Bristol. A light railway from Yatton has its terminus here. The beauty
of the neighbourhood, naturally considerable, has been enhanced by the
formation of a large artificial lake, 2-1/2 m. long, intended as a
reservoir for Bristol. A charming view across the valley is obtainable
from the hillside above the church. The church is remarkable only for
its elegant Perp. tower. The rest of the building is an ugly Victorian
substitute for the original fabric.
_Bleadon_, a village 1 m. E. of Bleadon and Uphill Station, lies at the
foot of Bleadon Hill. The church has a tall tower with triple windows
in the belfry; but it is inferior to others of the same class, since
too much space is left between the base of the windows and the string
course (cp. Long Sutton). The chancel (the oldest part) is Dec. and
possesses a low side-window (cp. Othery, East Stoke, Ile Abbots). The
position of this and of the recess in the S. wall points to the chancel
having once been longer, a conclusion confirmed by traces of
foundations said to exist in the churchyard E. of the present east end.
Note in the S. porch a _bas-relief_ of the Virgin and Child; and in the
interior of the church, (1) stone pulpit; (2) Norm. font; (3) two
effigies (attributed to the 14th cent.), one near the pulpit, the other
in the sanctuary (the slab upon which the latter is lying is supposed
by some to be an Easter sepulchre, though its position on the S. is
unusual); (4) piscina on the N. of chancel--perhaps displaced. In the
churchyard is a mutilated cross. On the hill above there are traces of
earthworks.
_Blue Anchor_, a hamlet 3 m. E. of Dunster, with station. There is a
pleasant little bay here which possesses possibilities as a future
watering-place, but at present the accommodation for visitors is
extremely limited. The cliffs that border the foreshore are strikingly
coloured and are veined with alabaster. The view towards Minehead is
charming. It is said that the sea at very low water uncovers the
remains of a submerged forest.
_Bossington_, a hamlet 1 m. from Porlock, lying under Bossington
Beacon, which is the W. end of the North Hill (see _Minehead_). It is a
picturesque place, noteworthy for its huge walnut trees. It is
separated from the sea by a stretch of shingle. There is a little
chapel of some antiquity, which has a good E. window (restored). The
summit of the Beacon may be reached either from the hamlet itself or
from Allerford (whence numerous zigzag paths lead through the woods).
_Bradford_, a parish on the Tone, 4 m. S.W. of Taunton, with a church
ded. to St Giles. The stair-turret is on the S. face of the tower (as
at Wellington). The piers of the arcade seem to be E.E. or Dec., with
two in the Perp. style at the E. end, one of them being of the normal
Somerset type, whilst the other has the "Devonshire" foliage. There is
an effigy of a knight of the time of Richard II. in the S. wall; and
there is also preserved the base of a Norm. font (with foot ornament),
supporting a bowl of later date. Under the W. window of the S. aisle
are the old stocks.
An ancient bridge across the Tone (perhaps dating from the 13th cent.)
carries the road to Nynehead and Milverton: the parapet is modern.
_Bradley, West_, a small village 4 m. E.S.E. from Glastonbury. The
church is an unattractive-looking little building, but of more interest
than its appearance suggests. It has a short, battlemented W. tower
(with pyramidal cap), supposed to date from 1400. The vault is groined.
In the S. porch is a mutilated stoup. Within, note (1) in chancel,
image brackets and defaced piscina; (2) rood loft stair and window. The
nave roof is original.
_Bratton Seymour_, a village conspicuously perched on a hill 3 m. W.
from Wincanton. The church has been rebuilt. Its prominent position
makes it an excellent landmark. W. of the church is a tumulus where
have been discovered the remains of a Roman watch-tower.
_Brean_, a scattered hamlet 4 m. N. of Burnham, near the estuary of the
Axe. Its little church, with its foundations much below the level of
the neighbouring sand-dunes, is noteworthy merely for its lonely
situation. To the N. is _Brean Down_, a narrow promontory extending
more than a mile into the sea, with traces of earthworks. From Weston
it may be reached in the summer months by a ferry; the road from the
same place is a circuitous one, by way of Bleadon or Lympsham.
_Brent, East_, a village 2 m. E. of Brent Knoll Station. The name may
refer to the knoll, _brent_ meaning a steep hill. The place has a
church with a stone spire. Its most interesting features are,
externally, the sculptures on the W. face of the tower ((1) Virgin and
Child, (2) the Father holding the Crucified Son, (3) Christ crowning
the Virgin), and, internally, the roof, the woodwork, and the ancient
glass. The nave roof, of plaster, may be compared with that of
Axbridge; its date is 1637. The Jacobean or rather Caroline pulpit
dates from 1634, and the columns supporting the gallery from 1635. The
seat-ends (15th cent.) are good: among the carvings note the symbols of
the Evangelists (that of St Mark is missing, both here and at S. Brent)
and the initials of John Selwood, the antepenultimate Abbot of
Glastonbury (d. 1473). The old glass (late 14th cent.) will be seen in
two windows in the N. aisle. Two effigies, one an ecclesiastic, the
other probably a layman, have been placed under two of the windows. The
frescoes (in S. porch and chancel) and the cross in the churchyard are
modern: on the latter are statuettes of apostles, and mediaeval and
modern ecclesiastics.
