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Combe St Nicholas, Somerset

Location
(50°53′45″N, 2°59′43″W)
Combe St Nicholas
ST301 112
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Somerset
now Somerset
  • Robin Downes
  • Robin Downes
7/4/2005

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Description

Combe (not to be confused with Templecombe in the same county, or Combe in Oxfordshire) is situated 2 miles NW of Chard and 10 miles from Taunton in the district of South Somerset. The church of St Nicholas has Norman origins (including remains of round-headed windows), with some 13thc and 14thc features, but is mostly Perpendicular. It consists of a W tower, 5 bay aisled nave, porch, N and S chapels and a chancel. The Romanesque elements comprise a fragment of a doorway (now in the N aisle) and an early font, now disused in favour of a later medieval one.

History

At the time of DB the manor was held by the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The parish was known as Combe Episcopi until the dedication of the church to St Nicholas in 1239.

Features

Exterior Features

Doorways

Furnishings

Fonts

Comments/Opinions

The official EH listing text describes the two fonts present as 'Circular Saxon font; octagonal Perpendicular font', although the reason for such an early date for the one under review here is not evident.

The capital sculpture is quite fine and suggests that a good level of patronage was available here in the 12th century.

Bibliography
  1. F. Arnold-Forster, Studies in Church Dedications (London, 1899), III, 93.

Historic England listing 1248506, online at www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1248506

N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England; South and West Somerset (Harmondsworth, 1958), 130.