Rodney Stoke
22
Mendip
A371
Hills
Wedmore
B3139
A39
B3139
A350
A367
Leigh-upon
-Mendip
Dinder
B3151
21 22
B3139
58
4
15
North Wootton
A39
West 23
Pennard
10
Chedzoy
A361
16
A361
B3136
A371
Pilton
2
8
B3081
6
Ditcheat
Bruton
11
3
Hornblotton
18
Redlynch
Alford
1
Middlezoy
B3151
High Ham
B3153
B3081
Castle
Cary
A371
Somerton
Muchelney
Swell
Isle Abbotts
B3168
Kingsbury
Episcopi
B3165
B3168
Ilminster
Seavington
A350
Queen
Camel
Yeovilton
A303
17
Milborne
Port
A37
13
A3088
Norton-subHamdon
24
A3030
A356
Cricket
Malherbie
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(8 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 3
Directions – Dinder is north of the A371
between Wells and Shepton Mallet.
From the A371, take The Rookery over
the river Sheppey. In the village turn
left into Church Street.
Postcode – BA5 3PQ
Shaftesbury
A359
Tintinhull
Martock
A30
Templecombe
Getting
around
the
area
A30
Crewkerne
Sutton
Bingham
Yetminster
● Under each church, the postcode is given to allow satellite navigation systems
to be used. There is also an indication of the nearest one or two railway stations.
Information is also provided about cycle routes that form part of the nationally or
regionally designated
network. Bus information is more likely to change during the
B3165
lifetime of the map and has therefore not been given,
but up-to-date information
A356
is available at www.somerset.gov.uk/timetables.
Access to the churches
All the churches in this guide are normally open to the public.
The Diocese of Bath & Wells
All the churches featured in this guide are part of the Church of England Diocese
of Bath & Wells. The diocese serves 900,000 people across almost 500 parishes.
The diocese is grateful to the churchwardens and other parochial church council
representatives, who have helped to ensure the accuracy of information in this
guide. However, any errors are the responsibility of the compiler, and should be
drawn to the attention of [email protected].
Websites
Website references under individual churches refer only to those sites that add
more information on a church’s history, and are local. National sites worth visiting
include www.achurchnearyou.com for more historical information and the excellent
www.churches-uk-ireland.org called The Churches of Britain and Ireland, where
Steve Bulman maintains a magnificent collection of church photographs.
“Discover Somerset Churches” maps
This guide is one of four; the complete set is
• 1.Bath, North Mendip and Weston-super-Mare
• 2.South Mendip and South East Somerset
• 3.The Moors, the Levels and the Parrett Estuary
• 4.Upland West Somerset
A37
A352
Henstridge
Stalbridge
A357
5m
10 km
Shillingstone
Discover
Somerset
Churches
South Mendip and South East Somerset
Designed by David Myring
www.graphicbubble.co.uk
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(3 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – the B3081 is the main road
through Evercreech; St Peter’s is on it,
towards the south end of the village.
Postcode – BA4 6HY
Church website –
www.stpetersevercreech.co.uk
9
Frome, St John
the Baptist
● St John the Baptist’s was founded
by St Aldhelm, and later was a well
endowed minster church. It was
restored in Victorian times, but the
former chantry chapels remain. There
is a very unusual, outdoor ‘Via Crucis’,
seven sculptures which depict Christ’s
journey from his condemnation by
Pontius Pilate to his death on the cross;
the last of these sculptures is at the
north porch. The Blessed Thomas Ken
(Bishop of Bath & Wells, 1685-1691,
and notable hymn writer) is buried in
the churchyard.
Nearest railway station – Frome
Nearest cycle routes – national route 24
Directions – the church is in the
town centre, near Bath Street and
Eagle Lane.
Postcode – BA11 1PL
A350
6
Ditcheat, St Mary
Magdalene
● The cruciform and central tower
date from the 14th and 15th centuries.
The nave roof is 15th century. The
reading desk is from the 17th century.
Some restored wall-painting is from
the 15th century.
MAP
2
A350
Croscombe Surely few parish churches in England have a finer pulpit than Croscombe’s.
1
Alford, All Saints
● This is a small, largely 15th century
church, with some evidence of 19th
century restoration. It is closer to
Alford House than to the main part of
the village. There is medieval stained
glass in the north windows, and a
Jacobean pulpit. Some bench-ends
are 16th century. The squat tower
contains an 18th century bell made
by the Bilbie family, prominent west
country bell founders.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(2 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – to the north of the
B3153, 2 miles west of Castle Cary
and the A371.
