WILLITON, a pleasant little town (with station on the Minehead line),
once the abode of Reginald Fitzurse, one of the murderers of Becket. It
is rather curious that of the four knights concerned in the murder
three were connected with Somerset, viz., Fitzurse, Brito (of Sampford
Brett), and Moreville. The church, which is said to have been a chantry
chapel founded by Robert Fitzurse, Reginald's brother, has been
completely rebuilt; its only antiquities are the W. doorway, the font
(1666), a piscina, and two brackets on the E. wall. There are the
remains of an old cross in the graveyard, and of a second near the
"Egremont Hotel." Past the church the road leads to _Orchard Wyndham_,
a fine manor house.
WINCANTON, a trim-looking little market town in the S.E. corner of the
county, with a station on the S. & D. line to Bournemouth, and
possessing a population of more than 2000. It consists chiefly of one
long street, which descends a steepish declivity into the vale of
Blackmoor. The river Cale, from which the town derives its name
(_Wynd-Caleton_) flows at its foot. The history of Wincanton is
miscellaneous but unromantic. In 1553 travellers gave the place a wide
berth on account of the plague. In the Great Rebellion a Parliamentary
garrison used the town as a base of operations against Sherborne
Castle. In the Revolution the Prince of Orange (William III.) had here
a brisk but successful skirmish with a squad of James's Dragoons. The
prince's lodgings are still pointed out in South Street. The town,
however, contains no antiquities. It has a modern town hall, and
virtually a modern church, for of the original fabric nothing now
remains but an unimpressive Dec. tower. The present building is a twin
structure. The authorities, apparently disgusted at their predecessors'
ideas of reconstruction, have lately replaced the N. aisle by a new
church of much better design and proportions. The N. porch of the new
building contains a curious mediaeval _bas-relief_, brought here for
preservation.
_Winford_, a parish 4 m. S.S.E. of Flax Bourton station. Its church
possesses a stately tower, but retains no other feature of interest.
_Winscombe_ (with a station) is a parish 2 m. N.W. of Axbridge. Its
church, which stands conspicuously on rising ground and commands a fine
view, has a graceful tower resembling that of Cheddar, with triple
belfry windows. Its chief defect is the shallowness of its buttresses.
Note the lily on the stone-work of the central window (cp. Banwell).
There is a good parapet along the aisles, and the rood-loft stair has
an external turret. Within note (1) wooden roof of N. aisle; (2)
ancient glass in E. windows of N. aisle and N. window of chancel; (3)
some carved seat-ends; (4) old stone coffin in churchyard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account