Somerset Part 16

_Stoke Trister_ is a small hamlet of mean appearance, 2 m. E. of Wincanton. It has a modern church (1841).

_Ston Easton_, a small wayside village, 2-1/2 m. S. of Hallatrow station. The church is an unpretentious little Perp. building, with a rather fine Norm. chancel arch, and has been well restored. _Ston Easton House_ stands in a well-wooded park, and possesses an old carved oak ceiling and an ancient staircase.

_Stowell_, a very small parish 1 m. W. of Templecombe, which probably gets its name from the spring seen near the church. The church itself was originally built in the 15th cent., but only the tower arch belongs to this date. The nave is quite modern (1834), but it preserves a Norm.

font.

_Stowey_, a parish 2 m. W. of Clutton. It has a small church, noteworthy for the irregularity of its windows (the small one in the S.

wall was originally the S. door). It has a 14th cent. font (note the c.o.c.kle-sh.e.l.l); and an interesting bit of sculpture is built into the exterior N. wall of the chancel. Near it is an incised pair of shears (a woolstaplers' mark). Not far from the church is an old manor house, half of which has been destroyed. Within the parish is _Sutton Court_ (Sir E. Strachey), a house which has historical a.s.sociations, for here Bishop Hooper found an asylum during the Marian persecution. The mansion is of considerable antiquity, parts of it dating from the reign of Edward II., and others from Tudor times.

_Stowey, Nether_, a village 9 m. W. from Bridgwater (from which place there is a motor service). It owes its interest to having been the residence of S.T. Coleridge from 1796 to 1798: his cottage, marked by a tablet, is at the end of the village on the Minehead road. Both "Christabel" and "The Ancient Mariner," as well as several of his shorter poems, are said to have been partly written in this neighbourhood. Here he must have entertained Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and many others of his literary friends. A movement has been recently started to purchase the cottage for the nation. The church contains nothing of note except a mural tablet in memory of Thomas Poole, described as the friend of "Wordsworth and Davy (i.e. Sir Humphrey), Southey, and Coleridge": his tomb is on the W. side of the S. door. The two painted mitres beneath the roof-beams commemorate two vicars who became bishops (Majendie of Chester and Fisher of Exeter).

[Ill.u.s.tration: NETHER STOWEY]

Near the church is _Stowey Court_, a 15th cent. mansion which was garrisoned in the Civil War. There are three fish ponds in the grounds, and a curious summer-house (called the "Gazebo") overlooking the road (cp. Montacute). On Castle hill (take road to left where the highway from Bridgwater forks at the sign-post) are the foundations and ramparts of a castle, the last owner of which, James, Lord Audley, was executed for supporting Perkin Warbeck. The site is worth visiting for the prospect alone.

_Stowey, Over_, a parish 9 m. W. of Bridgwater, situated on the slopes of the Quantocks. Its church has some carved bench ends of an ordinary type, but otherwise contains little of interest. _Quantock Lodge_ (E.J.

Stanley) is in the parish.

_Stratton on the Fosse_, a village standing (as its name implies) on the old Roman road, 1 m. S.E. from Chilcompton Station. The parish church (ded. to St Vigor) is entirely overshadowed by its Roman neighbour, Downside Abbey. It is a poor little building, with a debased tower; but preserves one or two remnants of Norm. work (e.g. a S.

doorway and a fragment of the original apse). Within is a small 15th cent. stone pulpit, and a Norm. font.

_Street_, a populous village 1 m. S. from Glas...o...b..ry Station. It spreads itself at considerable length along the Bridgwater road, and is a busy and stirring place, devoted chiefly to the manufacture of boots and shoes. It also possesses some large lias quarries which have been prolific in fossils. The church is a disappointing building standing well back from the village street, mainly Perp., with a rather poor Dec. chancel; and is made still more depressing by the addition of a very debased modern N. aisle. There is a piscina and double sedilia in the chancel. The village is furnished with a good modern Inst.i.tute, which contains a large a.s.sembly hall and a small museum of local geological specimens.

_Stringston_, a small village 6 m. E. of Williton. Its little church has a broach spire of red tiles, a great rarity in this part of the country, and retains its piscina and the fragments of a stoup. Its most interesting possession is its cross (14th cent.), with carvings supposed to represent (1) the Crucifixion; (2) the Virgin and Child; (3) a knight; (4) a bishop.

