Somerset Part 15

_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 gla.s.s in the E. window of the N. aisle, (3) some 16th and 17th-cent.

bra.s.ses. On the road to the church is a 15th-cent. t.i.the-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 Glas...o...b..ry, 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 ma.s.sive 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 inst.i.tute.

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, c.r.a.pe, and knitted stockings once formed its staple trade; but its present prosperity rests chiefly on beer, a gigantic brewery being now its princ.i.p.al business inst.i.tution. 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 bra.s.s 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 bra.s.s 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 Wins...o...b.. (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 Glas...o...b..ry, 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. bra.s.s; (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 b.a.l.l.s 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 n.o.bisi_. _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 ab.u.t.ting 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 c.o.x 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 sh.e.l.l 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, pa.s.sing 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 bra.s.s 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 s.p.a.cious 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 cla.s.sical 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 pa.s.sing 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 bas.e.m.e.nt of which const.i.tutes the N. transept; but originally it consisted of a Norm. nave and chancel only. Of the Norm. church note (1) N. porch, with quadripart.i.te 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 a.s.sumed 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 b.u.t.tresses 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 ma.s.sive 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 gla.s.s; (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 circ.u.mference. 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 ma.s.sive 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 princ.i.p.ally 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 gla.s.s 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.