The Church of St Andrew in

Stogursey Stogursey is a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the north. The ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England dates from the early 12th century and has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church of St Andrew, now the parish church of Stogursey, was built as part of the Benedictine priory of Stogursey founded c. 1100-07 by William de Falaise, who first appears as the manorial lord in 1086. It is thought possible that his priory occupied an earlier religious site. It was granted to become a cell of the Abbey of Lonlay

Lonlay-l'Abbaye Lonlay-l'Abbaye () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France, situated midway between the towns of Domfront and Flers. It has a beautiful abbey and town square and is surrounded by walks and scenery, including the local viewpoi ...

(Orne) in Normandy, near to

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, commune in France * Falaise, Calvados, commune in France ** The Falaise pocket, site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, commune in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise ...

John de Courcy Sir John de Courcy (c. 1150–1219) was an Anglo-Norman knight who lived in Ireland from 1176 until his expulsion in 1204. He conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the ...

, a member of the priory's patron family seated at Stogursey Castle, who gained power in Ireland, around 1183 granted land in the

Ards Peninsula The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on t ...

in County Down to Stogursey Priory: on that land was founded, before 1204, the Priory of St. Andrews of the Ards (also called Blackabbey) which similarly became a cell of Lonlay-l'Abbaye. The church was enlarged around 1180 when the apses were demolished and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

extended. The priory was dissolved around 1440, and it became a parish church. It was further altered in the 15th century, the nave was extensively restored 1824 by Richard Carver and the chancel rebuilt between 1863 and 1865 by John Norton. The interior contains two

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

fonts In movable type, metal typesetting, a font is a particular #Characteristics, size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) inclu ...

. At floor level in the south arch is a sanctuary ring installed in the 13th century. In medieval England criminals could find a place of refuge in a church for up to forty days and then admit their crime or stand trial. If they admitted their felony they would forfeit their possessions and go into exile. The sanctuary ring in the Church of St Andrew was installed 1243 after a murderer, John de Rechich, was granted sanctuary and then absconded before his trial, which meant that the priory was liable for his fine. The tower holds six bells the oldest of which dates from 1611. The parish is part of the Quantock Coast

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stogursey, Saint Andrew Church of England church buildings in West Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset 12th-century church buildings in England

See also

References