THE CHURCH

by Ian L. Durham M.B.E.

So far as can be ascertained the many sculptured heads which adorn the walls, are not portraits of particular individuals. Many of them would be introduced in Victorian times, purely as decoration.

At the west end, under the tower, the organ occupies the space of the earlier singers' gallery. This was the scene of a revolt of the choir on the 4th August 1799, when the choir locked themselves into the gallery and continued with their own choice of music while the vicar tried to conduct a service. They later burned the churchwarden in effigy in the churchyard.

Proceeding outside through the south door, notice that in the porch there was once a gallery, approached by two doors and an outside staircase. In time past members of the choir would sing from this gallery on Advent Sunday and at the start of some services, e.g. for weddings and baptisms. One indication that the porch was a later addition is the position of the scratch dials around the south entrance. The dials away in the corner to the right of the porch were of limited value after the porch was erected and others supplemented them on the south wall of the porch, alongside the door.

Along the south wall, eastwards, is the upper window of the Lady Chapel, which has replaced the doorway into the bishop's gallery. The bridge from the Court crossed the path at this point. Still further to the east, high up on the south wall of the chancel, is a length of nail-headed string course, which is an Early English feature.

To the west of the porch is the window, which has caused much
speculation
. The initials above are almost certainly T.B., for Bishop Beckington, 1443-56, but other suggestions which have been made are T.C. for Thomas Cornish, vicar 1505-13, or even J.B. for John Bubbe, vicar 1447-8. All theories have their supporters.

The really interesting feature is the pair of foliate dripstones just outside the present window and they show that there was a much earlier window, probably of the early 14th century, which was replaced by this early Perpendicular one.

The tower, one of the Winford group of Somerset towers but less ornate than most, is about one hundred feet tall and was probably built about 1440. A will of 1541 containing a bequest for the tower may refer to an extension. There has been a clock on the tower since the early 1700s and in 1754 we find the vestry paying 26 shillings and fourpence for repairs. The present clock, installed in 1903, plays a verse of a hymn every four hours, at 8 am, noon, 4 and 8 p.m, with a different hymn tune for every day of the week.

There is a peal of eight bells in the tower. Tenor 28cwt in C. The original five bells were re-cast by the celebrated Thomas Bilbie of Chew Stoke in 1735 to make a peal of six, and in 1898 four of these were re-cast and two were repaired by Messrs. Mears and Stainbank of London to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Two additional bells, the gift of Brigadier Ommanney, were added in 1928 to complete the octave, which does still contain two of the Bilbie bells. These, in addition to the names of vicar and churchwardens, carry the messages "T Bilbie cast wee 1735" and "My treble voice makes hearts rejoice Thos and James Bilbie fecit". This latter bell was cast in 1811 and seems to be the newest of the surviving bells by the Bilbies. It probably is the last one cast by them.

On two occasions, after the recasting in 1898 and after the addition of the bells in 1928, problems have arisen with the structure of the tower. The ringing of the bells caused serious cracks to open up and the bell frame had to be taken out to be altered so that the bells were made to swing in a different direction.