The Church of All Saints in

Monksilver Monksilver is a village west of the town of Williton in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills and the border of the Exmoor National Park. The Coleridge Way footpath passes through the village. History The name of the vil ...

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 12th century and has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

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 ...

. The church has a square west tower, built in the 14th century,

Architecture

The church shows fragments of 12th-century masonry and the tower at the west end is 14th-century. It is built of red sandstone with a slate roof with decorative ridge tiles. The plan consists of a four bay nave, south aisle, chancel, south chapel and south porch. The tower has three stages with crenelations on top which were added during restoration between 1843 and 1863, at which time the south chapel was also added. There is a ring of five bells including one by Roger Semson of

Ash Priors Ash Priors is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 155. History The parish of Ash Priors was part of the Hundred of Kilmersdon. ...

which was cast between 1530 and 1570. The interior is whitewashed, the nave having a

wagon roof A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

which is thought to be 13th-century and an

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...

box by the door is from 1634. There is a 12th-century window on the north side of the

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 ...

. The pulpit is sixteenth-century, the screen is Jacobean and the lectern is possibly older. The south aisle has "some of the most entertaining gargoyles in the county". The

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

in the churchyard is believed to date from 1770. There is a historic cross dated 1863 in the churchyard, just south of the chancel, which is a Grade II listed structure. In 1583 the church was the venue for the marriage of Sir

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...

and his second wife Elizabeth Sydenham of nearby

Combe Sydenham Combe Sydenham is an historic manor in Somerset, England. The 15th-century manor house, called Combe Sydenham House is in the parish of Stogumber, Somerset and is situated just within the boundary of Exmoor National Park. It is a Grade I list ...

in the parish of

Stogumber Stogumber () is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills. Besides Stogumber village itself, the parish includes the hamlets of Ashbeer, Capton, Escott, Higher Vexford, Kingswood, Lower Vellow, Low ...

. The parish is part of the Quantock Towers

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 Quantock deanery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monksilver, All Saints Church of England church buildings in West Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset 12th-century church buildings in England

Architecture

See also

References