbeck's fatuous +rebellion; and Monmouth's troops, as an interlude in their inglorious +campaign, found uproarious diversion by stabling their horses in the +canons' stalls, and holding a wild carousal in the sanctuary. The +peculiar interest of Wells lies not only in the cathedral itself, but +in its _entourage_. Secular chapters were communities for the purposes +of worship only. They had no "common life." Their only common room was +the chapter-house, where they met for the transaction of business. The +canons had their own separate establishments, and their residences +remain for the most part intact to-day. This secular character was +stamped upon the cathedral from the first. King Ina founded it as a +secular church, and though Bishop Giso, the last of the Saxon bishops, +made an attempt to reconstitute the chapter on "regular" lines, and is +said to have actually built a refectory and dormitory, the foundation +soon reverted to its original ideals, and the monastic offices were +removed as unnecessary. Like most cathedrals, Wells has been the +composition of many hands, and is carried out in many different styles. +Roughly, the work may be classified as follows: _Norm._ perhaps even +_Pre-Norm._ font; _Trans. Norm._ N. porch, nave and transepts: _E.E._ +W. front; _Dec._ lady chapel and chapter-house, central tower and +choir; _Perp._ W. towers, cloisters, gate-houses, chain gateway, and +remains of destroyed cloister chapel. A casual glance will show that +the cathedral occupies the centre of a gated close, with deanery and +canons' houses to N., and bishop's palace to S. The attention is first +arrested, as was no doubt intended, by the view from the spacious +green. Here the spectator not only has before him the finest W. front +in England, but finds spread out for his study a mediaeval historical +picture-book. The statuary is not only designed to enhance the general +architectural effect of the building, but is a genuine attempt to teach +the unlearned the rudiments of ecclesiastical and secular history. The +idea, however, is so artistically carried out that the didactic purpose +of the sculpture is completely disguised. Quite in keeping with the +usual mediaeval notion, Church and State are regarded as two separate +kingdoms, and the events of sacred and profane history are kept +distinct. The S. half is assigned to the ecclesiastics, and the N. +occupied by the royalties. The figures and medallions have suffered +considerably from time and fanaticism, and are too distant to be now +easily deciphered. If, however, they are studied from photographs (some +of which are exhibited in a photographer's show-case in the Square), +their rare grace and workmanship, which caught the eye of Flaxman and +secured the admiration of Ruskin, will be at once discerned. This +unrivalled _façade_ was the work of Bishop Joceline, brother of Hugh of +Lincoln, in 1232, and is in the purest style of E.E. Joceline's design +ended on the N. and S. with the string courses above the top groups of +statuary. The towers, which add immensely to the general impressiveness +of the whole, were an afterthought. They are Perp. work. The S. tower +was built by Bishop Harewell in 1366-86, and its fellow did not follow +till 1407-24, when it was constructed by the executors of Bishop +Bubwith. The latter differs from its companion only in the possession +of two canopied niches let into the buttresses. To study the church +historically the visitor should enter the N. porch, the oldest part of +the present building. It is E.E., but was executed before the style had +divested itself of its Norm. traditions (observe the zig-zag ornament). +This exceedingly beautiful porch is considered by some to be the gem of +the cathedral. Note (1) foliaged weather-moulding, (2) the square +_bas-reliefs_ on either side of entrance, (3) deeply-recessed double +arcading, (4) sculptured capitals, (5) parvise. If on entering the +church the visitor will at once take his stand beneath the central +tower, and looking N. and S. down the transepts, E. as far as the +throne, and W. to the porch by which he entered, can picture the E. end +closed by an apse and the church lighted by narrow lancets, and can +further imagine the absence of the organ-screen and the unsightly +inverted arches, he will have a very fair idea of what the church +looked like when it left the hands of its first builder, Bishop Robert, +in 1166. The nave was carried westwards to its present limits in +1174-91 by his successor, Bishop Reginald, and to this Bishop Joceline +added the W. front, built the E. cloister, and consecrated the whole +edifice in October 1239. The architecture of the nave has been aptly +described as "improved Norman." Its peculiarities are assigned to the +idiosyncrasies of local builders. The general effect is a certain +monotonous severity, and the absence of vaulting shafts gives the +building a tunnel-like appearance. The inverted arches are disguised +struts inserted in 1338 to prevent the collapse of the central tower. +They give, it is true, character to the interior, but their effect is +ungainly. Bishop Robert's work can be distinguished from his +successor's by the larger stones employed, the transverse tooling (as +if done by an adze), and the existence of grotesques in the tympanum of +the arches of the triforium. Note in nave (1) humorous figures on +capitals of arcade, (2) _cinque cento_ glass in central light of W. +window (an importation), (3) the Perp. arches on each side of tower +archway, (4) the beautiful chantries, on N. of Bishop Bubwith, on S. of +Hugh Sugar (the details will repay study), (5) chapels under W. towers, +(6) ugly pulpit, given by Bishop Knight in 1540, (7) above S. arcade, +Perp. minstrels' gallery and projecting heads of a king with a falling +lad and a bishop with children. They may have been the support of a +small organ, but the local wiseacres were accustomed to declare that +they were intended as prophecies of the evil days which should befall +the church when a king should have a weakling for his heir and Wells +should receive as its bishop a married man. These predictions were held +to be fulfilled when Henry VIII., whose heir was Edward VI., nominated +to the see Bishop Barlow. In N. transept note curious astronomical +clock, which strikes the hours by a clumsy representation of a +tournament. It was originally constructed for Glastonbury Abbey by P. +Lightfoot, one of the monks. In S. transept note (1) vigorous +grotesques on capitals, (2) font, perhaps pre-Norm. The visitor should +now pay the customary 6d. and seek admission to the choir. +Historically, both lady chapel and chapter house preceded the present +choir; but the custodian's custom is to show the choir first. As it +stands it was the work of Bishop Ralph in 1329-63, who reconstructed +Bishop Robert's choir, removed the apse, and extended the building +three bays eastwards. Bishop Ralph's contribution to the fabric may be +distinguished within by the tall vaulting shafts running up from +basement to roof, and without by the flying buttresses. It is a stately +example of late Dec. work, verging on exuberance. The furniture of the +choir with the exception of the throne (15th cent.), and a few +misereres in the second row of stalls, is modern. Note fine old glass +in E. window. The lady chapel at the E. is justly considered one of the +finest extant examples of the more chaste Dec. style. Its builder was +Bishop Drokensford, 1326. The structural design is cunningly contrived. +An octagonal chamber is transformed within into a pentagonal apse by +the simple device of resting the three western sides on piers, and thus +throwing it into one building with the