_Sutton Bingham_, a small parish on the Dorset border, 3-1/2 m. S. from Yeovil, with a station on the L. & S.W. main line. The church is of considerable interest and should be visited. It is a 12th-cent.

building standing on rising ground on the farther side of the station, and shows traces of the Norm., E.E., and Dec. styles. It has no tower or projecting bell-cot, but a couple of bells are let into the W.

gable. A good Norm. arch, only 6 ft. wide, with zigzag ornament, divides the aisleless nave from the chancel; and other indications of Norm. workmans.h.i.+p are found in the N. porch and in two windows of the nave. The chancel is E.E. and is lighted by lancets. Round the walls and in the splays of the windows are a series of 14th-cent. frescoes, representing the Coronation of the Virgin, and a number of bishops, saints, and virgins. A figure in the splay of the E. window has been carefully erased by some "conscientious objector." Note (1) E.E.

piscina in chancel; (2) late Norm. font. In the churchyard is a curious cross, consisting of a headless shaft mounted on a raised slab, seemingly a tombstone.

_Sutton, Long_, a village 3 m. S. of Somerton, said to have been the quarters of Goring before the Battle of Langport. Its church (Perp.) will repay inspection. The tower is unusually lofty, and has triple belfry windows; but in workmans.h.i.+p it is inferior to most of its cla.s.s, too much s.p.a.ce being left between the windows and the parapet. The most interesting feature of the church is its woodwork. The nave roof is very good, having embattled tie-beams, ornamented with angels, and open Perp. tracery above. There is a rich painted and gilded Perp. screen, with loft carrying the organ, and a highly decorated wooden pulpit of the same period (restored 1868). Note also (1) stoup outside W. door; (2) fine niche in N. porch; (3) piscinas on N. chancel pier and in chancel; (4) blocked squints; (5) sedilia (resembling those at Shepton Beauchamp). In the churchyard is the carved socket of a cross.

_Sutton Mallet_, a hamlet near the base of the Polden Hills, 4 m. S. of Edington Station. Its church, of "debased" character, is of no interest.

_Sutton Montis_, a parish 2 m. S.E. of Sparkford, lying under the S.

side of Cadbury Hill (hence its name). Its church has a low W. tower, with a ma.s.sive belfry staircase and a most incongruous "cla.s.sical"

porch attached to the S. door (cp. Queen Camel). Inside is a good Norm.

chancel arch, Dec. chancel windows (restored), and a large piscina (restored). One of the bells is of pre-Reformation date.

_Swainswick_, a village 3 m. N.N.E. of Bath, reached by a lane from the Cheltenham road. Its name is perhaps connected with the Danish chief Swegen (Sweyn); and it was the birthplace of William Prynne (b. 1600).

The church has a gable-topped tower, and retains some ancient features.

The S. door is Norm. (note the stoup), whilst the tower arch seems E.E.

A window in the S. wall has flowing tracery with an ogee moulding. Note (1) in N. chapel a piscina; (2) in chancel a bra.s.s (said to have once been on an altar-tomb) of the date 1439.

_Swell_, a parish 4 m. S.W. of Langport. It has a small Perp. church (very dilapidated) which retains a Norm. door. Note in the interior (1) piscina and niches; (2) fragments of ancient gla.s.s; (3) pulpit and reading-desk of 1634.

_Tatworth_, a parish 2 m. S. of Chard. The church is modern, but a Baptist place of wors.h.i.+p, a plain, thatched building at South Chard, is supposed to have been an ancient chapel. It is locally known as St Margaret's, and over the doorway is an empty niche. For a curious custom of holding a sale by candlelight, see under _Chedzoy_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TAUNTON FROM THE RIVER]

