Church of St Michael, Shepton Beauchamp
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Michael in Shepton Beauchamp
, Somerset
, England is built of local hamstone
, and has 13th-century origins, although it has been extensively changed since then, with major renovation
in 1865 by George Edmund Street
. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The building is of lias
and Ham stone and is made up of a chancel
with a north chapel and a vestry, a nave
and tall three-stage west tower, dating from 1477, which was largely rebuilt in the 16th century. It has set-back buttress
es ascending to the shafts of former pinnacle
s, set off with an embattled parapet and gargoyle
s. There are two-light traceried bell-chamber windows with stone grilles, continuing as blank openings on the ringing chamber below. There are clocks with Roman numerals to the west and south faces and a higher polygonal stair-turret to the north corner. The tower holds eight bells several of which date back to 1738 and were made by the Bilbie family
.
The former rectory, now called Beauchamp Manor, was built in 1874 for the rector V.S.S. Coles to house his curates and visitors.
The parish is part of the Winsmoor benefice
within the Crewkerne
and Ilminster
deanery.
Shepton Beauchamp
Shepton Beauchamp is a village and civil parish, from Barrington and north east of Ilminster between the Blackdown Hills and the Somerset Levels in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England.-History:...
, 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 is built of local hamstone
Hamstone
Hamstone is the colloquial name given to stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. Hamstone is a Jurassic limestone from the Toarcian, or Upper Lias, stage. It is a well cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by its honey-gold colour and marked bedding planes. The stone contains...
, and has 13th-century origins, although it has been extensively changed since then, with major renovation
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1865 by George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The building is of lias
Lias Group
The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the low countries and the north of Germany...
and Ham stone and is made up of a 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...
with a north chapel and a vestry, a 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...
and tall three-stage west tower, dating from 1477, which was largely rebuilt in the 16th century. It has set-back buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es ascending to the shafts of former pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s, set off with an embattled parapet and gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s. There are two-light traceried bell-chamber windows with stone grilles, continuing as blank openings on the ringing chamber below. There are clocks with Roman numerals to the west and south faces and a higher polygonal stair-turret to the north corner. The tower holds eight bells several of which date back to 1738 and were made by the Bilbie family
Bilbie family
The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century....
.
The former rectory, now called Beauchamp Manor, was built in 1874 for the rector V.S.S. Coles to house his curates and visitors.
The parish is part of the Winsmoor 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:...
within the Crewkerne
Crewkerne
Crewkerne is a town in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil and east of Chard in the South Somerset district close to the border with Dorset. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Woolminstone and Henley...
and Ilminster
Ilminster
Ilminster is a country town and civil parish in the countryside of south west Somerset, England, with a population of 4,781. Bypassed a few years ago, the town now lies just east of the intersection of the A303 and the A358...
deanery.