retrochoir, thereby considerably +enhancing the general artistic effect. The glass in the windows is +ancient, but is merely a medley of fragments. Before examining the +_Chapter House_ the visitor should dive through the doorway in the N. +choir-aisle, and take a look at the so-called _crypt_. It is really +only the basement of the chapter house, and was used as the cathedral +_Treasury_. It is an octagonal chamber with a low vault supported on +cylindrical columns. It now contains an assortment of mediaeval odds +and ends, from a fine 14th-cent. wooden door to an urn that once +contained a human heart. Note, besides other things, (1) stone lantern, +(2) piscina with carved dog and bone. The chapter house is reached by a +flight of stone steps leading out of the N. transept aisle (turn to the +R.). Note, in passing, the corbels with conventual figures. The +_Chapter House_ is an octagonal chamber of spacious dimensions. The +walls are indented with a recessed arcade, and carry a bench table. The +vaulting springs from single shafts, and is supported in the centre by +a massive clustered column. The building is a finely-executed example +of geometric Dec., and dates from the episcopate of William de Marchia +(1293-1319). Note (1) the excellent tracery of the windows, and the +fragments of old glass; (2) carved heads in arcading of wall, (3) +double archway of door. Before returning to the nave the visitor should +make an examination of the _Monuments_ in the transepts and choir +aisles. Their identity will best be discovered from a glance at the +plan provided by the verger. Here mention will only be made of the most +notable. In S. transept, against S. wall (1) William de Marchia (1319), +builder of the chapter house; (2) Viscountess Lisle, with coloured +canopy (14th cent.). In Chapel of St Calixtus (1) shrine of Bishop +Beckington, unhappily detached from its original position over his +tomb; (2) Treasurer Husee (1309); observe panel with representation of +the Trinity. In S. choir aisle (1) incised slab (said to be one of the +earliest in England) of Bishop Bytton, junior (1274), to touch which +was once held to be an infallible remedy for toothache (see grotesque +on a capital in S. transept); (2) modern recumbent effigy of Bishop +Hervey (d. 1894); (3) Bishop Beckington (1464), with skeleton beneath +(cp. Frome); (4) Bishop Harewell (1386), builder of S.W. tower; observe +hare at his feet (cp. sugar loaves in Sugar's chantry). In the Chapel +of St John the Evangelist--a sort of choir transept--(1) Dean Gunthorpe +(1475), builder of the Deanery; observe Dec. piscina in E. wall; (2) +Bishop Drokensford (1309-29), builder of the Lady Chapel; (3) shrine of +unknown person. In N. choir aisle, Bishop Ralph de Salopia (1363), +builder of the choir (possibly removed here from the sanctuary). The +effigies of the Saxon bishops in the choir aisles were probably an +after-thought of Bishop Joceline, who perhaps thought that this tardy +testimonial to the labours of his predecessors would be an effective +advertisement of the priority of his see. The labelled stone coffins of +Dudoc and Giso are said to have been unearthed within recent memory. In +S. transept aisle are (1) Bishop Still (1608); (2) Bishop Kidder, Ken's +successor, killed by the fall of the palace chimney-stack during a +memorable storm in 1703; (3) against N. wall, Bishop T. Cornish +(1513)--a tomb supposed to have been used as an Easter sepulchre (cp. +Pilton). The visitor should now inspect the cloisters, and should +observe in passing the fine external E.E. doorway ruthlessly obscured +by the Perp. vaulting. The cloisters form a covered ambulatory leading +from the S. transept to the S.W. corner of the nave. Bishop Joceline, +Bishop Bubwith's executors, and Bishop Beckington all seem to have had +a hand in their construction; Beckington has stamped his rebus on some +of the bosses of the roof. The cathedral library forms an upper storey +to the E. cloister, and a corresponding chamber runs the length of the +cloister opposite, now used as a choir practising room. Note in E. +cloister (1) external lavatories, (2) doorway in E. wall leading to a +quiet little burial-ground. This was the site of an additional lady +chapel (late Perp.) built by Bishop Stillington (1466-91). It was +destroyed at the instigation of Bishop Barlow by Sir John Gates, a +fanatical Puritan, the wrecker of the palace hard by. Some fragments of +the vaulting are piled up in the cloisters, and a few traces of +panelling remain on the exterior face of the doorway. The burial-ground +is a good position from which to view the external features of the +choir. The high architectural merit of Bishop Ralph's work will be +quickly discerned, and due note should be taken of the skilful way in +which a structural necessity has been turned to artistic advantage in +the erection of the flying buttresses. In the earlier work they exist, +but are hidden away as unsightly props beneath the roof of the aisles. +Their artistic possibilities having caught the eye of the builder, they +are here brought out into the light, and form a very pleasing feature +in the general design. The visitor should now return to the cathedral +in order to inspect the _Vicars' Close_, one of the unique features of +Wells. The flight of stairs which gives entrance to the chapter-house +leads also by a covered bridge--known as the _Chain Gate_--across the +street into the Close, and thus forms a private passage whereby the +singers may pass from the church to their quarters. The public have to +find their way by returning to the street. Pass under the chain-gate, +turn sharply to the left under another archway, and the Close is before +you. It is a quaint oblong court closed at one end by the entrance +gateway, and at the other by a chapel. On either side is a "quiet range +of houses" with picturesque gables and high chimneys. Note the +"canting" escutcheons of Swan, Sugar, and Talbot, Beckington's +executors, on some of the chimneys. The houses, which were intended as +the abode of the college of singing clerks, have been much modernised; +but one or two still retain some semblance of their original design. +The idea of gathering the singers together into a fraternity was Bishop +Ralph's. He provided them with these picturesque dwellings, and gave +them the common dining-hall which forms the upper storey of the +entrance gateway. This is said to be one of the most beautiful examples +of mid-14th-cent. domestic architecture in the country. It was enlarged +subsequently by Rich. Pomeroy (_temp._ Hen. VIII.), and Bishop +Beckington's executors are said to have built the chapel at the other +end of the Close. Regarded now-a-days as a devotional superfluity by +the singers, it has been turned over to the Theological College. The +chapel and muniment room above should be inspected, but admission +cannot now be obtained to the hall. Before leaving the Cathedral +precincts note on the same side of the road as the Vicars' Close (in +order, westwards): (1) the _Archdeacon's House_, now used as the +College library, (2) the _Deanery_--an embattled residence with +gatehouse and turrets, built by Dean Gunthorpe, 1472-98 (the imposing +character of the building is not discernible from the road, as the real +front faces the garden), (3) _Browne's Gate_, through which the Close +is entered from Sadler Street. The remainder of the official residences +of the chapter lie to the N. of the Deanery, outside the Close, in a +street called the E. Liberty--so named because it lay outside parochial +jurisdiction. Though much modernised, they are mostly mediaeval +buildings. The path which traverses the Cathedral green enters the +Market place