Nestling in the southern foothills of Mendip, Dinder is a small village 2mi SE of Wells on the R bank of the river Sheppey which runs W from Shepton Mallet to its confluence with the Axe. The Sheppey valley, quite narrow between Shepton and Croscombe village 1.5 kms E, opens out downstream from Dinder; even so, Dinder is ensconced between Dulcote Hill to the S and Lyatt Hill to the N. The church immediately abuts the grounds of Dinder House to the S. Apparently, in the interest of ensuring peace and quiet, a principal landowner gave some land to the S of the village for the creation of a road which would thereby avoid the village. However, history tells us that in medieval times, the main route between Wells and the E passed through the village, past the church and a pilgrims’ inn on the other side of the road; that ancient route is today represented by a footpath to the W of the village. The church of St Michael has Norman origins, but was rebuilt in the 15thc and restored in 1872. The building contains Romanesque dragon heads reset above a window in the chancel. There is also a possible re-used font base, a scratch dial, and consecration crosses of unknown date.

Not mentioned in the DB (but see Comments).

Status

Although not mentioned in DB, the ecclesiastical history of Dinder must be complex and significant, bound up as it must have been with Wells cathedral. There was a canonry here; it was also the residence of the Bishop of Taunton.

Corbels

Some carved medieval corbels have been re-set in the modern porch. However, these appear to be 13thc or later, not Romanesque (see general images at top of report).

Lost chancel arch

Somerville writes (in a footnote to his 1907 text) ‘When the old chancel was removed in 1871 and the chancel arch rebuilt of the old stones, some portions of a still earlier arch were discovered built into the chancel arch. Unfortunately no reliable record has been kept, but it was thought at the time that the work was Saxon, and that the chancel occupied the site of a small Saxon chapel.’

Dragon heads

These so-called dragon heads seemed to the author to represent a very grand hood to an important doorway, conceivably originally from the Norman build of the nearby cathedral: they appeared to him typical Romanesque label-stops such as may still be seen at Bishop’s Cleeve, Gloucestershire and are associated with the Malmesbury style. (There are similar canine label-stops at Huish Episcopi, within Somerset, but much smaller and more modest.) The label-stops at Dinder are very fine and should be considered examples of high Romanesque style, presumably late 12thc. One might wonder, if indeed they were once at the cathedral, whether there are other fragments locally; there is also scope for considering them in national stylistic contexts. The author sees the third fragment, now placed between the heads, as a small survival of the hood which typically took the form of a serpent. Somerset being a county of dragons (witness its emblem), these sculpture fragments have been caught up in local superstition and legends such as the medieval dragon which ravaged the local area until vanquished by the Church in the figure of Bishop Jocelyn.

Although clearly individuals, the dogs share a strongly spirited and vigorous style: the ears are long and pointed, to match the line of the hood; the powerful muzzles are boldly defined by flesh-like moulding. Compared with the heads at Bishop’s Cleeve, these are much less ornate (less beading, for example), lack teeth, and are much more docile in general effect; the Dinder central block, also less ornate, lacks the obvious snake-like profile of that at Bishop’s Cleeve.

Acknowledgement

For advice on the font base & knowledge of the consecration crosses, the author is deeply indebted to Jerry Sampson, former Archaeological Consultant of Caroë & Partners, Chartered Architects of Wells, Somerset.