The Church of St Mary the Virgin in

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 grou ...

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 13th 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 ...

. St Mary's Parish Church, with its 15th-century carved timber roof, has a link with two conflicts. It served as a prison for around 500 troops after the

Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between forces loyal to James II and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in S ...

. From 1508 the vicar was Hugh Inge who went on to hold the offices of

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

and

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

. The four-stage tower, which dates from around 1470, has an embattled

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

with

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

arcading, and set-back

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es which terminate in

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s on the bell-chamber stage. There are six bells in the tower. On the corners of the tower are

hunky punk A hunky punk is a grotesque carving on the side of a building, especially Late Gothic churches. Such features are especially numerous in Somerset (in the West Country of England). Though similar in appearance to a gargoyle, a hunky punk is pur ...

s representing dragons. Restoration during the 1930s of the roof was funded by public subscription and carried out by

W. D. Caroe W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

. The church contains a corner dedicated to local airmen who lost their lives in 1918 and 1919 and post

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 ...

in the early 1950s. The current vicar is The Reverend Dr Jane Sutton. The parish is part of the

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 ...

of Westonzoyland with

Chedzoy Chedzoy (alternatively Chedzey) is a civil parish village east of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. History The village is at the western end of King's Sedgemoor and lies on an 'island' of Burtle marine sands, close to King's Sedgemoor Drain. ...

within the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...

References

External links

St Mary's Church, Westonzoyland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westonzoyland, Mary the Virgin 13th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Sedgemoor Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor Monmouth Rebellion

See also

References

External links