The Church of St Mary at Charlynch in the parish of
Spaxton,
Somerset, England was an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Parish Church, but has now been deconsecrated. It dates from the 11th century with a tower probably of 1867. It has been designated as a Grade I
listed building.
History
The lordship of the parish and the right to appoint the rector was held by the manor of
Currypool from 1245 until 1681. It was later under the patronage of the
Martyrs Memorial Trust until the church closed in 1981.
The church building included a
nave with a south porch and a
transeptal south chapel. The
chancel had the vestry and organ chamber attached. The three-stage west tower was added in the 19th century. There is some 15th-century
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
in the transept.
The
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
church included a doorway and
chancel arch
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.
Over ...
considered
Romanesque. The
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 ...
is from a similar period.
The church contains monuments and tablets to the family of
Admiral Robert Blake
General at Sea Robert Blake (27 September 1598 – 17 August 1657) was an English naval officer who served as the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1656 to 1657. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a d ...
. A reredos was erected in 1893 in memory of Lady Mary Taunton.
After deconsecration in 1981 the altar was moved to the
Church of St Margaret, Spaxton
The Church of St Margaret in Spaxton, Somerset, England has some parts from the 12th and 13th centuries but is predominantly from the 15th century, and was restored in 1895. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The three-bay nav ...
.
Since 1986 the church has been converted into a private residence. The former Rectory was sold in 1951 and divided into two private homes, known as Charlinch House and Tudor House.
The Reverend Prince
In 1840 the Reverend
Henry James Prince was appointed curate at Charlynch. His energetic and animated preaching and his unconventional theology led to what he later described as the ''Charlinch Revival''. In 1842
Bishop Law of
Bath & Wells revoked his
License to Preach. He was subsequently defrocked and declaring himself to be an incarnation of Christ he later founded the
Agapemone
The Agapemonites or Community of The Son of Man was a Christian religious group or sect that existed in England from 1846 to 1956. It was named from the el, italic=yes, agapemone meaning "abode of love". The Agapemone community was founded by ...
at
Spaxton.
See also
*
List of Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural ...
*
List of towers in Somerset
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaxton, Saint Mary
Church of England church buildings in Sedgemoor
Charlynch
Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England.
History
Spaxton was part of the hundred of Cannington.
The modern parish includes the ancient parishes of Aisholt and Charl ...
Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
Charlynch
Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England.
History
Spaxton was part of the hundred of Cannington.
The modern parish includes the ancient parishes of Aisholt and Charl ...