Postcode – BA7 7PN
2
April, 2014
Dinder, St Michael
& All Angels
● The church is at the end of the
estate village, next to Dinder House.
When the chancel was rebuilt, Norman
dragons were preserved. There is a
fine Jacobean pulpit, with symbols
of the Trinity.
Gillingham
A303
Ilchester 12
Barrington
South
Petherton
14
A37
A378
Long Sutton
A303
5
Mere
Wincanton
North
Cadbury
20
Langport
Stoke St Gregory
Huish Episcopi
Curry Rivel
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(7 miles)
Directions – Croscombe is on the A371
between Wells and Shepton Mallet.
The Church is up Church Street,
which rises north of the main road.
Postcode – BA5 3QS
Evercreech
7
Westonzoyland
A350
Batcombe
A37
East
Pennard
A39
A359
Croscombe, St Mary
the Virgin
● Internally, this is one of the absolute
gems of the county and diocese. The
Jacobean furnishings are some of the
finest in England. They include nave
pews, two clerks’ desks, a pulpit and
tester, chancel stalls and rood screens.
Externally, the tower boasts that
Somerset rarity, a spire.
19
Croscombe
A39
4
9
Chantry
5
East
Huntspill
Buckland
Dinham
Mells
Batcombe, St Mary
● Although the interior has some fine
fan-vaulting, 17th century altar rails,
18th century brass candelabra and
some old, plain glass in the chancel
thought to be from King’s College,
Cambridge, it is the tower which is St
Mary’s most noticeable feature. It is
one of the last and the best from the
16th century tower building era, dating
from about 1540.
Nearest railway station – Bruton
(3 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – Batcombe is west of the
A359, Frome – Bruton road. The church
is in the village off Vining’s Hill.
Postcode – BA4 6HF
3
Bruton, St Mary
● The north porch has a small, early
tower, but it pales into insignificance
compared to the magnificent west tower
which is Perpendicular, and of the Wells
group in style. The nave has a fine
tie-beam roof, and there is a Jacobean
screen in the tower arch, but the great
glory of the interior is the Georgian
chancel created by the Berkeley family
in the 1740s.
Nearest railway station – Bruton
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – the church is on a bend
where the B3081 comes into Bruton from
the south, on a road called The Plox.
Postcode – BA10 0EF
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(2 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – the village is south of
Shepton Mallet, between the A37 to the
west and A371 to the east. The church
is on Wraxall Road, the main road
through the village.
Postcode – BA4 6RD
7
East Pennard, All Saints
● The church is a 15th century one,
but the notable font is 12th century.
The pulpit is 18th century and is in
the style of Grindling Gibbons. The
gallery houses a Sweetland organ
and the peal of five bells is the
heaviest in Europe.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(3 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – East Pennard is south-west
of Shepton Mallet and just west of
the A37.
Postcode - BA4 6TU
8
Evercreech, St Peter
● This handsome 14th and 15th century
church boasts a particularly fine tower.
The interior is meant to recreate the
style of one of the Perpendicular
period. This includes the roof of 1548,
which has been repainted on the basis
of paint remnants discovered in the
1960s. The galleries are a mid-19th
century addition.
Glastonbury This tower at Glastonbury
replaced one which collapsed.
Glastonbury, St John
10 the Baptist
● Originally, the church tower
was over the crossing, but it
collapsed; its replacement,
dating from the 15th century, is
the second tallest in the county.
Most of the interior furnishings
are by Gilbert Scott; they include
the font, pulpit and chancel roof.
From an earlier period, the north
chancel window has glass dating
from the 15th century.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(9 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 3
Directions – in the middle of the
High Street
Postcode – BA6 9DR
Church website –
www.stjohns-glastonbury.org.uk
● The church was intended to be
a collegiate foundation with seven
secular priests. However, the plan
of its creator, Elizabeth Botreaux,
in 1420, did not materialise.
That intention is reflected in the
chancel’s being grander than the
nave. The bench-ends in the nave
depict a delightful mix of sacred
and secular characters.
Nearest railway stations – Castle Cary
(4 miles); Templecombe (5 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – the village is about
8 miles north-east of Yeovil;
access is from the A359 or A303.
The church is in The Avenue,
off Woolston Road.
Postcode – BA22 7DR
15 North Wootton, St Peter
● The small, 15th century church has an
earlier font – either Saxon or Norman
– whose cover is from the 18th century.