by the third of the Close gate-ways--_Penniless Porch_, +where alms are said to have been periodically distributed. This was the +work of Beckington; note the prelate's arms on W. face, and rebus (a +beacon and tun) on the E. side. Beckington made the city his debtor by +giving it a water supply. He tapped the well in the palace garden, +which feeds the fountain in the square. Note the quaint method of +distributing the overflow. + +[Illustration: VICARS' CLOSE, WELLS] + +Next in interest to the Cathedral is _the Palace_. It is approached +either from the cloisters or through another of Beckington's porches, +called the _Palace Eye_. Both entrances give access to the outer court. +Within is a second court containing the palace. This inclosure is +protected by crenellated walls and surrounded by a moat. These +semi-fortifications were erected by Bishop Ralph, who perhaps found +that a mitre was as uneasy a headgear as a crown. A gate-house, with a +drawbridge commands the entrance. If the porter has not been too +worried by tourists a peep may sometimes be obtained at the sacred +enclosure. The actual palace forms the E. boundary of what was once a +stately quadrangle. The kitchens formed the N. wing, and on the S. was +the chapel and hall. The latter is now only a picturesque ruin. The +oldest part of the structure has oddly enough been the one to survive. +With the exception of the modern upper storey, the existing palace was +the work of Bishop Joceline (1206-42). It consists of a groined +basement, forming an entrance hall (note chimney piece) and dining +hall. Above are the household apartments and a picture gallery, hung +with portraits of former occupants of the see. The chapel and the now +dismantled great hall on the S. were built by Bishop Burnell (1274-92). +The chapel remains intact. It is a fine Dec. building, with groined +roof and some good window tracery. Of the hall only the N. and W. walls +and some detached turrets now survive. It was originally a chamber of +quite majestic proportions, covered by a wooden roof and lighted on +either side by some tall 2-light Dec. windows. At the W. end stood the +buttery and above it the solar (a "sunny" drawing-room). The palace +appears to have been sold by Bishop Barlow to Protector Somerset, and +upon the dispersal of Somerset's ill-gotten gains it passed into the +hands of Sir J. Gates, who unroofed the building for the sake of its +lead and timber. The ruin of the fabric was completed by Dean Burgess +(_temp._ Cromwell), who used it as a quarry for the repair of the +Deanery. A kind of poetic justice eventually overtook both these +depredators. Gates lost his head and Burgess his liberty. A +particularly picturesque bit of the palace is the N. face overlooking +the moat. The dead surface of the wall is prettily broken by some +projecting oriel windows, the insertion of Bishop Clarke (1523-40). The +gardens are delightful, and are watered by St Andrew's well which +gushes from its hidden sources to overflow into the moat. A visitor may +occasionally enjoy the mild sensation of seeing a bevy of swans ring a +bell for their dinner. To the right of the broad public walk which runs +along the W. side of the moat is the city recreation ground in which +will be noticed the old episcopal barn. It is a good example of a +mediaeval granary, and is said to be of the same age as the N.W. tower +of the Cathedral. It has an unusual number of buttresses. + +[Illustration: THE PALACE GATEWAY, WELLS] + +It is the misfortune, not the fault, of the subordinate churches of a +cathedral city that they arouse but a languid interest in the already +surfeited sight-seer. Wells has one other church which merits more than +a passing attention. St Cuthbert's is a Perp. building of generous +dimensions. It possesses an exceedingly fine tower of the best Somerset +type--massive and graceful--belonging to the same class as the towers +of Wrington and Evercreech, but spoilt by a want of proportion between +the upper and lower stages. The interior of the church is spacious and +imposing, and contains a good panelled roof. The E.E. capitals of the +piers and some old roof marks suggest that it was originally an E.E. +cruciform fabric, altered by Perp. builders, and heightened by the +erection of a clerestory. There is documentary evidence that a "public +collection" was made in 1561 to repair the havoc caused by the collapse +of the central tower. The transeptal chapels were once brilliant with +statuary and colour, but the axes and hammers of the image breakers +have successfully purged them of their original glory. All that is left +for the admiration of the modern visitor are a few gaping recesses and +a pile of gathered fragments. Note (1) double transepts, (2) oak +pulpit, (3) Dec. window with Jesse altar-piece in S. transept, (3) +piscinas, in chancel and S. choir aisle, (5) mutilated figure of knight +in ruff and armour at E. end of N. aisle, (6) tomb with figure (1614) +under tower. The other antiquities of Wells are (1) Bishop Bubwith's +alms-houses in Chamberlain Street (near St Cuthbert's Church)--an +eccentric building, containing a number of separate cells, a chapel and +a small hall under one roof (note old alms chest in hall, now called +the Committee room), (2) some ancient timber-work in the courtyard of +the Crown Inn. + +Amongst the more interesting walks in the neighbourhood are (1) +Arthur's Point, offering a good view of the Glastonbury plain; (2) Tor +and Dulcot hills on the Shepton road; (3) Ebbor rocks near Wookey Hole. + +_Wembdon_, a parish 1 m. N.W. of Bridgwater, of which it is virtually a +suburb. The church has been restored (after a fire in 1868), and its +ancient features have been obliterated. On the S. of the building is an +old cross. + +_Westbury_ (stat. Lodge Hill), a village on the road between Wells and +Axbridge, 4 m. N.W. from the former town. It has an interesting church +(ded. to St Lawrence), with a W. tower of the prevailing Perp. type, +but supported on a Norm. arch (the flanking columns do not reach the +ground). There is also a Norm. door on the N. side, now blocked. In the +S. porch note the doors which once led to the parvise or gallery above, +and the holy-water stoup. The E. window is Dec., with the interior arch +foliated. The S. aisle has a small chapel at the E. end, containing a +tomb of George Rodney (d. 1586). + +_Weston_, a parish forming a suburb of Bath. Of its church the only old +portion is the tower, with angular buttresses finishing in pinnacles. +The nave was rebuilt in 1832. + +_Weston Bampfylde_, a parish 1 m. S. of Sparkford. Its little church +has a W. octagonal tower on a square base. Within the building should +be noticed (1) the rood staircase, which has been thrown open; (2) the +Norm. font with cable mouldings; (3) the two squints. + +_Weston-in-Gordano_, a village 3 m. N.E. of Clevedon, on the Portishead +road. Its little church is well worth inspection. The tower (with a +pyramidal top) is said to be E.E., and is placed on the S. side of the +church (rather an exceptional position in this county). The most +interesting features are (1) indications of a gallery over the S. porch +(intended to be used by choristers on Palm Sunday); (2) holy water +stoup within S. door; (3) curious 13th-cent. stone reading-desk or +pulpit in S. wall; (4) "Miserere" seats in the choir, with their quaint +carvings (attributed to the 14th cent.); (5) Jacobean oak pulpit; (6) +Norm. font; (7) sanctus bell-cot; (8) fine 15th-cent. tomb (with French +epitaph) of "Rycharde Persyvale"; (9) piscina in S. wall. There is an +altar-tomb in the churchyard, said to belong to a Percival of the time +of Richard I. + +WESTON-SUPER-MARE, a