The Church of St Dunstan in Baltonsborough, Somerset, England, was built in the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The dedication honours

St Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life i ...

who was born in Baltonsborough in 909, and eventually became

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

and an important monastic reformer of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

period. Legends attached to Dunstan portray him nailing a horseshoe onto the devil, earning him a place as a patron saint of blacksmiths. There is a four bay nave and two bay chancel. The nave is particularly wide and has caused stress in the roof and an outward lean in the north wall. The church's simple Somerset tower is topped by an elaborate ironwork weather vane crafted by the local blacksmith in the 19th century. The interior includes a 15th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

. The screen was designed by

Frederick Bligh Bond Frederick Bligh Bond (30 June 1864 – 8 March 1945), generally known by his second given name ''Bligh'', was an English architect, illustrator, archaeologist and psychical researcher. Early life Bligh Bond was the son of the Rev. Frederick Ho ...

. The churchyard contains war graves of a Somerset Light Infantry soldier of World War I and a Royal Navy sailor of World War II.
CWGC Cemetery report, detail from casualty record. The parish is part of the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Baltonsborough with

Butleigh Butleigh is a small village and civil parish, located in Somerset. The nearest village to it is Barton St David, and it is located a short distance from Glastonbury and Street. Its population is 823. Butleigh has a church, small village shop, a ...

, West Bradley and West Pennard, which is known as the Brue Benefice. One former vicar of the church was Edward Mellish who was awarded the Victoria Cross in World War I.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltonsborough, Saint Dunstan 15th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Somerset Church of England church buildings in Mendip District Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District

See also

References