The screen under the tower was made
by women craftworkers in 1904.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(7 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 26
Directions – North Wootton is west of
Shepton Mallet and south of Wells.
Access is from the A361. Within the
village, the church is next to the village
hall and the village green.
Postcode – BA4 4HA
16 Pilton, St John the Baptist
Milborne Port The earliest parts of this church, Milborne Port, date from Anglo-Saxon times.
12 Ilchester, St Mary Major
● The unusual name recalls a time
when the town had five other churches,
a chapel, a hospital and a friary. The
side aisles were closed off as Ilchester’s
fortunes and population slumped; some
aisle pillars were discovered when a new
south aisle was built in 1880. The early
English font was rebuilt from two pieces
in the churchyard in the 20th century.
The original wall painting fragment behind
the pulpit dates from about 1200.
11 Hornblotton, St Peter
● As St Peter’s Church was built
as comparatively recently as the
1870s, it has not been subsequently
restored; it retains all its midVictorian glory. The whole interior is
decorated using a technique known
as sgraffito, in which one layer of
plaster is used to cover the walls,
then another of a different colour,
and after which the top layer is
partially carved to create patterns
where the first layer is exposed. In
St Peter’s, the colours are red and
white. It is rare in English churches.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(3 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route
26; regional route 30
Directions – turn east off the A37,
2 miles north of Lydford Cross Keys.
There are signs to the church in
the village.
Postcode – BA4 6SF
The Churches
Conservation Trust
The trust is a registered charity which
maintains many Anglican churches no longer
required for frequent, communal worship.
The following CCT churches in Somerset
are normally open during daylight hours:
17 Queen Camel,
St Barnabas
● Uniquely in Somerset, the tower is
in five stages; it is also an early one,
being from the late 14th century. Inside,
the screen is particularly noteworthy.
The 35 bosses of the chancel roof were
inspired by a medieval bestiary; each
beast is a reminder of a biblical event,
including a unicorn for the Nativity and
eagle for the Ascension. Its peal of six
bells is said to be the heaviest in
the world.
Nearest railway stations – Yeovil Pen Mill
(5 miles); Sherborne (5 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national routes
26 and 266
Directions – The church is just off the
A359 as it passes through the village,
which, in turn, is just south of the
A303, near Sparkford.
Postcode – BA22 7NA
Full details of these churches, the eleven others the trust maintains in Somerset and
those it has further afield are available on their website, www.visitchurches.org.uk
Wells, St Cuthbert The dazzling colour of the roof of Wells St Cuthbert
had been extended in about 1180, with
the addition of side aisles and the first
tower. A clerestory dates from about
1450, as do the 350 oak, wagon roof
panels, each unique in design.
18 Redlynch, St Peter
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(6 miles)
Directions – the church is in the
centre of Shepton Mallet, close to
the Market Cross and High Street.
Postcode – BA4 5LE
Church website –
www.mediaconcepts.co.uk/peterpaul
● This charming church is small and
has no tower or spire; it is sometimes
called St Peter Chapel. It dates from
1750, and was built by Nathaniel Ireson
of Wincanton, who also built the east
wing of nearby Redlynch House for the
Earl of Ilchester.
Nearest railway station – Bruton (1 mile)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – to the west of the B3081
as it passes through Redlynch.
Postcode – BA10 0NH
20 Somerton, St Michael
& All Angels
● Somerton was the county town –
hence the county’s name – in the
13th and 14th centuries, and the church
was rebuilt at that time. However,
the church’s most notable feature,
its roof was prepared by the carpenters
of Muchelney Abbey in about 1500.
The detail of the carvings is a joy
to scrutinize. And there is a small
cider barrel fastened to a purlin on
the north side of the roof!
Shepton Mallet,
19 St Peter & St Paul
● The tower, in its current form with a
pyramid cap, was rebuilt in the about
1380, which makes it an early example
of the Somerset genre. The church
Shepton Mallet The cap on the tower is evident in this picture of Shepton Mallet St Peter & St Paul
22 Wells, St Thomas
23 West Pennard, St Nicholas
● This church was provided for the
poor of Wells who lived in ghetto-like
conditions at the east end of the
city. It was designed in a geometrical
style in 1856 by S. S. Teulon, a noted
Gothic Revival architect and friend
of Gilbert Scott. The interior has
been well restored and the church’s
spire offers a refreshingly atypical
alternative in a Somerset streetscape.
