St Michael and All Angels’ Church is a

Grade II* listed 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 I ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

East Coker East Coker is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its nearest town is Yeovil, to the north. The village has a population of 1,667. The parish includes the hamlets and areas of North Coker, Burton, ...

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 , lor ...

History

The church dates from the late 12th century, but much of the surviving fabric is 15th century. In the 14th century the rector was appointed by the Lord of the Manor at the adjoining

Coker Court Coker Court is a substantial manor house in East Coker, Somerset, England. It was built in the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. It was erected by the Courtney family who were lords of the ...

. The window of the asouth transept includes the coat of arms of the Helyar family who were the local lords, including

William Helyar William Helyar (8 January 1559 – 21 November 1645) of Coker Court, East Coker, in Somerset, was Archdeacon of Barnstaple and a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I. Biography He was the son of William Helyar by his wife Alice Veale and was baptised ...

who became archdeacon of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, but ...

and built the

Helyar Almshouses The Helyar Almshouses were erected between 1640 and 1660 by William Helyar Archdeacon of Barnstable of Coker Court, East Coker, Somerset, England. The building work was interrupted by the plague of 1645, and the English Civil War The ...

. The central tower was replaced in 1791 by a north east tower designed by Joseph Radford. The brass eagle lectern was dedicated on Christmas Eve in 1898 in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's reign. The church is noted as the resting place of the poet

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

whose ashes were interred in 1965.

Incumbents

Rectors up to Peter Falewell, after that, vicars

Organ

The pipe organ is by E. Lifford and Co of

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

. A specification of the organ can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issu ...

Bells

The tower contains a ring of 8 bells, all dating from 1770 or 1771 and cast by Thomas II Bilbie of the

Bilbie family The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. Their importance to the local economy and ...

Parish status

The church is in a joint parish with *St Mary's Church, East Chinnock *St Mary's Church, Hardington Mandeville *St Roch's Church, Pendomer *All Saints’ Church, Closworth * St Martin of Tours' Church, West Coker * All Saints' Church, Sutton Bingham

References

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