TAUNTON, county town on the Tone (whence its name), 163 m. from London, and 44-1/2 S.W. from Bristol; pop. 21,000. A s.p.a.cious station on the G.W.R. main line, Bristol to Exeter, forms a junction for the Yeovil, Chard, Minehead, and Barnstaple branches. The town is commodious, and its railway facilities make it an excellent centre. The streets are s.p.a.cious and well-built, and converge upon a triangular market place which is rather spoilt by an ugly market hall in its centre. Though Taunton wears a prosperous and progressive air, it has behind it a very venerable history which is not without a flavour of stirring times. It finds a place in our national annals on four notable occasions. (1) In 710 King Ina of Wess.e.x pushed the West Welsh beyond the Tone and erected a castle at Taunton as a barrier against their return. The site was subsequently fortified afresh by the Normans. (2) In 1497 Perkin Warbeck, in his dash for the throne, seized the town, but fled in terror at the approach of the Royal forces. (3) During the Civil War it was alternately occupied by the Royalists and Parliamentarians, and in 1643 Blake successfully withstood here attacks from Hopton and Goring; and the town was punished at the Restoration for this robust resistance by the demolition of its fortifications and the loss of its charter.

(4) In 1685 the sentiments of the place were again enthusiastically "agin the government," and Monmouth was accorded here a royal ovation and was proclaimed king in the market-place. But this _coup de theatre_ was only an introductory farce to the grim tragedy which followed. When Monmouth's hopes of sovereignty were rudely shattered by the _melee_ at Sedgemoor the town was handed over for pacification to the tender mercies of Kirke and the brutal justice of Jeffreys. The rebels got short shrift from both. Kirke, without preliminary inquiry, swung the culprits from the sign-board of his lodgings, and Jeffreys' law was notorious for its despatch. So numerous were the executions that Bishop Ken complained to the king that "the whole diocese was tainted with death." The name Tangier still attaches to the district where Kirke penned his "lambs," and the old "White Hart" (now a shop) at the corner of Fore Street marks the Colonel's own quarters. Jeffreys' lodgings have been demolished, perhaps under the impression that nothing was needed to keep alive the memory of the "b.l.o.o.d.y a.s.size." The ecclesiastical interests of Taunton were from early days a.s.sociated with the see of Winchester, and the establishment of a priory here early in the 12th cent. was the see's acknowledgment of its obligations. Nothing of this benefaction now remains but the monastic barn near St James's Church.

The parish church of _St Mary Magdalene_, though far the finest church in Taunton, was originally only a subordinate chapel-of-ease to the monastery. It is a s.p.a.cious building, noteworthy for its imposing tower and quadruple aisles. Its probable designer was Sir R. Bray, Henry VII.'s architect, and the king is supposed to have contributed to its erection. The present tower is claimed to be a conscientious reproduction of the original fabric, removed in 1858 as dangerous. It is a lofty and ornate structure of four storeys, decorated with a triple tier of double windows, and divided at the stages by bands of quatrefoils. A crown of elaborate tabernacle work--a perfect medley of battlements and pinnacles--forms the cresting. The general design, though highly artificial, is well balanced. Note (1) the stoups on either side of the W. doorway; (2) the carvings (part of the original fabric) in the spandrels above. The S. porch--a very successful and noteworthy feature of the church--is dated 1508, The rest of the building must be nearly contemporaneous. The interior is rich, but somewhat devoid of interest. Note (1) the four aisles--an unusual arrangement, occurring also at Manchester Cathedral and St Michael's, Coventry; (2) the E.E. piers to N. aisle; (3) the fine oak roof of nave; (4) canopied figure (modern) of St Mary Magdalene on one of the nave piers; (5) monument of Robert Gray, with a laudatory and rhyming epitaph in N. wall; (6) figures of apostles between clerestory lights (cp. Bruton). _St James's Church_ has a good tower with turret and spirelet--likewise rebuilt. The interior is well proportioned and gains an air of great s.p.a.ciousness from an unusually lofty chancel. The most noteworthy feature of the church is its splendid font, richly adorned with figures of apostles and ecclesiastics. The pulpit is dated 1633.