popular seaside resort on the Bristol Channel, 139 +m. from London and 20 m. S.W. from Bristol, with a population of nearly +20,000. A loop thrown from the G.W.R. main line at Worle enables the +traveller to reach the place without the inconvenience of changing +trains. The town lies in the entrance of a crescent-like indentation +which the sea has scooped out of the flats that intervene between the +conspicuous promontories of Worle Hill on the N. and Brean Down on the +S. The rise of the town has been recent and rapid. A century has +transformed it from a mere handful of fishermen's cottages into one of +the most popular resorts of the West. The bay faces due W. and commands +an uninterrupted view of the Atlantic. Besides this advantageous +geographical position, the town possesses all the qualifications of a +first-class watering-place except the one essential feature of the +water. At ebb tide the sea beats a hasty retreat across the bay, and +leaves as its substitute many acres of dimpled mud--a peculiarity which +has caused the frivolous to nickname it _Weston-super-Mud_. But +enterprising Weston has turned even this gibe to advantage by claiming +that the ozone which exhales from the ooze is one of the chief elements +in its salubrity. Moreover the estrangement between the sea and the +shore is by no means permanent. At high tides the spray breaks over the +esplanade in showers, and under the stimulus of a brisk westerly breeze +these demonstrations of the "sad sea waves" are quite lively. Weston's +advantages have been exploited to the full by its townspeople. A broad +and well-paved esplanade, 2-1/2 m. long, encircles the shore. Two piers +are thrust out into the sea--the older one, with twin landing-stages, +connects the N. end of the town with the islet of Birnbeck; the new one +runs out from the centre of the parade for half a mile across the mud, +and is furnished with an elaborate pavilion. Sea-bathing of a sort is +occasionally obtainable, and some good public baths supply what in this +respect is lacking. A strip of sand at the foot of the esplanade +furnishes the children with a somewhat restricted playground. The shops +are good, the accommodation plentiful, and in amusements the town can +almost vie with Blackpool and Brighton. There are two public +parks--Grove Park in the centre of the town, and Clarence Park (more +spacious and pleasing) near the Sanatorium. In a mushroom-town like +Weston there are naturally not many antiquities. Such "finds" as +occasionally come to hand are treasured in a museum attached to the +Free Library in the Boulevard. The churches are modern. In the parish +church--an ingeniously ugly building--are one or two remnants of an +earlier structure. Note (1) font near chancel; (2) representation of +Trinity (cp. Binegar, S. Brent, and Yatton) built into interior wall of +N. vestry; (3) fantastic glass in E. window. In the churchyard are the +remains of a cross. Weston has, however, one antiquity of quite +remarkable interest in _Worlebury Camp_. As viewed from the parade the +crest of the hill behind the town will be seen to be crowned with an +extensive litter of stones. These are the débris of a primitive +fortification. To investigate make for the junction of South Road and +Edgehill Street (the old pier), turn down a lane on the L. and ascend a +flight of concealed steps at the bottom. The rampart is now largely a +confused heap of limestone fragments, but the general plan of it may be +easily detected. The camp is confined to the W. extremity of the hill +and covers an area of about 10 acres. On the S., or level side, it is +defended not only by the main rampart, but by two supplementary walls +separated by a fosse. Within the fortification will be found a number +of circular pits, some 93 in all. This circumstance gives the camp its +peculiarity. From remains of corn and other produce found at the +bottom, they are believed to have been receptacles for storage. The +pits vary in size, the average diameter being 6 ft. and the depth 5 ft. +They were, perhaps, originally protected by some kind. of roof, +constructed of wicker-work. Amongst their contents have been found some +human remains, many of them showing injuries produced by weapons. The +construction of the camp has been assigned to the 3rd cent. B.C. It had +three entrances, on the S.E. side, the N.E. corner, and the W. end of +the hill. Beyond the camp the hill is traversed by paths, any of which +will serve for a pleasant ramble. If the central path through the wood +be continued, a descent may be made to Kewstoke or Milton, or a more +prolonged walk may be taken to Worle. Weston's most charming walk is, +however, to skirt the N. base of Worle Hill and proceed through the +woods to Kewstoke, whence _Worspring Priory_ (q.v.) may be visited. +(Cycles and carriages pay toll at the lodge, pedestrians free.) + +[Illustration: WESTON-SUPER-MARE] + +_Weston Zoyland_, a parish 4 m. E.S.E. of Bridgwater. The village is +more closely associated even than its neighbour Chedzoy with the Battle +of Sedgmoor, for Feversham, the Royalist general, had his headquarters +here; and, after the battle many of the rebels were confined in the +church. The church, which, unlike Chedzoy, is mainly Dec. and Perp., is +remarkable for its unusually lofty tower (which has triple windows in +the belfry). The nave has a good roof, with pendants. The N. transept +is noteworthy for being carried above the base of the clerestory. The +parish belonged to Glastonbury, and in one of the chancel windows, on +one of the seat ends, and on one of the external buttresses of the S. +chapel, are the initials _R.B._ (Richard Bere, the last but one of the +abbots). In a recess under the window of the N. transept is the +15th-cent. effigy of a priest. Note (1) the font, with curious hoops; +(2) piscinas in N. and S. chapels; (3) old communion table. In the +fields between the church and Chedzoy were buried the slain of +Sedgemoor. + +_Whatley_, a small village 3 m. W. from Frome. The church is a small +Dec. building with a rather dim interior. The W. tower, like the +neighbouring church of Frome, carries a spire. There is a plain Norm. +doorway within the porch. A projecting chantry chapel on the S. has a +squint (note the accommodating bulge in the external wall), and +contains an altar tomb with recumbent effigy of Sir Oliver de +Servington (1350). Some of the bells are of pre-Reformation date. +Amongst the "rude forefathers of the hamlet" sleeps Dean Church, who +held the rectory for nineteen years before his promotion to the Deanery +of St Paul's. His grave is near the S. wall of the chancel. Observe the +small ecclesiastical window in the farn at the back of the church. +_Whatley House_ (rebuilt 1861) is on the site of an older mansion. In a +neighbouring field is preserved (_in situ_) a Roman pavement and the +ruins of a bath. In the grounds is a cross (restored) removed here from +Nunney. + +_Wheathill_, 5 m. S.W. from Castle Cary. The small church has been much +restored. + +_Whitchurch_, a village on the main road between Bristol and Shepton +Mallet (nearest station Brislington, 2 m.). It has a small (originally +cruciform) church, with a low central tower, which is worth inspecting. +The tower arches seem to be Trans. and the chancel has three very small +lancets. There is a Norm. font, and outside the S. doorway is a stoup. + +_Whitelackington_, a village 1-1/2 m. E.N.E. of Ilminster. Its church +is a handsome structure. The tower and body of the building are Perp., +but there is Dec. work in the transepts (where note piscinas). In the +N. transept is the tomb of Sir George Speke (d. 1637), whilst under a +window in the N. aisle are some