The village of Upton Noble lies between Bruton and Frome in Somerset, 300m E of the main A359. Upton Noble, being near the W lip of the shallow valley to its E, has a good view of the border with Wiltshire. The border with Wiltshire, running along a N-S greensand ridge clothed with the remnants of ancient Selwood Forest, is only about 4mi E; the area still feels like a frontier zone, which is how it seems to have been treated in Saxon times (for example, defining the E limit of the diocese of Sherborne). The church of St Mary Magdalene (formerly St Margaret), which lies in the centre of the village, consists of a nave and chancel with a S chapel linked to a S tower porch. Romanesque elements comprise the S doorway, the font and a piece of exceptional re-set sculpture in the form of a crucifix.

Before 1066, Upton was held by Leofmer and in 1086 by Ralph Rufus from the Bishop of Coutances. In 1285 it was held of the earl of Gloucester. The church was a chapelry of Batcombe, which was in the patronage of Glastonbury Abbey until the Dissolution (VCH).

Simple and handsome, the font design is well-proportioned: it is quite noticeable how the base matches the bowl, to give a pleasing hour-glass profile. The VCH describes it as 13thc, but it is clearly in the Romanesque idiom with the correct tooling-marks for this period.

What the S doorway lacks in decoration, it makes up with simple dignity. The continous order and minimalist sculptural treatment is reminiscent of the S doorway at St Nicholas, Whitchurch, some 15 mi to the N (https://www.crsbi.ac.uk/view-item?i=8726).

The sculptured crucifixion scene (probably rescued from obscurity in the restoration of c.1880) is a remarkable piece. The listing text describes it as 12thc. One wonders if it might have been part of an altar-piece. Its fine detail and polychomy contrast markedly with the simple functionality of the font and S doorway in what was always probably a relatively modest church. Did a wealthy patron step forward to commission it, or did the piece originate from another site?