The Anglican Church of St Michael in
Blackford Blackford might refer to:
People with the surname
*Charles Minor Blackford (1833–1903), an American lawyer
*Hosea Blackford, a fictional character in books by Harry Turtledove
*Ian Blackford, a Scottish politician
*Isaac Blackford (1786–1859), ...
,
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 was built in the 11th or 12th century. It is a Grade II*
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 ...
.
History
The church was built in the 11th or 12th century. The tower was added in the 14th century and there were other changes around that time including the addition of south porch.
The musicians gallery was added in the 18th century.
The west gallery has been removed.
The church is part of the Camelot Group of Parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
Architecture
The stone building has
Doulting stone
Doulting Stone Quarry () is a limestone quarry at Doulting, on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.
At present there are only three quarries quarrying Doulting stone. The largest, The Doulting Stone Quarry, was producing building stone in Rom ...
dressings and a stone slate roof.
It consists of a three-
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and two-bay
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
with a south porch.
The two-stage west tower has battlemented parapets and is supported by corner
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
es.
The tower contains three bells, the oldest of which was cast in 1620.
The interior fittings include a 17th-century
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
and 11th century circular
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 ...
.
There is a screen 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 ...
that was added in 1916,
and the current organ arrived in 1970. The east window was made by the
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...
studio and installed in 1882. However the paint flaked and after lengthy discussions and deliberations a replacement was commissioned from
John Hayward (who also made the new window in
Sherborne Abbey
Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, ...
) with the subject 'The Good Shepherd'.
See also
*
References
{{reflist
Grade II* listed buildings in South Somerset
Grade II* listed churches in Somerset
Church of England church buildings in South Somerset