The Church of St Bartholomew in the parish of

Yeovilton Yeovilton is a village in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil. It had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, estimated at 1,418 in 2019. The village is part of ''Yeovilton and District'' civil parish, which includes ...

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, was built around 1300. It is a Grade II*

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 became the property of Montacute Priory and then part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. It still contains some fabric and fittings from the 14th and 15th centuries but underwent a major restoration in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. The church fell into disrepair in the 20th century but has been taken over and restored as the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

’s Memorial Church following links since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the nearby airbase

RNAS Yeovilton Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, commonly referred to as WAFU central, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airbase of the Royal Navy, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases, the ...

History

The original Norman church was built of local lias stone with Hamstone dressings. It was granted by Sir William of Yeovilton to Montacute Priory between 1272 and 1282, who then sold it to Robert Burnell the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

and it eventually became part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. From 1642 Richard Sterne held the rectory of Yeovilton before going on to become

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. The rector between 1762 and 1805 was Daniel Dumaresq after his period as an educational consultant to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n and Polish monarchs. 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 ...

contains a 14th-century

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

and some 15th-century

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

has a 15th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular 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) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

. The vestry was added in 1872, when a major

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive wikt:refurbish, refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England church (building), churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century Victorian era, re ...

was undertaken, and the wagon roof replaced.

Tower and bells

The three stage tower was built in 1486. The money for this was donated by Richard Swan, the rector at the time. It contains six bells, the oldest of which dates from around 1430 and was cast at the

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

Bell foundry. The most recent was added in 1993 and was cast at the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church

In the first half of the 20th century the church was falling into disrepair until after

an association developed with the staff from the nearby

. The churchyard contains 15 graves of British and Commonwealth forces during World War II mostly from the airbase. By 1988 the fabric of the building was considered unsafe and the church declared redundant, and was sold to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

for £1. Restoration work was carried out funded by public donation and, in 1993, the church was reopened as the

’s Memorial Church. The church holds the Fleet Air Arm's Roll of Honour. New porch gates, which were made at HMS Daedalus and carry the emblem of the Fleet Air Arm, have been installed. Within the Fleet Air Arm Memorial Chapel modern stained glass has been installed with the badges of RNAS stations

Gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic n ...

Osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

Heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

, Seahawk and Daedalus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeovilton, Church of Saint Bartholomew 13th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in South Somerset Grade II* listed churches in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in South Somerset Redundant churches

History

Tower and bells

Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church

See also

References