The Church of St Margaret is 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 ...

, adjacent to Babington House in Babington,

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. The church is owned and operated by the St Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust, which is completely independent of the management of Babington House. There may have been a Norman building on the site before the current church, which is thought to date from 1748 and was probably built by John Strahan or William Halfpenny, and is considered to be very similar in conception to Redland Chapel in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, probably by John Strahan but completed by William Halfpenny. The building was commissioned by the Knatchbull family. The building includes an Apsidal sanctuary and a small west tower with an octagonal

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

. The interior includes an unusual Royal Arms of the

Hanoverians The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...

on the Rood. Within the churchyard there are a set of three chest tombs. The monument to John Shute is dated 1688 and that to

Thomas Branch Thomas Branch (fl. 1738–1753), was a British author. His ''Principia Legis et Æquitatis'' was regarded as "the accumulated spirit and wisdom of ... the English law." Life Nothing is known of Branch's life, but if the "lady of Thomas Branc ...

1779. The church no longer hosts regular services but is licensed for public worship and has a licence allowing the undertaking of Church of England weddings. Certain other ceremonies such as baptisms, funerals etc. can also be performed in the church. The building may also be used for community and cultural purposes. Bookings can be made by contacting the Secretary to the St. Margaret's, Babington, Charitable Trust.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babington, Church of St Margaret Babington Church of England church buildings in Mendip District Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District

See also

References