Hard by, and in close proximity to the county cricket ground, is the _Priory Barn_, the only remnant of Taunton's once considerable and wealthy priory: note the windows--perhaps insertions from other fragments of the monastic buildings. _The Castle_, after centuries of complete neglect, underwent a well-intentioned but unfortunate restoration by Sir B. Hammet, but is now in the appropriate possession of the Somerset Archaeological Society, who have transformed it into a museum. The buildings, as they now stand, include (1) an outer gateway--the Castle Bow--now incorporated with Clarke's Hotel (note the portcullis groove); (2) a rectangular block consisting of Edwardian additions to an original Norm. keep and a great hall (fee for entrance, 2d.). Note (1) the arms of Bishop Langton, of Winchester, and Henry VII. over central gateway; (2) the drum tower (now the committee-room and library) at S.W. corner; (3) the immense thickness of the walls of the keep with its Norm. b.u.t.tresses, and the lighter superstructure, with its Dec. windows, above; (4) the Great Hall, the scene of the b.l.o.o.d.y a.s.size--a remarkably s.p.a.cious chamber built by Bishop Horne, 1577. The shelves of the museum are stocked with a large collection of antiquities add natural-history specimens: the case containing the relics from Sedgemoor is of special interest. The exhibition as a whole would gain in point by being confined to objects connected with the county.

Other things worthy of attention in Taunton are (1) the old Grammar School in Corporation Street, now incorporated with the Munic.i.p.al Buildings, (2) the two fine old houses opposite the Market Hall, (3) Gray's and Pope's alms-houses in East Street, (4) the old thatched alms-houses (originally a lepers' hospital) at the E. extremity of the town, in East Reach, bearing on the wall Abbot Bere's monogram and arms. A visit should be paid to _Vivary Park_ at the end of High Street, a tastefully laid-out public recreation ground on the site of the old monastic fishponds. The s.h.i.+re Hall, in Shuttern, a somewhat pretentious modern building, contains a number of busts of Somerset worthies. A rough lane striking off to the R. from the Trull road leads to an old Roman causeway crossing a narrow, one-arched bridge locally known as _Ramshorn Bridge_.

_Tellisford_, a small village 1 m. S. of Farleigh Hungerford. Its church has a pa.s.sing likeness to that at Farleigh; it preserves within the porch a stoup and a fair Trans. doorway.

_Templecombe_ (or _Abbas Combe_), an inconsiderable village at the S.E.

extremity of the county, with an important station on the S. & D. and L. & S.W. lines. The church is ancient but uninteresting, and seems to have been considerably altered. It contains a curious E.E. font. The tower is somewhat peculiar, and forms the S. porch. On the rising ground at the S. of the village are the remains of a _preceptory_ of the Knights Templars, founded in the 12th cent. by Serlo Fitz-Odo. From this foundation the place takes its name. A long building, which was perhaps once the refectory, but which is now used as a barn, will be noticed ab.u.t.ting on a farm-house along the road to Milborne Port. In an orchard at the back of the farm are the ruins of a small chapel.

_Thorne_ (or _Thorne Coffin_), a parish 2-1/2 m. N.W. of Yeovil. Its small church (without a tower) contains nothing of interest except a pulpit of the date 1624 (cp. Chilthorne Domer).

_Thorne St Margaret_, a village 3 m. W. of Wellington. Its church has been rebuilt, and the only object of interest that it retains is a small bra.s.s (affixed to the W. wall) with an inscription in Latin and English, of a punning character, to a person called Worth.

_Thornfalcon_, a parish 3-1/2 m. E. of Taunton, with a station on the Taunton and Chard line. Its Perp. church preserves some good bench-ends dated 1542. There is a holy-water stoup inside the S. door, and an ancient font. Not far from the church, at a spot where four ways meet, is a roadside cross.

_Thurlbear_, a parish 3-1/2 m. S.E. of Taunton. It has a small church which is remarkable for having fine Norm. arcades N. and S., it being one of a very small number of churches in the immediate neighbourhood of Taunton that retain much Norm. work. The squint is peculiar, and there is an early font under the belfry.

_Thurloxton_, a parish half way between Taunton and Bridgwater (lying a little off the main road), and 3 m. N.W. of Durston Station. The small church of St Giles is noteworthy for (1) the carved oak screen, which has rests for books attached to it, (2) the fine oak pulpit (dated 1634), with four figures in relief, three apparently representing Faith, Hope, and Charity (cp. Stoke St Gregory), (3) the W. door, made of one solid block of wood; over the entrance is the date 1500.

Observe, too, the piscina and the old tub font.

