The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Sherborne (to 909), Wells (to 1090), Bath (to 1245), Bath & Wells (from 1245) (medieval)
Chapel
The hamlet of Chesterblade lies in the Mendip Hills 3 miles NE of Evercreech (to which parish it belongs), and 3 miles SE of Shepton Mallet. Its historical significance is suggested by Iron Age earthworks (marked on the OS map as ‘fort’) at Small Down, 800m SE of the church, and the Roman villa which used to occupy the site of the manor farm.
Richard Coates (2006) has argued against Ekwall’s interpretation of the place-name as ‘settlement in a hollow among hills’, pointing out that,
‘ . . . the topography of the village nucleus gives no clear support for an unusual term for a valley or for a ledge to describe its situation -- it is on a gentle slope, and only in the vaguest sense “in a hollow among the hills” as Ekwall claimed. The valleys below the village are no more remarkably bowl-shaped than the typical cumb.'
In its place he offers the interpretation that,
‘ . . . the source of the name Chesterblade, whether applying to the earthworks or the local villa, is explicable as a British Kastron Bladjī ‘stronghold of a/the wolf’ or ‘stronghold of Wolf [proper name]’.’
On a slope running SW between the 180m and the 160m OD contours, the hamlet enjoys good views to the S not much less extensive than those from Small Down. From the chapel on its little rise at the very SW limit of the hamlet, one can clearly see the ridge W of Evercreech which includes Pennard Hill, the Blackdown Hills S and SW of Taunton, Ibberton Hill in North Dorset and even the West Dorset heights of Lewesdon and Pilsdon Pen (Dorset’s highest hill): nearly 30 miles away. The view from the chapel to the W is blocked by no less than the Jurassic height (206m OD) of Maes Down. There is, of course, a very clear view down to the mother church of St Peter at Evercreech.
The chapel has work of the 12thc, 13thc and 15thc. It was rebuilt in 1888, and further work was carried out in 1925. Construction is of rubble with some ashlar and freestone dressings. It consists of a nave with a W bellcote and a S porch larger than the tiny chancel. The S doorway is late 12thc, there is a plain 12thc font, and most unusually the ends of the copings and the kneelers of the E and W gables of the nave retain elaborate Romanesque carving.
Ruined parish church
Burrow Mump is a striking landscape feature, apparently a natural hill, some 6 miles SE of Bridgwater. It is strategically placed immediately adjacent to the present A361 (which must represent an ancient route) and just N of the confluence of the Tone and the Parrett, two of the principal rivers of Somerset. The near terrain is part of the low-lying Levels, frequently flooded in winter; there are fine views towards Mendip to the N, the Quantock Hills to the W and NW, the hills to the S which run up to the border with Dorset & the several lias ridges in the E sector. The nearest settlement is Burrowbridge, at the foot of the hill on the SW side.
The ruined chapel stands on top of Burrow Mump, and according to VCH was substantially a 15thc building with a chancel, central tower, S transept and nave. A crypt was excavated outside the N wall of the nave and a N chapel on the N side of the chancel. It was rebuilt c.1663 and described as ruinous in 1733. In 1793 it was rebuilt again, as a single-celled structure with a W tower and an entrance in the centre of the S wall. In 1836-37 it was functionally replaced by a new church in Burrowbridge itself by Richard Carver, also dedicated to St Michael, and the Burrow Mump chapel fell into ruins again. It was given to the National Trust in 1946. What remains on site is of squared and coursed lias with red brick and Hamstone dressings. It consists of a W tower, a 3-bay nave and a S porch. The only features described here are two heads on the S face of the tower, which may be Romanesque.
Parish church
In South Somerset District, the small (population c.200) village of Isle Abbotts lies in the shallow valley of the river Isle, a tributary of Somerset’s principal river, the Parrett, their confluence being c.7kms NE, c.2kms upstream of the former Benedictine Muchelney Abbey which possessed this manor. It rests at a modest elevation (the church on ground c.18m above the OD) above the valley Alluvium on a promontory of Lias between the Isle (500m E of the church) and the Fivehead river (formerly the Earn) to the N and W (400m distant). Its neighbour Isle Brewers lies 1.5kms E across the river.
The scenery of this district is as gentle as its topography: generally pastoral fields defined by willows and hedges; against such an undramatic landscape the church’s tall (25m) ornate W tower in the celebrated Somerset style makes an imposing statement.
The village is only sub-nuclear, its buildings well separated by fields and orchards. In historical times its inhabitants were engaged principally in dairy-farming and livestock husbandry (cattle and sheep) as well as activities pertaining to a self-sufficient community — although there is evidence of a significant number being employed in South Somerset’s cottage-industry of gloving (as shown, for example, in the 1861 census returns). Given the current upsurge in cider-production, there are no doubt new orchards appropriately stocked and managed by such local concerns as the Burrow Hill company.