small inscriptions on metal in memory +of Anthonie Poole and his wife Margerie (d. 1587, 1606). In the park of +_Whitelackington House_ there formerly stood a splendid chestnut tree, +under which Monmouth met a large assemblage of his supporters in 1680. + +_Whitestaunton_, a village 3-1/2 m. N.W. from Chard. As the only +approach is by a rough country lane, the place is somewhat +inaccessible, but it possesses much antiquarian interest. The church +(Perp.) is poor, but contains (1) rood-loft stair and part of a small +Perp. screen; (2) early Norm, font; (3) piscina in sill of sanctuary +window; (4) some mediaeval tiles near altar, bearing arms of Montacute +(according to some, Ferrers) and De Staunton; (5) curious squint, +looking towards S. chapel (cp. Mark); (6) a few old bench ends; (7) +pewter communion plate; (8) stone screen dividing small N. chantry from +chancel; (9) in N. chapel, two tombs with armorial bearings, and a +brass (1582) to the Brett family, former lords of the manor. Two of the +bells are mediaeval. In the churchyard is the base and shaft of a +cross. Close by the church is a manor house, some portions of which +date from the 15th cent., but altered in the 16th cent. by John Brett, +whose initials are carved on the wainscoting of the dining-room; and in +the grounds are the exposed foundations of a Roman villa, discovered in +1882. Beneath an archway is a well, near which, when discovered, were +traces of a Roman shrine. Old workings, supposed to be Roman mines, +exist in the neighbourhood. + +_Wick St Lawrence_, a parish 2 m. N. of Worle, on the flats near the +coast. It has a Perp. church (formerly a chapel of Congresbury), a +building of no interest, but containing a fine stone pulpit. Note, too, +(1) ancient tub font; (2) carved chairs, with crown and Tudor roses, in +sanctuary; (3) remains of inscription at N.E. angle of nave. The S. +porch seems once to have had a gallery. Near the church, in the +roadway, is a fragment of a fine cross, on an exceptionally high +pedestal. + +WILLITON, a pleasant little town (with station on the Minehead line), +once the abode of Reginald Fitzurse, one of the murderers of Becket. It +is rather curious that of the four knights concerned in the murder +three were connected with Somerset, viz., Fitzurse, Brito (of Sampford +Brett), and Moreville. The church, which is said to have been a chantry +chapel founded by Robert Fitzurse, Reginald's brother, has been +completely rebuilt; its only antiquities are the W. doorway, the font +(1666), a piscina, and two brackets on the E. wall. There are the +remains of an old cross in the graveyard, and of a second near the +"Egremont Hotel." Past the church the road leads to _Orchard Wyndham_, +a fine manor house. + +WINCANTON, a trim-looking little market town in the S.E. corner of the +county, with a station on the S. & D. line to Bournemouth, and +possessing a population of more than 2000. It consists chiefly of one +long street, which descends a steepish declivity into the vale of +Blackmoor. The river Cale, from which the town derives its name +(_Wynd-Caleton_) flows at its foot. The history of Wincanton is +miscellaneous but unromantic. In 1553 travellers gave the place a wide +berth on account of the plague. In the Great Rebellion a Parliamentary +garrison used the town as a base of operations against Sherborne +Castle. In the Revolution the Prince of Orange (William III.) had here +a brisk but successful skirmish with a squad of James's Dragoons. The +prince's lodgings are still pointed out in South Street. The town, +however, contains no antiquities. It has a modern town hall, and +virtually a modern church, for of the original fabric nothing now +remains but an unimpressive Dec. tower. The present building is a twin +structure. The authorities, apparently disgusted at their predecessors' +ideas of reconstruction, have lately replaced the N. aisle by a new +church of much better design and proportions. The N. porch of the new +building contains a curious mediaeval _bas-relief_, brought here for +preservation. + +_Winford_, a parish 4 m. S.S.E. of Flax Bourton station. Its church +possesses a stately tower, but retains no other feature of interest. + +_Winscombe_ (with a station) is a parish 2 m. N.W. of Axbridge. Its +church, which stands conspicuously on rising ground and commands a fine +view, has a graceful tower resembling that of Cheddar, with triple +belfry windows. Its chief defect is the shallowness of its buttresses. +Note the lily on the stone-work of the central window (cp. Banwell). +There is a good parapet along the aisles, and the rood-loft stair has +an external turret. Within note (1) wooden roof of N. aisle; (2) +ancient glass in E. windows of N. aisle and N. window of chancel; (3) +some carved seat-ends; (4) old stone coffin in churchyard. + +_Winsford_, a village on the Exe, 8 m. N. of Dulverton Station. It is a +pleasant and picturesque little place, situated in a valley just where +the Exe as a tumbling brook emerges from the moors to settle down into +a sober stream; and is a favourite meet for the staghounds. The church +is a good-sized building, with a gaunt-looking tower, but is of no +particular interest. The font, is Norm., and so probably is the +round-headed S. doorway. The windows at the E. of the nave are +peculiar. + +_Winsham_, a village on the Axe, near the Dorset border, 2-1/2 m. +N.N.E. of Chard Junction. Its church, which has been extensively +restored, possesses a good central tower (though there are no +transepts), with a turret at the S.W. angle. The chancel inclines S. +from the axis of the nave. The walls of the nave are older than the +present Perp. windows, and traces of an earlier window are still +visible on the S. wall. The chancel lights are partly E.E., partly +early Dec. Note (1) the small squint; (2)the oak screen with its loft; +(3) the monument (1639), on the E. wall of the chancel; (4) the old +copy of Foxe's "Book of Martyrs"; (5) the much-defaced painting (on +wood) of the Crucifixion (said to date from the 14th cent.), which is +now hung on the N. wall under the tower, but was formerly placed above +the screen, serving to complete the separation of the sanctuary from +the nave. The Crucifixion as a subject for representation on such +_tympana_ is said to be rare, the Last Judgment being the one usually +selected. Opposite the "George Inn" is the base of an old market cross +with a modern shaft. + +_Witham_, or _Witham Friary_ a small village 6 m. S. from Frome, with a +station (G.W.R.). Its only present-day interest is its church. Its +popular designation preserves its early ecclesiastical associations, +though with some degree of "terminological inexactitude." It was a +settlement not of Friars but of Monks. Here was established the first +of the few Carthusian houses in England, which only number nine in all. +It was Henry II.'s gift to the church, in part payment for the murder +of Becket. Witham had as one of its earliest priors the celebrated +Burgundian, Hugh of Avalon, who afterwards became Bishop of Lincoln. +The existing church is perhaps a surviving portion of his work. It is a +plain vaulted building of severe simplicity with an apsidal E. end, +containing a good E.E. triplet. Opinions differ as to whether the +present structure was the monks' church, the choir of the monks' +church, or the church of the lay brothers (for in Carthusian houses the +clergy and the laymen worshipped in separate buildings). In recent +years the church has been extended one bay westward, and a belfry +added. Note (1) the curious recess in exterior S. wall of apse; (2) +double square piscina in chancel; (3) rood-loft stair; (4) Norm. font, +which was once built