The Church of the Holy Ghost in

Crowcombe Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, southeast of Watchet, and from Taunton. The village has a population of 489. The parish covers the hamlets of Crowcombe Heathfield, Flaxpool, Halsway, ...

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 , lor ...

, England has a tower dating from the 14th century with the rest of the building being dated at the 15th century. It has been designated by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

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 I ...

. There was a previous church on the site, possible dating from the Saxon era. The north chapel is known as the Carew Chapel and was used by the lords of the manor who lived in the nearby Crowcombe Court. In 1724 the spire was damaged by a lightning strike. The top section of the spire was removed and is now planted in the churchyard and stone from the spire was used in the flooring of the church. Inside the church carved bench-ends, dating from 1534, depict such pagan subjects as the

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every Spring (season), spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of ...

and the legend of the men of Crowcombe fighting a two-headed

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

. In the churchyard is a medieval cross. The octagonal high shaft sits on a base of three steps. It has been scheduled as an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

. 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. Opposite the church is the Church House and Pound which was built around 1515 for parish functions. It is a Grade II*

and was refurbished in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowcombe, Holy Ghost 15th-century church buildings in England Towers completed in the 14th century Church of England church buildings in West Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset

See also

References