The

Somerset towers The Somerset towers are a collection of distinctive, mostly spireless Gothic church towers in the county of Somerset in south west England. Description Newspaper columnist and editor Simon Jenkins has cited the towers as one of England's finest ...

, church towers built in the 14th to 16th centuries, have been described as among England's finest contributions to medieval art. The paragraphs and descriptions below describe features of some of these towers. The organization follows Peter Poyntz-Wright's scheme for grouping the towers by what he understands to be roughly the date and group of mason-architects who built them. Poyntz-Wright's scheme came under criticism in the 1980s.

Churchill generation

These churches have smaller towers with a single window in each face of the top stage; a pierced top parapet without merlons and four square-set corner pinnacles above.

Cheddar generation

These churches have three windows in each face of the top stage; diagonal buttressing; some with squareset corner pinnacles; some with buttress pinnacles. These range from simple to elaborate designs: (

Bleadon Bleadon is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is about south of Weston-super-Mare and, according to the 2011 census, has a population of 1,079. History Bleadon was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Bledone'', meaning 'c ...

, shortly ''before 1390'';

Brent Knoll Brent Knoll is a hill on the Somerset Levels, in Somerset, England. It is located roughly halfway between Weston-super-Mare and Bridgwater, from the Bristol Channel coast at Burnham-on-Sea. At the foot of the hill are two villages East Brent a ...

, about ''1397'';

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

, about ''1407''; Weare, about ''1407'';

Banwell Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 2,919 according to the 2011 census. History Banwell Camp, east of the village, is a univallate hillfort which ...

, about ''1417;''

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

, about ''1423''; and

Winscombe Winscombe is a large village in the North Somerset unitary district of Somerset, South West England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, southeast of Weston-super-Mare and southwest of B ...

, around ''1435''.)

Mendip generation

Continues with the triple windows, but with a heavier groundplan featuring heavier buttresses braced diagonally back onto their walls and across the corner; pinnacles diagonal to the tower plan: ('' Shepton Mallet, about 1423; Cranmore, about 1440; Mells, 1446;

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a market town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 ...

, about 1456; and

Leigh-on-Mendip Leigh-on-Mendip or Leigh upon Mendip (on Ordnance Survey maps) is a small village on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. It lies roughly equidistant from Frome, Radstock and Shepton Mallet at about from each town. The village has several spo ...

, about 1464'')

Winford generation

These churches are contemporary with the Mendip Generation, but more akin to the Churchill group; conveying a sense of great height; single window per face in the top stage as well as lower stages; buttresses set back away from the corners and stepped at stage junctions and middles of stages; square-set pinnacles and most without merlons: (''Portishead, about 1420; Backwell, possibly 1428; Winford and

Chew Magna Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,149. To the south of the village is Che ...

, about 1437;

Kilmersdon Kilmersdon is a village and civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. It is located on the B3139 between Wells and Trowbridge in Wiltshire. The settlement is recorded in Wi ...

, about 1443; Dundry, 1448 or earlier;

Batheaston Batheaston is a village and civil parish east of the English city of Bath, on the north bank of the River Avon. The parish had a population of 2,735 in 2011. The northern area of the parish, on the road to St Catherine, is an area known as No ...

, about 1458;

Publow Publow is a small village and civil parish in Bath and North East Somerset, England. It lies beside the River Chew in the Chew Valley. It is 7 miles from Bristol, 9 miles from Bath, and 4 miles from Keynsham. The principal settlement in the par ...

, about 1467; Wellow, about 1475; and

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

St. John the Baptist, around 1480'')

Long panel generation

This group (''including Wrington, about 1449; Wells St. Cuthbert, about 1456; and

Evercreech Evercreech is a village and civil parish south east of Shepton Mallet, and north east of Castle Cary, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Stoney Stratton and the village of Chesterblade. History The ...

, about 1462'') -- window or bell-opening panels rise through several stages, emphasizing the towers' verticality.

Langport generation

This group (''including Langport, about 1455; Long Sutton, about 1462;

Westonzoyland Westonzoyland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Somerset Levels, south east of Bridgwater. History The name of the parish derives from its location on the "island" of Sowy, an area of slightly higher groun ...

