Priory Church of St George, Dunster
Encyclopedia
The Priory Church of St George in Dunster
, Somerset
, England is predominantly 15th century with evidence of 12th and 13th century work. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
during the 11th century.
The tower was built by Jon Marys of Stogursey
who received a contract from the parish in 1442. He was paid 13s 4d for each foot in height and £1 for the pinnacle
s. The work was completed in three years.
The church was shared for worship between the monks of Dunster Priory
and the parishioners, however this led to several conflicts between them. One outcome was the carved rood screen which divided the church in two with the parish using the west chancel and the monks the east.
It was restored
in 1875–77 by George Edmund Street
. The church has a cruciform
plan with a central four-stage tower, built in 1443 with diagonal buttresses, a stair turret and single bell-chamber windows.
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parish in west Somerset, England, situated on the Bristol Channel coast south-southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. The village has a population of 862 .The village has numerous restaurants and three pubs...
, 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 predominantly 15th century with evidence of 12th and 13th century work. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
History
The church was started by William de MoyonWilliam de Moyon
William de Moyon or William de Moion was seigneur of Moyon and Sheriff of Somerset in 1086. William is mentioned in the Domesday Book where he is shown to control a large number of manors in Somerset centred on Dunster Castle. Manors he controlled included Minehead, West Quantoxhead and Combe...
during the 11th century.
The tower was built by Jon Marys of Stogursey
Stogursey
Stogursey is the name of a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater...
who received a contract from the parish in 1442. He was paid 13s 4d for each foot in height and £1 for the 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. The work was completed in three years.
The church was shared for worship between the monks of Dunster Priory
Dunster Priory
Dunster Priory was established as a Benedictine monastery around 1100 in Dunster, Somerset, England.The first church in Dunster was built by William de Mohun who gave the church and the tithes of several manors and two fisheries, to the Benedictine Abbey at Bath. The priory, which was situated...
and the parishioners, however this led to several conflicts between them. One outcome was the carved rood screen which divided the church in two with the parish using the west chancel and the monks the east.
It was restored
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 1875–77 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...
. The church has a cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
plan with a central four-stage tower, built in 1443 with diagonal buttresses, a stair turret and single bell-chamber windows.