Somerset Part 4

_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 G.o.ddess 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 s.p.a.ciousness 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) bra.s.s 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) bra.s.s 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 "cla.s.sical" church--a very unusual thing for a country village--date 1751. It is an odd little building, with a bal.u.s.traded 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 s.p.a.cious 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 a.s.ser, 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) bra.s.s 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 Glas...o...b..ry 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 subst.i.tute 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 cla.s.s, since too much s.p.a.ce 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 foresh.o.r.e 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 Glas...o...b..ry. 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 gla.s.s. 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 Glas...o...b..ry (d. 1473). The old gla.s.s (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, Glas...o...b..ry 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 b.u.t.tresses for a tower of its cla.s.s. 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 (a.s.signed 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 Glas...o...b..ry. 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 s.p.a.cious 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, rec.u.mbent 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 cla.s.s 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 Wivelis...o...b.., 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 Pa.s.sion), (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 gla.s.s 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.