Somerton, St Michael's Church

St Michael's Church, Somerton

A chapel belonging to the Crown stood in the Somerset town of Somerton as early as the first quarter of the 12th century. That early building was a chapelry of the mother church at Queen Camel, six miles to the east.

In 1140 Queen Maud granted the residents of Somerton the right to make their chapel a parish church in its own right. The monks of Muchelney Abbey held the patronage of Somerton Church, which was dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.

The church is built of lias, with honey-coloured Hamstone used for quoins. The church was laid out on a cruciform plan, but this was later altered to create a longer nave of five bays. There are north and south aisles, plus north and south transepts. The base of the striking tower creates the south transept.

Looking east down the nave

The tower stands three stages high, on a square base that rises to an octagonal upper stage. The battlemented parapets are decorated with ornately carved gargoyles. The belfry had to be repaired in 1278 and it is a mark of the church's prestige that King Edward I gave timber for the repairs.

In 1685, soldiers of the Royal army used the church for a bivouac during Monmouth's Rebellion. There are remnants of bullet holes in the roof timbers from soldiers who used the roof for target practise. Some sources suggest that the bullet holes were made during the days leading up to the Civil War Battle of Langport in 1645.

Historical Highlights

The glory of Somerton Church is its superb timber roof, in king-post style, dated to around 1510 (some historians prefer a date around 1450).

The roof timbers are extravagantly carved and the spandrels above the tie-beams are filled in with carvings of dragon-like creatures thought to represent wyverns, the symbol of the Kingdom of Wessex and now found on the county flag of Somerset. There are 11 pairs of wyverns in total, each pair facing each other. The roof is composed of 700 individual carved panels and the variety of carving is extraordinary.

Medieval wyvern carving

The outstanding wooden pulpit dates to 1615 and features elaborate decorative carving. It stands on a slender central pillar in 'wine glass' style and retails many painted details. You can see the initials JH and HS worked into the carving. These are thought to be the initials of the churchwardens responsible for the pulpit. The altar table with its bulbous carved legs is also Jacobean.

The octagonal font probably dates to the 15th century, though the cover is Jacobean. In the south aisle is a screen built from fragments of a 15th-century gallery. Several of the wooden pews in the nave feature reused medieval bench ends, though the poppyhead decorations have been removed. Two ornate brass candelabras date to the 18th century and the third is from the 19th century.

In the south wall of the south transept is a worn effigy of a 13th-century woman, possibly a nun.

13th-century effigy of a nun

One of the more intriguing memorials is to George Neat-Tremlett, who died in 1865 at the age of 97, when he was the oldest serving officer in the British Navy.

Getting There

St Michael's is located in the centre of Somerton, near the market cross. There is limited parking in the market place and on nearby side streets.