The Church of St George is 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 ...

church in

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 ...

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_ ...

, England, which dates from Saxon times. It is the parish church for Wilton, within the diocese of Bath and Wells, and 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 ...

Usage

The church is part of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, and is the parish church for Wilton, in the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Taunton, within the diocese of Bath and Wells. It is ministered by

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Nick Griffin.

History and architecture

A chapel was established on the site during Saxon times, and a tower was added to the church around the 11th century. By 1308, Wilton was associated with Taunton Priory, and was served by the priest from

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

. The church was extensively renovated and extended in the late 1830s by Richard Carver, adding two bays to the nave, and a chancel with two chapels, in a Gothic style. The tower was demolished and rebuilt in 1853, while further internal restructuring was conducted in 1870 by J. Houghton Spencer. Although parts of the church retain the Saxon "long and short" stonework, the building is principally 19th century Gothic architecture, following the work done by Carver. The tower follows the

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

style of many Somerset village churches; it features two stages, with "diagonal buttresses, embattled parapet and two-light bell openings". The vestry is slightly more modern than most of the church, dating from around the turn of the 20th century. The church is built of

rubble masonry Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

with hamstone dressings, topped by a slate roof.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Church, Taunton

Grade II* listed churches in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in Taunton Deane