into the tower erected in 1832. There is also a +modern font, which was used before the former one was recovered. The +buttresses are copies of those constructed by St Hugh for the +chapter-house at Lincoln. The domestic buildings have disappeared; they +are supposed to have stood N. of the church. One curious relic of the +"common life" of the monks has escaped the hand of the destroyer. This +is the dovecot, on the other side of the road, now converted into a +village reading-room. The building is of unusual size; but the +existence of some of the pigeon-holes puts its original purpose beyond +doubt (cp. Hinton Charter-house). + +_Withiel Florey_, a village 7 miles N.E. from Dulverton. The church is +a small Perp. building with a low W. tower, to which a partial casing +of slate scarcely adds additional beauty. + +_Withycombe_, a village 2-1/2 m. S.E. of Dunster. It has an aisleless +church, which contains a few objects of interest: (1) a screen; (2) a +font with cable moulding; (3) two effigies, both of females (one with +curious turret-like ornaments at the head and foot); (4) a large stoup +on the L. hand of the S. door. + +_Withypool_, a village on the Barle, 8 m. N.W. from Dulverton. It is +one of the lonely outposts of civilisation on Exmoor. Though +picturesquely situated itself, it is best known as a sort of +halting-place on the way to the still more romantic neighbourhood of +Simonsbath. The church is E.E., but not interesting. The local farmers +are said to enjoy four harvests in a year--turf, whortleberries, hay +and corn. + +WIVELISCOMBE, a market town 6 m. N.W. of Wellington, with a station on +the G.W.R. branch to Barnstaple. Population, 1417. It is a dull and +uninteresting, but clean and comely little place. Of antiquities it has +none, except traces, to the S. of the church, of a bishop's palace, +built by John Drokensford in the 14th cent., some windows of which have +found their way into neighbouring houses. The church is a tasteless +building, erected in 1829, with a showy semi-Italian interior. It has +an odd-looking S. aisle, containing a somewhat dilapidated monument, +with recumbent effigies of Humphrey Wyndham and wife, 1622-70. In the +churchyard is a time-worn cross, with an almost defaced effigy (cp. +Fitzhead). In the main street is a modern town hall and market house. +The town lies pleasantly in the lap of the surrounding hills, which +furnish many a pleasant ramble. A mile from the station, on the way to +Milverton, is a British camp, and a Danish camp is said to have existed +on the site of a neighbouring mansion. _Waterrow_ is a hamlet a couple +of miles to the W. on the Bampton road, lying at the bottom of a +picturesque combe, through which flow the beginnings of the Tone. + +_Woodspring Priory_ (formerly _Worspring_, and perhaps containing the +same element as _Worle_) is about 5 m. N. of Weston, and is best +reached from Kewstoke, either by the shore as far as Sand Point, or by +a lane that leaves (L.) the road to Worle. It was a priory of Austin +canons, who were established here in 1210 by William Courtenay, whose +mother was the daughter of Reginald Fitzurse, one of the murderers of +Thomas à Becker, whose death the foundation was originally meant to +expiate. The remains, now used as farm buildings, consist of a church, +a chantry, a court-room, and a barn. The church, dedicated to the +Trinity, St Mary and St Thomas the Martyr, is approached through a Dec. +arch (14th cent.), which leads to an outer court at the W. of the +building. On the W. wall, flanked by angle turrets, will be seen the +outline of a Perp. window, and three niches with nearly obliterated +figures. From this outer court an inner court is reached, having on the +N. of it the S. wall of the church (with two large windows), at right +angles to which the dormitories extended (the mark of the gable is +still visible on the wall). Beyond the E. wall of the court are +supposed to have been the chapter-house and the prior's residence. At +the E. of the nave of the church is the tower, which was originally +central, the chancel having been destroyed. It is 15th-cent. work, but +is believed to case an earlier 13th-cent. core. The vault has fan +tracery. N. of the church are the remains of the chantry (now a cider +cellar), originally founded by Robert Courtenay, father of William, +showing on the outside three Perp. windows and buttresses, and +containing the shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury, with a ruined piscina +on the pier of one of the pillars. S.E. of the church is the court-room +(now a cow-house), which is sometimes styled the refectory, but +erroneously, since there is no fireplace. It is assigned to the early +part of the 15th cent. The barn (14th cent.) has Dec. doorways, rounded +buttresses on either side of the main entrance, and remains of finials. + +_Wookey_, a village 2 m. W. from Wells, with a station on the G.W.R. +Cheddar branch. The church--chiefly Perp., with a blend of E.E.--is +interesting. The tower stair turret carries a lofty spirelet. Note +within (1) E.E. columns in N. aisle; (2) squints, especially the one on +N., combined with piscina. On the S. side of the sanctuary is a small +Perp. chapel decorated with modern frescoes, containing a plain +altar-tomb to Thos. Clarke and wife, 1689. In the churchyard is the +base of a cross. Near the church is Mellifont Abbey, built on the site +of the old rectory, and ornamented with fragments of the original +building. The Court, a farm-house in the fields, was once a manorial +residence of the Bishops of Bath and Wells. It has an E.E. doorway. + +_Wookey Hole_ is a cavern (1-1/2 m. away) which gives its name (said to +be a corruption of _ogof_, Celtic for "cavern") to the village. It is +the oldest known cave in Great Britain, and was once inhabited (legend +asserts) by an ancient witch. It may be reached either from Wookey +Station or, just as easily, from Wells. Proceed through the hamlet to +the large paper-mill and inquire at the farm opposite for a guide (fee, +1s. 6d.; 1s. each for two or more). A pathway runs up the L. bank of +the stream which feeds the paper-mill, and ends abruptly in a +precipitous wall of rock. The stream, which is the source of the Axe, +will be seen issuing from a large natural archway at the base of the +cliff. An orifice in the rock enables the visitor to descend "Hell's +Ladder" to the "witch's kitchen"--a spacious chamber which, when +illuminated by the primitive device of igniting the scattered contents +of an oil-can, will be seen to contain some large stalagmites, the +witch and her dog on guard; and by pursuing a further series of +corridors, entry is gained to the witch's "drawing-room" and "parlour." +The three caverns are all of considerable extent, and have a strong +resemblance to Gough's caves at Cheddar, but are without the pendant +stalactites so profusely displayed at the latter. The gallery is 500 +ft. long, and ends in a miniature lake. Geologically the series of +caverns is of much interest, on account of the varied assortment of +bones of extinct cave animals once contained in them. Cartloads of +these bones are said to have been thrown on the land as manure. +Recently another collection of bones has been discovered in a hitherto +unsuspected chamber near the roof of the main series. The visitor to +Wookey Hole should extend his peregrinations to _Ebbor Rocks_, which +are close by and are worth a visit. + +_Woolavington_, a village 4-1/2 m. N.E. of Bridgwater (nearest stat. +Cossington, 1 m.). The church, restored in 1882, retains little of +interest. There are piscinas in the chancel and in a small N. chapel, +and a small squint in the N. chancel pier. Note