, about 1470;

Muchelney Muchelney () is a clustered village and civil parish in Somerset, England, extending for from the south bank of the River Parrett and that has a clustered centre. This is south of Huish and Langport and south west of Somerton in the South ...

, possibly 1468'')

Shepton Beauchamp generation

On these churches, each face of the top stage bears a window panel extending down into the stage below: (i''ncluding Shepton Beauchamp, around 1477;

Norton Sub Hamdon Norton-sub-Hamdon is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of the English county of Somerset, situated five miles west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 743. The village of Chiselborough is to the south, and the vi ...

, around 1485; and

Hinton St George Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 442. It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some t ...

, around 1492'')

Developmental/experimental

Lyng and Middlezoy (''combining Langport, Cheddar and Mendip features with new features)'' and Taunton St. James and Bishops Lydeard (which initiate a West Somerset ground plan)

West Somerset generation

(Including

Kingston St Mary Kingston St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated at the southern end of the Quantock Hills north of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 921. The parish includes the hamle ...

, about 1507;

Hatch Beauchamp Hatch Beauchamp is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 620. History The manor of "Hache" dates from Saxon times and beca ...

, about 1509; Staple Fitzpaine, perhaps 1513; Isle Abbots, about 1517;

Huish Episcopi Huish Episcopi is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the outskirts of Langport, south west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 2,095, and includes the hamlets of Bowdens, Combe, P ...

, about 1524)

West Somerset specials

(''Taunton St. Mary, about 1503, but rebuilt in 1862 as an accurate copy;

North Petherton North Petherton is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includ ...

, about 1508;

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

about 1510; and Kingsbury Episcopi, about 1515'')

South Somerset specials

These are some of the less elaborate towers of South Somerset: '' Queen Camel, around 1491;

Mudford Mudford is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated from Yeovil in the South Somerset district on the River Yeo. The village has a population of 696. The parish includes the hamlets of Mudford Sock, West Mudford and Up Mudford. Th ...

, about 1498; Kingsdon, about 1505; Martock, about 1511; Chard 1520, but possibly earlier; and Charlton Horethorne, about 1523''.

Somerset crossing towers

Perpendicular style, but built on the four arches at the intersection of the nave and chancel: ''

Axbridge Axbridge is a small town in Somerset, England, in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The town's population according to the 2011 census was 2,057. History ''Axanbrycg'' is suggested as the sou ...

, about 1400;

Wedmore Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...

base around 1400 and parapet about 1540; Yatton, around 1400;

Dunster Dunster is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Unit ...

, 1442;

Crewkerne Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard all in the South Somerset district. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley – and b ...

, about 1480;

Ilminster Ilminster is a minster town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, with a population of 5,808. Bypassed in 1988, the town now lies just east of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to C ...

1500 to 1525''.

Other Somerset towers

Poyntz Wright also uses his systematics to date some small towers: Nempnett Thrubwell at around ''1468'';

Chew Stoke Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the affluent Chew Valley, in Somerset, England, about south of Bristol and 10 miles north of Wells. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom ...

about ''1475'';

West Pennard West Pennard (or West Pennard Manor) is a village and civil parish east of Glastonbury, situated at the foot of Pennard Hill, in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet (place), hamlets of Coxbridg ...

at about ''1482'';

Charlton Musgrove Charlton Musgrove is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 398. The parish includes the hamlets of Barrow, Holbrook, Southmarsh, and par ...

at perhaps around ''1490''; Pylle at about ''1497''; Cloford after ''1500''. He also pegs three of the smaller towers in the western part of Somerset: Combe Florey about ''1499'';

Fivehead Fivehead is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Fivehead River, east of Taunton in the South Somerset district. In 2011 the parish, which includes the hamlet of Swell, had a population of 609. History The name of t ...

, around ''1505''; and Langford Budville, ''1509''. The end of the Perpendicular period in architecture coincides with construction of

Ruishton Ruishton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Tone and A358 road east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 1,473. The parish includes the hamlet of Henlade. ...

, ''1533''; Chedzoy, ''1539''; and Batcombe and Chewton Mendip, around ''1540''.

References

External links

{{Architecture of England, state=collapsed .Somerset towers, list *Somerset towers, list Somerset towers, List

Towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

Somerset towers, List Somerset towers, List Somerset towers, List

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_ ...