Any mill most likely used the Isle; Isle Abbotts villagers could have used the flour mill the short distance of 1km downstream at Isle Brewers although their route along a road would have been rather circuitous, away from the river. There was another mill upstream just over the parish boundary, in Ilton. A mill appertaining to Isle Abbotts itself is listed in the Domesday Survey but, as the village website says: ‘. . . there is doubt where it was situated. Possibly on the R. Isle at Millmoor where there are several sluices, or on the Fivehead river near some stone walling.’ Certainly, the name ‘Millmoor’ must give confidence; however, the author has been unable to find the name on a map.
This is an area of unclassified lanes subject to winter flooding not too far from several major roads: (in order of importance) the A303, linking London and the South-West Peninsula, at Ilminster (i.e., ‘Isle Minster’) 6kms S (measured to the original alignment rather than to the present bypass); the A358, connecting the A303 with Taunton and the M5 motorway, 5kms W; the A378, linking Langport and Taunton, at Fivehead 3kms N; and the B3168 road, from Ilminster to Curry Rivel (giving onward access to Langport via the A378), 4kms SE.
Major towns include the county town Taunton 12kms WNW, Langport 9kms NE, Somerton a further 7kms ENE of Langport and Ilminster 8kms S.
The church consists of a chancel, a nave with a N aisle and a W porch, and a W tower. Stylistically the church is largely Perpendicular and Decorated, and is built of coursed and squared blue and white Lias with Hamstone dressings. The 4-stage tower bears the initials of Abbot Broke of Muchelney, and can thus be dated to the early-16thc tower. It is adorned with figures of saints and pierced battlements and is justly celebrated. The font is the only Romanesque feature.
Parish church
Bradford-on-Tone is a good-sized village in the Vale of Taunton, W Somerset, 4 miles W of Taunton, sited at a crossing of the river Tone. The church is at the N end of the village, alongside the river. English Heritage National Monuments Record describes the church as follows: ‘Present build from C13. Mid C19 restoration. Random rubble chert & local grey sandstone with hamstone dressings. W tower, 3-bay aisled nave, N & S chapels, NE vestry, chancel. Some early C13 detail in chancel arch.’ The columns of the nave arcade and an old font are 12thc.
Parish church
The 2011 census counted 104 persons in Bratton Seymour village. The parish of 1,374 acres (historically fluctuating between c.1,000 and c.1,500 acres following boundary changes) is situated in South Somerset District, contiguous with the parish of Wincanton, the nearest small town. In the far east of the county, this area is close to the ancient boundary of Selwood Forest and the present border with Wiltshire: Penselwood village is only about 8kms distant. This moderately hilly district is reasonably prosperous agriculturally, concentrated on dairy-farming with a little arable.
A cursory glance at a map will show that Bratton Seymour, together with many other comparably sized villages, sits within a triangle formed by three small towns at the apexes: (clockwise) the aforementioned Wincanton 3.5kms ESE, Castle Cary 4.5kms NW and Bruton 5kms NNE; all three are well connected by reasonably good roads, Bratton Seymour itself being sited a very short distance (200m-1km) N of the A371 Castle Cary-Wincanton road (part of the long-distance route between the Bristol and English Channels or Bristol and Poole). The A303 trunk road, nationally important because it forms part of a popular route between London and the South West Peninsula, runs E-W past Wincanton (until recent times, of course, passing through the town) and is easily accessible by lanes from Bratton Seymour at a distance of only 3kms. Railway access, at Castle Cary, is almost as easy for Bratton Seymour residents: reasonably frequent services are available along the main line between London Paddington and Exeter and beyond; there are also more local services on the Heart of Wessex line between Bristol and Weymouth, which services also stop at Bruton.
The Domesday entry for the settlement spells the place-name ‘Broctune’, which has led to the probably erroneous inference that the ‘tun’ is named after a badger-sett (e.g., by Stephen Robinson in his ‘Somerset Place-Names’, Stanbridge 1992). More erudite and reliable information suggests that the place-name belongs with a common set in which ‘Bratton’ simply means ‘Brook-town’ after Old English ‘broc’=’brook’ (e.g., ‘The Vocabulary of English Place-Names’ volume 2, p. 37, published by the English Place-Name Society at Nottingham in 2000). This must imply that the nameless stream which rises 200m SE of Manor Farm, turns increasingly away from the settlement following a NE direction, runs down towards the Shepton Montague valley where it joins the river Pitt, which flows down to Cole to join the principal Somerset river Brue about 4.5kms away from Bratton Seymour Manor Farm, was originally considered far more significant than can now be believed. The ‘Seymour’ qualifier is a corruption of the French ‘Saint-Maur’, the family name of the local landowner who is supposed to have taken possession of the manor in the fourteenth century.