the carved stone (with +sacred monogram) on the interior face of the tower. + +_Woolverton_, a village 4 m. N. from Frome. The church is a small, +aisleless building with a diminutive W. tower and spire. The S. porch +has a ribbed stone roof. + +_Wootton Courtney_, a small village 4 m. W. from Dunster. It is a +somewhat sequestered little place on the fringe of Exmoor, but in +summer not without a quiet charm derived from the neighbouring woods +and its proximity to the hills. The church has a plain saddle-back +tower, partly Norm. (observe corbel table), and one or two other +features of interest. The piers of the arcade have some canopied niches +on their S. face. Note (1) square columnar stoup in porch; (2) angels +on rear arches of windows within, and devils on dripstone without; (3) +rood staircase; (4) blocked squint on N. The churchyard contains some +fine yew trees and the shaft of a cross. The neighbouring hamlet of +Tivington possesses a vaulted 15th-cent. chapel, with a priest's house +attached. A fine view of Dunkery and the vale of Porlock is obtained +from here. + +_Wootton, North_, a village 2 m. N. of West Pennard (S. & D.). The +church has a low W. tower, possessing one pre-Reformation bell. The +porch contains a curious stoup; the font is Norm. + +_Worle_, a village 2-1/2 m. E. of Weston-super-Mare. Its church (ded. +to St Martin) has the rather rare addition of a short spire above its +W. tower. The most notable features of the building are the Norm. +remains, viz., the S. door, the octagonal font, and the little window +(cut out of a single stone), which is inserted in the later porch. Note +also (1) the carved stone pulpit (once in a different position, for +there is a piscina behind it), (2) the "Miserere" seats (only those on +the N. are ancient, one of them has the initials P.R.S., explained as +those of Richard Sprynge, Prior of Woodspring and Vicar of Worle at the +end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th cents.), (3) piscina, +sedilia, and aumbry in the chancel. + +_Worlebury Camp_. See _Weston-super-Mare_. + +_Wraxall_, a parish 5 m. E. from Clevedon and 2 m. from Nailsea +Station. Its church has a tower, the appearance of which is spoilt by +the windows rising above the string-courses. The pinnacles are good, +and projecting above the parapets are niches for figures (_cp._ +Brislington, Tickenham). The S. porch (E.E.) originally had a chamber +over it; the door leading to it still remains. In the interior observe +(1) the roof, (2) some screen-work, partly ancient and partly modern, +(3) on the N. side of the chancel a tomb with two effigies, believed to +be those of Sir E. and Lady Gorges. In the churchyard is a fine +15th-cent. cross. The view of the church, as it is approached from +Clevedon, is particularly pretty, the woods near it seeming to embower +it; whilst from its vicinity a fine prospect is obtainable. + +_Wrington_, a large and compact village 10 m. S.W. of Bristol. A light +railway connects it with Yatton. In size and arrangement it is +practically a little town, and is surrounded by some very pretty +country. The glory of Wrington is its church, which possesses one of +the finest towers in Somerset. It is a stately and harmonious +composition, with long and graceful belfry windows, and bears a strong +family likeness to the towers of Evercreech and St Cuthbert's, Wells. +The church as a whole is worthy of its tower, though the chancel is, as +usual, low and undignified. Both inside and out the design is rich +without being florid, and the workmanship good. The beauty of the +interior is much enhanced by the insertion of "vaulting shafts" beneath +the corbels of both nave and aisles. It contains few curiosities. Note +(1) aumbry in N. wall of sanctuary, (2) richly carved font. Externally +should be observed (1) panelled W. door, (2) canopied niches in +buttresses at E. end, (3) sanctus bell-cot. John Locke, the +philosopher, was born here, as his mother was at the moment staying in +the village. A tablet once fixed to his actual birthplace is built into +the churchyard wall. There is also a tablet in the church to Hannah +More, who resided at _Barley Wood_, a large house on the Redhill road. + +_Writhlington_, a small colliery village on a hill 1 m. E. of Radstock. +The church, rebuilt in 1874, lies in a valley at the bottom of a steep +lane, half a mile from the village. Near the church is an old manor +house, at which Cromwell is said to have stopped on his march into +Somerset. + +_Wyke Champflower_ (or _Wyke Chapel_), a hamlet 1-1/2 m. W. of Bruton. +The little chapel, said to have been built in 1482, was rebuilt in +1623. It contains a stone pulpit, and the ceiling is ornamented with +nine escutcheons, including those of the Tudor sovereigns. There is an +old black-letter Bible of 1623. + +_Yarlington_, a village 3 m. S.E. from Castle Cary. The church, which +has been much altered and enlarged, contains a finely carved font. In +the wall of the churchyard is an old stone coffin, found during the +restoration of the building. + +_Yatton_, a large village (with a station), 12 m. S.W. of Bristol. The +first syllable is perhaps the same as the second part of _Symond's +Yat_. The place has an interesting church, with a central tower which +is rendered conspicuous by being surmounted by a truncated spire, and +by having its stair-case attached to a diagonal buttress (instead of +replacing it, as is usual). The plan of the church is cruciform, the +transepts and chancel being short, and the latter very low. The oldest +part is the base of the tower, which belongs to the E.E. or Dec. +period; and there is a very good Dec. window in the S. transept; the +remainder of the building is Perp. Externally, the most impressive +feature is the W. front, with turrets at the corners (as at Crewkerne), +a recessed and richly carved doorway, and above the window a +representation of the Father holding the crucified Son (cp. S. Brent). +The S. door has a groined and panelled porch, and the N. door an ogee +moulding. Within, the nave is lofty, with slender pilasters ascending +to the roof. In the N. transept is the alabaster tomb of Sir Richard +Newton (d. 1448) and his wife; and under foliated recesses a male and +female effigy (attributed to the 13th cent.). Attached to this transept +is a chapel which is noticeable for being loftier than the adjoining +chancel, and has a fine turret at its N.E. angle. It contains a +pillar-piscina, and the tomb of Sir John Newton (son of Sir Richard) +and his lady, above which is a relief of the Annunciation. S.E. of the +church is the Rectory, dating from the 15th cent., whilst on the N. are +some old alms-houses. + +YEOVIL, a town of some importance on the river Yeo, in the S.E. corner +of the county, doing a considerable trade in the manufacture of leather +and kid gloves. Its population in 1901 was 9838. It lies chiefly on a +slope which shelves down towards the little stream from which it takes +its name. The G.W.R. and L. and S.W.R. have a joint station in the +town, and another G.W.R. station is at Pen Mill just outside. Yeovil +seems to have outgrown its original intentions and is still rapidly +increasing. The older streets have the usual congested appearance of a +small country town, but more spacious thoroughfares are now spreading +outwards in every direction. The chief glory of the place is its fine +church, remarkable alike for architecture and situation. It is a +cruciform Perp. building, said to date from 1376, with a severe-looking +W. tower. The interior is of great impressiveness owing to the size of +its windows and the loftiness of its arches. The most noteworthy +feature of the church is its 13th-cent. crypt, now