The

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 ...

Church of St Peter in Williton in the English county of Somerset is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The earliest church on the site may have been the private chapel of a Saxon royal manor. In the 12th century Reginald Fitzurse was the Lord of the manor when he was one of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket. It was then passed to his brother and the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. The church was largely rebuilt in the 16th century and again in the 1850s as part of an extensive Victorian restoration. For many years St Peter's was a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

Church of St Decuman, Watchet The Church of St Decuman in Watchet, Somerset, England has a 13th-century chancel with the rest of the church being from the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The dedication is because Watchet is believed to be ...

until 1889 when it became a separate parish. The parish is now part of the benefice of Watchet and Williton within the archdeaconry of Taunton.

History

The date of the origin of St Peter's Church in Bridge Street is uncertain but it may have started as the private chapel of a Saxon royal manor site. The status of the Church changed dramatically in 1170 when The Lord of the manor, Sir Reginald Fitzurse, became one of the murderers of

St Thomas a Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

. Following the murder the ownership of part the manor passed to Reginald's brother Robert and the other part to the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. The historian John Collinson records that Robert rebuilt the chapel of Williton implying that the Saxon chapel was in ruins. The Liber Albus manuscripts in Wells Cathedral library show Robert gave to the

some important property and certain rights in the chapel making St Peter's a daughter church of Watchet and became known as a

Current building

Some of the fabric of the current building is from the 16th century. Further work was undertaken in the 17th century when the church was known as All Saints. In 1810 a south extension was built, although the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

windows were relocated and reused in the south wall. The church fell into a state of disrepair and in 1856 suffered a Victorian restoration under the architect

Charles Edmund Giles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

. The priest responsible for the rebuilding and restoration of 1856 to 1859, Samuel Heathcote (at the Church 1854 to 1906), was appointed Perpetual curate but was signing the registers as Vicar from 21 November 1889 showing that Williton had become a parish separate from Watchet. The church had a small spire until it was damaged during a storm after which the bells were housed until a wooden bellcote until a new stone one was built in 1896. The church is built of red sandstone with

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

dressings. It now has a four- bay nave with north and south aisles and a chancel with a

barrel vault 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 ...

roof.

Interior

The interior of the church includes a wooden board listing the names of 23 people from the parish who died in World War I and 13 in World War II. There is a piscina from the 15th century. The alabaster baptismal font, font dates from 1666 and the Mite box, poor box from 1680.

Churchyard

Within the churchyard is a red sandstone base of a cross dating from the late 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building and ancient monument.

References

*The full details of the church are recorded in Harry Armstrong's book ''The Parish of St Peter Williton'' (1982) published privately and printed by Langley Print of Taunton.

External links