A couple of weeks ago dad pointed out a norman church in N Petherton on the buildings on line page. I knew that no such church existed other than the parish church. So under closer scrutiny it turned out there was a much older and smaller settlement a couple of miles away and rather isolated.
So we set off on a somewhat rainy adventure today and ended up at a canal. We eventually found our way to a tiny hamlet where there was big house and some fine but deserted stables and a quaint 13th century church nearby. The church was tiny - one cell building with a small tower with pyrimydal cap but unfortunately locked. The stable buildings looked like they were owned by the nearby house but had not been used as such for years.
Our next stop was at Sutton Mallet on the levels - a somewhat Melancholy place on Sedgemoor near King Athelstans Drain (was he a plumber?!). The place is flat with pockets of trees and a low lying hill but notable for the executions during the cvil war where hundreds of men were locked in the churches and then summoned out and executed. There are still names written on the pews. Sutton Mallet is slighly newer and of the time of Jane Austen. The pews are high and occupants sat around and presumably a fire place for comfort.
Our next place was further along the road at Chedzoy where there was a large medieval church with 1579 on the large porch. This looked at first glance like a large 15th cent church - howerver it was much earlier inside with mainly 13th cent stone work. Also from the exterior you could see the blocked arches from that period in the wall. Again lots of Jacobeam woodwork from the sad period of the civil war - in an area which is now so peaceful but still retains a somewhat melancholic air about it. However a fine church - and open too!
