Church of St Mary the Virgin, Nettlecombe
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Nettlecombe
, Somerset
, England dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and has been designated as a grade I listed building.
The church which lies within the grounds of Nettlecombe Court
, which was built as a large country manor house, becoming a girls' boarding school in the early 1960s and since 1967 has been the Leonard Wills Field Centre run by the Field Studies Council
. The house is surrounded by Nettlecombe Park, a 90.4 hectares (223.4 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI). The house and park are set in a secluded valley on the northern fringes of the Brendon Hills
, within the Exmoor National Park.
Although there was a previous church in the village the current red sandstone building was dedicated in 1440.
The chancel
includes a north chapel and south organ chamber. The nave
has a clerestory
with north and south aisles, north porch, and west tower. Restoration work was carried out around 1820 by Richard Carver, with further work undertaken between 1858 and 1870 by C. E. Giles.
The parish is within the Quantock Towers benefice
which is part of the Quantock deanery.
Nettlecombe, Somerset
Nettlecombe is a civil parish in the English county of Somerset. The parish covers a rural area below the Brendon Hills, comprising the small hamlets of Woodford, Yarde and Torre together with more isolated individual farms and homes...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and has been designated as a grade I listed building.
The church which lies within the grounds of Nettlecombe Court
Nettlecombe Court
Nettlecombe Court is a large country mansion in the English county of Somerset. Nettlecombe Court was originally built as a manor house, becoming a girls' boarding school in the early 1960s and since 1967 has been the Leonard Wills Field Centre run by the Field Studies Council...
, which was built as a large country manor house, becoming a girls' boarding school in the early 1960s and since 1967 has been the Leonard Wills Field Centre run by the Field Studies Council
Field Studies Council
The Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK. It opened its first Field Centre in 1947 at Flatford Mill, and now operates 17 Field Centres in various locations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland offering both residential and non-residential field courses...
. The house is surrounded by Nettlecombe Park, a 90.4 hectares (223.4 acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI). The house and park are set in a secluded valley on the northern fringes of the Brendon Hills
Brendon Hills
The Brendon Hills are composed of a lofty ridge of hills in the East Lyn Valley area of western Somerset, England. The terrain is broken by a series of deeply incised streams and rivers running roughly southwards to meet the River Haddeo, a tributary of the River Exe.The hills are quite heavily...
, within the Exmoor National Park.
Although there was a previous church in the village the current red sandstone building was dedicated in 1440.
The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
includes a north chapel and south organ chamber. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
has a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
with north and south aisles, north porch, and west tower. Restoration work was carried out around 1820 by Richard Carver, with further work undertaken between 1858 and 1870 by C. E. Giles.
The parish is within the Quantock Towers benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
which is part of the Quantock deanery.