A more obvious topographical distinguishing feature (than the brook) is Bratton Hill (184m OD) along whose eastern side the settlement is strung along a lane striking north from the junction (at Jack White’s Gibbet) with the A371. This lane runs generally downhill from the main road (157m OD) past Church Farm (140m OD), whence it descends more steeply to Shepton Montague. The church is perched above the road, on the W side, at about 145m OD; even higher is Bratton House, towards the summit of the hill. Not exactly but almost, the village lane follows the geological boundary between the Forest Marble of the higher ground and Fuller’s Earth below. (Hereabouts, the geology is characterised by the N-S Jurassic strand.) Map-readers may be forgiven the notion that the altitude of the church must give good views but they would quickly be frustrated on site by neighbouring trees: only the NE aspect is fully rewarding.
The church is constructed of local uncourse rubble with Doulting and hamstone dressings, and consists of a 2-bay chancel with a N vestry and a 3-bay nave with a W tower and a S porch. Romanesque sculpture is found on the S doorway and the arch of the S porch, the font and reset stones in the external N and S walls of the nave.
Parish church
South Barrow is a village in south central Somerset, 6 miles W of Wincanton and a mile N of the A303, the main road linking Exeter and Andover. It extends for half a mile along a minor road with the church in the centre of the village. St Peter’s has a simple plan of a two-bay chancel and a three-bay nave with a S porch and a W tower. The church is substantially 13th-14thc, but the present chancel dates from a restoration in 1850. The church is built of local lias cut and squared with Cary dressings.
Parish church
Brent Knoll is in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, 2 miles NE of Burnham-on-Sea. The name of the village is taken from the hill topped by a hillfort that rises immediately to the east.
The village of Brent Knoll follows the lane around the base of Brent Knoll, from its NW sector to its S, where it joins the main A38 trunk road from Bristol to Taunton. The M5 runs only a few hundred yards further east. Brent Knoll is an Upper Lias protrusion above the dominant Middle Lias of the area, 456 feet (139m) high at its summit, mainly surrounded by the Somerset levels, it is perhaps the most prominent landmark in this part of the county. It bears the marks of agricultural and military exploitation from prehistoric times. The manor house and church hug the lower slopes of its relatively sheltered SW flank. It is about 2 miles from the present shoreline of the Bristol Channel to the W. On a clear day it is visible from well down the Channel. Unfortunately, views from the church are limited except to the south, and these are impeded by trees and housing. The church consists of a nave with a separately roofed N aisle and a S porch, a S transept (now the vestry), a chancel and a W tower. Romanesque features are the S nave doorway, a pillar piscina in the N aisle and the font.
Parish church
Bicknoller is a good-sized nucleated village in the W of the county, in the Quantock hills just 3 miles inland from Watchet which stands on Bridgwater Bay in the Bristol Channel. St George’s church stands in the centre of the village.
It consists of a four bay nave with a N aisle and a S porch, a chancel and a W tower, all in red sandstone random rubble except for the squared and coursed N aisle. The small nave with an unbuttressed S wall suggests a 12thc origin, but the church dates substantially from the 15thc and 16thc. It was restored from 1871. The only 12thc work recorded here is the pillar piscina.
Parish church
Biddisham lies on the Somerset Levels (Middle Lias) 1½ miles south of Crook Peak, which prominent hill flanks a cutting made by the Lox Yeo river (and exploited by the M5) through the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills. The hamlet of Biddisham is strung along a lane leading N from the A38 trunk road, a mile to the east of the M5 and six miles SE of Weston-super-Mare. The lane, a cul-de-sac, leads up to the present river Axe. However, the former course of that river (before medieval diversions effected mainly by the church to improve economic exploitation of its land) came within 500 yards to the NW of Biddisham church and ran northwards alongside the lane. The church is adjacent to the manor farm and consists of a two-bay nave with a S porch, two-bay chancel and a west tower. Construction is of squared rubble with some render remaining at the base of the tower. The church, including the lower part of the tower is basically 13thc in date. This lower tower leans markedly to the W, while the added or rebuilt upper part is more or less vertical. The rebuilding was done in the 15thc along with other work; there was a major restoration c.1860 and general repairs were carried out under the direction of G. C. Beech and Partners of Wells in 1961-63. The Romanesque work described here consists of the font and label stops in the form of heads reused on the exterior of a chancel window.
Parish church
The village of Wookey is in the Mendip district of Somerset. It lies on the river Axe not far from its source above the rather more famous village of Wookey Hole which itself occupies a cleft in the S scarp of the Mendip Hills. Wookey nestles among gentle hills to the W of Wells, within the angle formed by the roads to Cheddar and Wedmore 1.5kms W of their junction. The church is quite central and slightly crowded by vegetation and buildings to the N.
The church is of coursed and squared rubble with freestone dressings and consists of a nave with N and S aisles and a S porch, a chancel with a S chapel and a N vestry, and a W tower The chancel is of the late 13thc, and the remainder 14thc-early 15thc, except the 16thc chapel. It was restored in 1872. The only feature described here is the font.