used as a vestry. A +groined roof rises from a central pillar, and the entrance to the +communicating stairway is groined also. Otherwise the church, though +noble as a whole, is somewhat devoid of objects of interest. Note, +however (1) the fine roof, (2) old brass lectern with ungrammatical +inscription, (3) 16th-cent. brass on floor of chancel, (4) 15th-cent. +brass to an ecclesiastic. Yeovil contains few old houses, as it was +burnt out in the 15th cent., but in Middle Street two buildings deserve +attention: (_a_) an old chantry house, now transformed into the +"Castle" Inn, (_b_) almost immediately opposite, the "George," a good +specimen of an old half-timbered hostelry. Some alms-houses in Bond +Street, called Woborne's alms-houses, go back, as a foundation, to the +reign of Edward IV. (1476). A good view of the low lying alluvial plain +which stretches around the foot of Glastonbury Tor may be obtained by +following for a short distance the road to Mudford. But this is only +one of the many interesting walks in the neighbourhood: Yeovil is a +good centre for excursions, and Windmill and Summerhouse Hills should +both be climbed. + +_Yeovilton_, a parish 2 m. E. of Ilchester. Its church retains but few +features of interest, but notice should be taken of (1) the remains of +the stoups in the N. porch and at the W. door; (2) the two piscinas +(that in the chancel has a quaint carving below it); (3) the bracket in +the S. wall of the nave, and the old corbels built into the walls of +the chancel; (4) the fragments of ancient glass in the W. and E. +windows, the former displaying the arms of Bishop Beckington, and the +latter having the letters R.S. and the figure of a swan, the initials +and rebus of Richard Swan (one of Bishop Beckington's executors), who +was rector here. There is also an incised slab to the memory of Sir +John Hunt of Speckington (d. 1626). One of the bells dates from 1435. + +[Illustration: NINE SPRINGS, YEOVIL] + + + + +APPENDIX + + +Places of interest mentioned in the text, but not entered under +separate headings in the alphabetical list. The figures refer to +pages. + +Alfoxden 156 +Allerford 209 +Barlynch Priory 122 +Blackmoor Farm 75 +Bower Farm 127 +Brymore House 77 +Cockercombe 213 +Combwich 201 +Creech Hill 130 +Danesborough 214 +Devil's Punch Bowl 80, 182 +Dundon Beacon 107 +Ebbor Rocks 283 +Gaulden Farm 246 +Goblin Combe 98 +Gothelney Hall 83 +Gurney Street Farm 78 +Halsway 56 +Halswell House 146 +Hanging Chapel 169 +Hare Knap 156 +Hautville's Quoit 224 +Hestercombe 167 +Higher Wadeford 106 +Holwell Cavern 32 +King Ina's Palace 205 +Lamb's Lair 80, 149 +Lytes Cary House 84 +Malmesmead 199 +Marshwood Farm 78 +Mouncey Castle 122 +Mynchin Buckland 127 +Naish Priory 105 +Parkfield Monument 117 +Richmont Castle 149 +Sedgemoor 18, 88, 273 +Seven Wells Combe 213 +Sexey's Hospital 68 +Small Down 90 +Stantonbury 225 +Stoney Littleton 254 +Sutton Court 234 +Tarr Steps 122 +Walton Castle 103 +Wansdyke 11, 52, 129 +Weary All Hill 145 + + + + +INDEX OF PERSONS + + +A + +Aethelm, Bp. +Aldhelm, Bp. +Alfred, King +Allen, Ralph +Alphege, Archbp. +Arthur, King +Asser, Bp. +Audley, Lord +Austen, Jane + +B + +Bacon, Roger +Bagehot, Walter +Barbara, Saint +Barlow, Bp. +Barnes, Bartholomew +Beaufort, Cardinal +Beckford, William +Beckington, Bp. +Bennett, Rev. W.J. +Bere, Abbot +Berkeley family +Berkley, Sir M. +Bird, Prior +Bisse, George +Blake, Robert +Blanchard, William +Botreaux, Sir W. +Bradney, Joel de +Bray, Sir R. +Brett, John +Bridport, Visct. +Brito (Brett) +Briewere, William de +Bubwith, Bp. +Buckingham, Duke of +Buckland, Walter +Burgess, Dean +Burnell, Bp. +Burne-Jones +Butler, Bp. +Byam, Rector +Bytton, Bp. + +C + +Cantlow, Prior +Carent, William +Carew, family +Ceawlin +Cenwealh +Chard, Col. +Chard, Prior +Charles I. +Charles II. +Charlotte, Queen +Chatham, Lord +Cheddar, Sir T. de +Choke, Sir R. +Church, Dean +Clarke, Thomas +Clarkes of Chipley +Cole, Richard +Coleridge, Hartley +Coleridge, S.T. +Coles, Humphrey +Colthurst, Edmund +Coryate, Thomas +Courtenay, William and Robert +Coutances, Bp. Geoffrey of +Cromwell, Oliver +Cromwell, Thomas +Cudworth, Ralph +Cuffe, Robert + +D + +Dampier, William +Danbery, Henry +Danbery, Sir Giles +Daniell, Samuel +David, St +De Courcy family +Decuman, St +De la Mere, Sir J. +Denham, Sir J. +Douay, Walter de +Dovell, Abbot +Drokensford, Bp. +Dubricius, St +Dummer, Sir J. +Dummer, Sir W. +Dunstan, St +Dyves, Sir Lewis + +E + +Edgar, King +Edmund Ironside, King +Edmund, King +Ela, Countess +Ethelgar, Archbp. +Eveleigh, J. de +Everard family +Evercy, Sir Peter d' + +F + +Fairfax, Sir T. +Farewell, J. +Feversham, Lord +Fielding, Henry +Fitz-James, Bp. +Fitz-Odo, Serlo +Fitz-Roger, Sir H. +Fitz-Roger, Simon +Fitzurse, Reginald +Fitzurse, Robert +Fitzwalter family, + +G + +Gainsborough, Thomas +Gates, Sir J. +Gorges, Sir E. +Goring, Lord +Gray, Robert +Grenville, Sir B. +Grobham, Nicholas +Gunthorpe, Dean +Guthrum, +Gyvernay, Sir G. and Sir R. + +H + +Hallam, Arthur +Hallam, Henry +Halswell, Sir Nicholas +Hammet, Sir B. +Harewell, Bp. +Harington, Baron +Hautville, Sir J. +Henry VII. +Henry of Blois +Herlewinus, Abbot +Hertford, Marquis of +Hext, Sir R. +Hine, Henry +Hodges family +Hood, Viscount +Hooper, Bp. +Hopton, Sir R. +Horne, Bp. +Horner, Sir G. +Hubba +Hugh of Avalon +Hungerford family +Hunt, Sir J. +Husee, Treasurer + +I + +Ina, King +Irving, Sir H. + +J + +Jeffreys, Judge +Jennings, Robert +Jennings, Sarah +Joceline, Bp. +Jones, Inigo +Joseph of Arimathea + +K + +Kemble, Rev. C. +Ken, Bp. +Keyne, St +King, Bp. Oliver +Kinglake, A.W. +Kinglake, W. +Kingsmill, Sir F. +Kirke, Col. +Knight, Bp. + +L + +Lake, Bp. +Landor, W.S. +Langton, Bp. +Lawrence Sir T. +Leversedge family +Lightfoot P. +Locke, John +Lovel, R. +Luttrell family + +M + +Magee, Archbp. +Mallet family +Marchia, Bp. de +Marlborough, Duke of +Martok, John +Matilda, Queen +Maurice, Prince +Merriet family +Misiers, Louis de +Mohun, William de +Monington, Abbot +Monmouth, Duke of +Montague, Bp. +Monteagle, Lord +More, Hannah +Mowbray, Robert de + +N + +Nash, Richard +Nelson, Viscount +Nelson, Rev. Earl +Newton, Sir J. +Newton, Sir R. +Norris, Edwin + +O + +Odda, Earl +Oldmixon, John +Orange, Prince of +Osric + +P + +Palmer, John +Parry, Sir J. +Patrick, St +Penruddock, Col. +Percival, R. +Phelips family +Poole, Anthony +Poole, Thomas +Popham, Chief-Justice +Portman family +Poulett (Powlett) +Prowse, William and Ann +Prynne, William +Pym, John + +Q + +Queckett, J.T. +Quin, James + +R + +Raleigh, Sir W. +Raleigh family +Ralph, Bp. +Reginald, Bp. +Robert, Bp. +Robert of Normandy +Rodney family + +S + +Savaric, Bp. +Selwood, Abbot +Servington, Sir O. de +Sexey, Hugh +Shaa, Mrs +Sherborne, Prior +Sheridan, R.B. +Smith, Sydney +Sodbury, Abbot +Somerset, Protector +Southey, Robert +Speke family +Sprynge, Richard +Staling, Nicholas +Stawel (Stawell) family +Stephen, King +St Maur, John +Stone, John +Strode family +Sugar, Dean +Swan, Richard +Sydenham family + +T + +Tennyson, Lord +Thackeray, W.M. +Thomas à Becket +Thurstan, Abbot +Toplady, A.M. +Trevelyan, John +Turberville, Bp. + +V + +Vernais, De +Verney, Sir J. +Verney, Sir R. +Villula, Bp. John de + +W + +Wadham family +Wagstaff, Sir J. +Wake family +Waller, Lady +Waller, Sir W. +Walshe family +Walrond, Humfrey +Warbeck, Perkin +Warr, Lord de La +Warre family +Wellington, Duke of +Whiting, Abbot +William of Gloucester +Winter family +Wolfe, General +Wolsey, Cardinal +Wood (father and son) +Wordsworth, W. +Worman, Simon +Wulfric, St +Wyndham (Windham) family + +Y + +Young, Thomas + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Somerset, by G.W. Wade and J.H. Wade + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12287 *** |