_Tickenham_, a village 4 m. E. from Clevedon and 3 m. from Nailsea Station. Its church, dedicated to SS. Quiricus and Julietta, is interesting. The tower (as at Wraxall and Brislington) is characterised by having niches on each face rising above the parapet between the pinnacles, and containing effigies. Externally, there should be observed (1) the square sanctus-bell cot, (2) the E.E. porch. The interior is very plain. The square piers of the arcades have no capitals, and are possibly Norm., though one has at two of its angles small pilasters with carved capitals. The chancel arch is round-headed, probably early Norm., without mouldings. In the N. aisle there are three life-sized effigies (two knights in full armour and a lady), a.s.signed to the 13th cent., and supposed to be members of the Berkeley family. Note (1) font, (2) ancient gla.s.s.

A neighbouring farm contains some remains of an old 15th-cent. house, once the residence of the Berkeleys.

Above Tickenham on the N. lies _Cadbury Camp_, covering about 7 acres.

It is protected by double ramparts and ditches, the former consisting of piled limestone fragments, now almost entirely covered with turf.

Roman coins have been found within it. The position commands a fine view, both landward and seaward.

_Timbers...o...b.._, a small wayside village, 3 m. S.W. of Dunster on the Dulverton road. The church (Perp.) has an unimposing tower (rebuilt 1708) with slate pyramidal spire. Within is a small coloured rood-screen resembling that at Carhampton, but with staircase intact.

Note (1) piscinas in chancel and aisle, (2) old wooden door to N.

entrance, (3) Devons.h.i.+re foliage on one of the arcade piers (cp.

Luccombe). In the churchyard is a restored cross. Half a mile beyond the village is the manor house of _Bickham_, one wing of which was originally a chapel.

_Timsbury_, one of the colliery villages near Radstock, 1 m. N.W. from Camerton. Like its neighbour Paulton it stands high, but it is both more attractive and more pleasantly situated, commanding a pretty prospect towards Camerton, which it overlooks. The church was rebuilt in 1826, but the chancel was added later from designs by Sir G. Scott.

_Tintinhull_ (formerly _Tyncnell_), a village 1-1/2 m. N. from Montacute Station, preserving some old houses and possessing an interesting church. The latter appears to be E.E. with Dec. and Perp.

insertions and additions. The ma.s.sive tower is unusually placed on the N. side, and has in the bas.e.m.e.nt a blocked squint. Features of the church which deserve notice are (1) the S. porch, which has a ribbed roof, and supports on its gable an odd kind of sundial (cp. Middle Chinnock), (2) stone base of rood screen, on which is a mutilated piscina, (3) double piscina (E.E.) in chancel, (4) bench-ends (1511), with the old seats hinged to them, (5) ancient tiles (14th cent.), (6) Jacobean pulpit; (7) bra.s.ses, one to John Stone (d. 1416), and another, with effigy, to John Heth (d. 1464). At one end of the churchyard is a gate-post with an inscription; and not far away is the former rectory (now called the _Court House_). In the village, beneath a magnificent elm, are the ancient stocks.

_Tolland_, a village 4 m. N. by E. of Wivelis...o...b... Its small church contains little of interest, except some ancient tiles and some carved woodwork. In the parish is an old manor house called _Gaulden Farm_, with a large hall decorated with a fine plaster ceiling, with pendant and cornice, but inspection of it is not easily obtained. James Turberville, Bishop of Exeter, is said to have lived here in seclusion, when deprived of his see in 1559.

_Treborough_, a small village 6 m. S.W. of Williton. The district is hilly, and the church small.

_Trull_, a village 2 m. S.W. of Taunton, on the Honiton road. Its church is of no great architectural interest, but is remarkable for its woodwork--rood-screen, pulpit, and seat ends. The screen is very good: note above it the tympanum, projecting below the chancel arch and formerly joined to the rood-loft by an oak addition. The pulpit has five figures in high relief, which seem to represent an apostle, a pope, a cardinal, and two bishops (or perhaps a bishop and a mitred abbot). Among the bench-ends are panels representing figures in a religious procession, including (1) a boy with a cross, (2) a man with a candle, (3) a man with a reliquary, (4) and (5) two ecclesiastics (or perhaps choristers) with books. The artist's name (Simon Warman) and the date of his work (1560) are engraved at the W. end of the N. aisle.

There is also some excellent ancient gla.s.s in the E. and S. windows of the chancel. In the churchyard, under a tree, are preserved the parish stocks.