The Church of St Mary in

North Petherton North Petherton is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includ ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It is on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

due to the condition of the roof and north aisle parapet. There was a church in North Petherton before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

and the site belonged to

Buckland Priory Buckland Priory (also known as Minchin Buckland Preceptory or Buckland Sororum (Latin: "Buckland of the Sisters")) was established around 1167 in Lower Durston, Somerset, England. Priory It was founded by William de Erleigh (or Erlegh) for Augu ...

from the 12th century. The current building dates from the expansion of the town around 1490, although it does contain some fabric from the 13th century. The minster

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

has a highly decorated tower which, at 112 feet (34 metres) high, was described by

Nickolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British history of art, art historian and history of architecture, architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county ...

as one of the finest towers in the county. The tower was built around 1508. It contains a peal of six bells, and a clock built in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

in 1807. On the stonework are hunky punks in the shape of animals. The interior has a

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

gallery from 1623, a carved wooden pulpit from the 15th century, and a brass chandelier which was added in 1984. The parish is part of the Alfred Jewel

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 ...

within the Sedgemoor deanery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Petherton, Saint Mary 15th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Sedgemoor Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

See also

References