The Church of All Saints is an Anglican church in Chipstable,

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 which probably dates from the early 13th century. It is located in the deanery of Tone, within the

diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...

. 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 ...

Usage

The church is part of 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 ...

, and forms a combined benefice with a number of other churches around

Wiveliscombe Wiveliscombe (, ) is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The town has a population of 2,893. The Square, fronted by several listed structures, held the former ...

, known as Wiveliscombe and the Hills. The churches share the same rector,

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

David Widdows, and are within the deanery of Tone, within the

. The church was a sole benefice until 1929.

History and architecture

A church has been located in Chipstable at least as far back as the early 11th century, and was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

. The earliest known rector was "Stephen, Parson of Cyppestable", who was present in 1248. The church of Chipstable was administered by the monks of

Muchelney Abbey Muchelney Abbey is an English Heritage property in the village of Muchelney in the Somerset Levels, England. The site consists of ruined walls showing the layout of the abbey buildings constructed from the 7th to 16th centuries, and the remaini ...

until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. In 1531, the Church of All Saints was dedicated. The church website dates the church tower to around 1239, although the

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

listing describes it as 15th century. The tower is crenellated, and features what

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

describes as "handsome capitals of the three-bay arcade". Each of the four side of the three-stage tower has demi-figures of angels. The nave was rebuilt in 1869 by Benjamin Ferrey, in red sandstone with

hamstone Hamstone is the name given to a honey-coloured building stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It is a well-cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by marked bedding planes of clay inclusions and less well-cemented material ...

dressings, reusing the stone from the original building where possible. The nave has twin

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s, and a south porch which retains a 15th-century doorway, though the door is 19th century. The building combines Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic styles. The bell tower contained five bells until 1901, when a sixth was added. Two square-headed bench ends were retained when the building was renovated, dating from around 1530, featuring a pestle on one, and a huntsman on the other. A two-storey rectory dates from at least the early 17th century, and was rebuilt and enlarged in 1870. It was sold just over 100 years later, and is now known as "The Grange. A new rectory was built in 1975 in replacement. In the churchyard, a group of three chest tombs are Grade II listed; the oldest is from the 17th century, though with 18th century alterations, while the other two are 18th and 19th century respectively. The English Heritage listing noted that all three are damaged, and were overgrown when the survey was carried out. The name of John Hastings is visible on the oldest tomb, but the wording on the others was illegible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chipstable, All Saints Church 13th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Taunton Deane Grade II* listed churches in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in Taunton Deane

Usage

History and architecture

See also

References