Church of St Michael and All Angels Somerton, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

ST49NW SOMERTON CP MARKET PLACE (north side)

9/168 Church of St Michael and All Angels

17.4.59

GV I

Parish Church. Earlier C13, with major reshaping of mid C15, restored 1889. Local lias stone cut and squared, with Ham stone dressings; mostly lead sheet roofing behind parapets but with Welsh slate roof to chancel between stepped coped gables. Originaly cruciform plan, now 6 cell with 3 bay chancel, 5 bay nave and north and south aisles, north transept and tower doubling as south transept, with south porch and north east vestry. Chancel reshaped in C15; plinth, offset corner and bay buttresses, eaves course; windows have early Perpendicular tracery under pointed arches with foliated stopped labels, 5 light in east wall and 3 light to north and south walls; between the north windows a gabled vestry, added 1770, with ball finial to coping, semi circular arched doorway and 'Y' traceried fanlight; pointed arched doorway under square label with foliated spandrils on south side. Nave has battlemented parapets over later C15 3 light 4 centre arched windows in recesses; Curvilinear traceried 5 light west window over deeply recessed, moulded pointed arch doorway under flat hood, with foliated spandrels. North aisle has plain parapets, corner buttresses; two flat headed C15 windows and one with reticulated tracery, and in middle bay deep moulded pointed arched doorway without label; west window C15 style of 2 lights. north transept has cusped forking tracery of c1300 in north wall, and a 3 light reticulated window in east; south aisle has plain parapet and corner buttresses, with three 3 light reticulated windows of varying patterns, with small arched doorway at east end, and the double gabled south porch, rebuilt 1889, with inner C14 deep moulded doorway with label. Tower of three stages, square base with rudimentary broaches to octagon above; doubled corner buttresses, plinth, string courses, battlemented parapets with corner gargoyles; full height stair turret on north-west corner; small door in east face and 3 light C15 window to south face of base, above being a plain lancet and signs of others now blocked on principal faces of octagon, then C14 2-light windows in deep recesses all faces, with pierced stone baffles. Interior has many good features; chancel has modern ceiling over late C16 cornice, reredos incorporating C17 panelling, altar table dated 1626, bishop's and two matching chairs, one dated 1632; chancel arch probably early C14, wider than chancel: Nave has fine king post and panelled roof of c1510, richly ornamented, arcades probably mid C14; aisles to match, but only fragment of old roof in north aisle; in south transept two blocked C13 doorways, and a blocked deep lancet in west wall, a trefoil arched piscina, and a pointed arched recess in south wall with effigy of a C13 nun. Fittings include fine timberwork pulpit dated 1615, elaborately carved, octagonal on thin stalk, with considerable traces of colouring; octagonal font, probably C15, with C17 openwork cover, in south aisle;screen using portions of C15 gallery, also south aisle; many pews reuse bench ends of c1500, with poppyheads removed; fine C18 brass candelabras. Monuments not remarkable. (VCH, Volume III, 1974; Pevsner, Buildings of England - South and West Somerset, 1958; Church guide, no date).

Listing NGR: ST4908628547