The Anglican Church of St Michael in Enmore within the English county of

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_ ...

dates mainly from the 15th century, however some of the fabric of the building from the 12th century, including an arched doorway, survives. 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 ...

History

The church was restored in 1873 by Benjamin Ferrey. The parish is part of the benefice of Aisholt, Enmore,

Goathurst Goathurst is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, around 3 miles from the town of Bridgwater. The parish includes the hamlets of Andersfield and Huntstile. The village is on the route of the Samaritans Way South Wes ...

Nether Stowey Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills (England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), just below Over Stowey. The parish of Nether Stowey ...

Over Stowey Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal Over is a village in the municipality of Seevet ...

and

Spaxton 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 ...

with Charlynch which falls within the

archdeaconry An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Architecture

The church has a three bay north

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 ...

, two bay

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. Ov ...

and a two bay

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

accessed via the south doorway which was built around 1185. The heavy doorway dating from around 1185 is an ornately carved archway. The three-stage west tower is supported by diagonal

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es and topped with a turret above the stairs. It contains six bells the oldest of which was cast in 1647 by William Purdue.

Interior

Inside the church are a 13th-century octagonal font, and jacobean pulpit. There are also various chests ranging in date from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to the 19th century. There are two helms from the family of William Malet who were the

lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...

and Sheriffs of Somerset. These are believed to date from around 1620 so they would date from the time of John Malet. They were discovered when parts of

Enmore Castle Enmore Castle is a historic building in the village of Enmore, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building. Construction Enmore was the seat of the family of William Malet who built a great house, although the original date of constr ...

were demolished in 1833 and moved to the church.

Churchyard

In the churchyard is a 15th-century cross. The shaft is high, however the head of the cross is missing. The wall around the churchyard which separates it from

was probably built in the 18th century. The monuments include the Studdier, and Waterman family monuments. There are also some unidentified chest tombs. One dating from the early 18th century, and one from the 17th.

References

{{reflist, 30em Enmore Grade II* listed churches in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in Sedgemoor

History

Architecture

Interior

Churchyard

See also

References