● The chancel and south aisle were
rebuilt in the 15th century, to be
followed by the west tower in 1482,
which has a timber and lead spire
on top of it. The north aisle is a 16th
century addition. There is a fine Tudor
screen in the chancel. A churchyard
cross, with emblems of the Passion
on its base, is, like the church itself,
grade I listed.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(9 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 3
Directions – St Thomas Street is the
B3139 as it leaves Wells towards
the Horringtons.
Postcode – BA5 2UZ
Church website –
www.stthomaswells.co.uk
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(6 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 26
Directions – the A361 runs through
West Pennard. In the village, turn
south of the main road into Newtown
lane. Church Lane is then on the
left hand side.
Postcode – BA6 8NT
Wells, St Thomas The 19th century spire of Wells St Thomas bathed in sunlight.
Nearest railway station – Yeovil Pen Mill
(9 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – regional route 30
Directions – Somerton lies west
of the A37 and north of the A303,
on the B3153. Access to the
church is from the Market Place.
Postcode – TA11 7NB
Nearest railway stations – Yeovil Pen Mill
(5 miles); Yeovil Junction (6 miles)
Directions – from the A303, take the
A37 towards Yeovil, then first left off
the first roundabout. Church Street
is 200 yards ahead.
Postcode – BA22 8LJ
Website –
www.ilchesterparishcouncil.gov.uk
21 Wells, St Cuthbert
● This is the biggest parish church
in Somerset, mistaken by some
visitors for the cathedral. Its tower is
arguably the best of the Wells group
of towers. The 16th century nave,
is lavishly coloured and has carved
rosettes, angels and shields. The
St Catherine’s Chapel contains the
remains of two outstanding, 15th
century stone reredos, mutilated by
reformers in Edward VI’s reign, broken
parts of which are in store.
Milborne Port, St John
13 the Evangelist
● This is a cruciform church of the
Anglo-Saxon period, though parts may
date from early Norman times. However,
there have been various additions and
alterations since. For instance, a west
gallery for musicians was built in 1712
and enlarged a century later. There was
heavy restoration in the 19th century.
Nearest railway station – Sherborne
(3 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 26
Directions – from Sherborne, come
through the Crackmore Cutting, past
the petrol station, and take the second
right down Bathwell Lane.
Postcode – DT9 5AN
The delightful pews and galleries
at Cameley, which is a little to
the north of this area.
• St Mary’s, Stocklinch Ottersey, Ilminster, TA19 9JN
• Holy Saviour’s, Puxton, Hewish, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 6TF
• All Saints’, Otterhampton, Bridgwater, TA5 2PT
• St Mary’s, Hardington Bampfylde, Pillar Lane, Frome, BA11 2RE
• Blessed Virgin Mary, Chapel Hill, Emborough, Wells, Somerset, BA3 4SG
• St Martin of Tours, Silverdown Hill, Elworthy, Taunton, TA4 3PY
• St James’, Cameley, Temple Cloud, Bristol, Somerset, BS39 5AH.
© STEVE BULMAN
Hornblotton Hornblotton’s sgraffito work
is shown to good effect.
● Although the older parts are
12th century, this church was much
rebuilt and enlarged in the 15th,
when a clerestory was added to the
nave and chancel. The arcades
have 12th century origins, but the
fine roofs are from the work in the
15th century. The tower is not tall
by Somerset standards, so that the
finial on the tower stair turret seems
disproportionately tall.
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(5 miles)
Directions – at the west end of the
village, which is on the A361
Postcode – BA4 4BE
© STEVE BULMAN
14 North Cadbury, St Michael
the Archangel
Nearest railway station – Castle Cary
(9 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national route 3
Directions – St Cuthbert Street is an
extension of the town’s High Street
at its lower end.
Postcode – BA5 2AW
Church website –
www.stcuthbertswells.co.uk
Yeovil The brass lectern in Yeovil
is over 500 years old.
24 Yeovil, St John
the Baptist
● This town centre church dates
from the late 14th century and
is a fine, early example of the
Perpendicular style. There is a
notable brass lectern from the mid15th century. The church has been
called the ‘Lantern of the West’
because of the number and size
of its windows.
Nearest railway station –
Yeovil Pen Mill (1 mile);
Yeovil Junction (2 miles)
Nearest cycle routes – national
route 26; regional route 30
Directions – in the town centre
near Marks & Spencer’s
Postcode – BA20 1HE