_Brent Knoll_ is a conspicuous eminence of lias, drowned with a cap of
inferior oolite, about 450 ft. above sea-level and four acres in
extent. On the summit is a camp with a single rampart (though there
are, in addition, external terraces in certain positions), British in
origin, but utilised by the Romans. It commands a splendid view,
embracing the Mendips and Quantocks, Glastonbury Tor, the Channel, and
the River Parrett.
_Brent, South_, 1 m. from Brent Knoll Station, has a church very
picturesquely situated on the side of the knoll. Though in the main
Perp., it contains examples of earlier work. The S. doorway is Norm, or
Trans. (12th cent.), and there is also a small Norm. pillar (perhaps
part of a piscina) attached to the E. wall of the N. aisle. The S. wall
is in E.E. (note the corbels); and a large S. chapel (note piscina),
now used as a vestry, is Dec. (about 1370). The Perp. W. tower, with
triple belfry windows, has unusually short buttresses for a tower of
its class. Within the church the most noticeable features are (1) fine
wooden roof of N. aisle; (2) mural monument of John Somersett (d. 1663)
and his two wives; (3) font of unusual shape; (4) the seat-ends
(assigned to the 15th cent.), with their curious carvings, partly
sacred emblems and partly humorous scenes, the latter depicting a fox
(1) in the robes of an abbot or bishop, (2) brought to trial, (3)
executed.
_Brewham, South_, a village 3 m. N.E. of Bruton. It lies in a dell
through which flows the Brue (whence its name). The church, chiefly
Perp., is not of much interest, though beneath the tower at the S.W.
corner is a doorway of rough construction but peculiar character; near
it is a stoup. In the churchyard is a cross and an old font. _North
Brewham_ is a small hamlet 1/2 m. away.
_Bridgwater_, a seaport of more than 15,000 inhabitants, on the tidal
part of the Parrett. It has a station on the G.W.R. main line to
Exeter, and is the terminus of the S. & D. branch from Glastonbury. The
general aspect of the town is uninviting, and its immediate
surroundings are almost as uninspiring as its buildings. The river,
which ministers largely to its prosperity, adds little to its
attractions. It, however, furnishes the town twice a day with a mild
sensation in the shape of a bore, which at the turn of the tide rolls
up the river-bed like a miniature breaker. Though the name,
_Bridgwater_, hardly savours of antiquity it really conceals quite a
venerable origin. The not uncommon combination of a bridge and water
has nothing to do with the nomenclature. The name appears to be a
corruption of _Burgh Walter_, from Walter of Douay, one of the
followers of William the Conqueror. In the Great Rebellion the place
proved to the Royal cause in the West a kind of Metz. The castle was
supposed to be impregnable, and was held in force for the king by
Colonel Wyndham, but on the destruction of the suburb of Eastover by
Fairfax, the royal colours were, much to the chagrin of Charles,
unexpectedly hauled down from the stronghold, and the garrison, 1000
strong, tamely walked out. The Parliamentary commander made a huge
"bag" by the capture. It was, however, in connection with Monmouth's
ill-starred enterprise that Bridgwater attained its chief historical
notoriety, for it was here that the Duke had his headquarters before
the fatal engagement on Sedgemoor. Of the castle--founded by a De
Briwere, who is said to have been the bearer of Richard I.'s
ransom--hardly a vestige remains. King's Square now occupies its place,
and a few fragments of its walls and portions of the water-gate are
incorporated in some of the cellars which border the quay. In the
centre of the town is the parish church of St Mary, a spacious building
with a low W. tower of red sandstone crowned by a tall and graceful
spire. It is chiefly Perp., with an ugly and inharmonious modern
clerestory; but there are some remains of the Dec. period in the N.
porch. Over the altar hangs a picture of the "Descent from the Cross,"
said to have been found in the hold of a captured privateer. The
noteworthy features are (1) black oak screens and pulpit, (2) the
blocked squints, in the porches, (3) stoup and geometric rose window in
N. porch, (4) mural monument to Sir Francis Kingsmill and two sons. In
the churchyard are two timeworn, recumbent figures recessed into the N.
wall of N. transept, and an altar-tomb to Oldmixon, mentioned in Pope's
"Dunciad." In front of the town-hall is a good statue of Blake, the
famous Cromwellian admiral, whose birthplace, much modernised, will be
found in Blake Street. An arched doorway in Silver Street is said to
have been the gateway of a college of Grey Friars. A house E. of the
churchyard has a fine panelled ceiling. The modern church of St John in
the suburb of Eastover (for the name, cp. Northover at Ilchester and
Southover at Wells) stands upon the site of a former hospital of the
Knights of St John, founded by William de Briwere in the 13th cent.
Besides its shipping trade, Bridgwater does a large business in bricks
and tiles, and possesses a unique industry in the manufacture of Bath
bricks--presumably so called from their resemblance to Bath stone. Beds
of mingled mud and sand are left by the tide in recesses excavated in
the river-banks. The deposit is dug out, moulded into bricks, and
dried, and then exported for cleaning metals.
_Brislington_, a rapidly growing suburb of Bristol, 1-3/4 m. S.E. of
the city, with a station on the Frome branch. The church has a tower
which is characteristic of a considerable class of Somerset towers. On
its S. face are two quaint little effigies (supposed to represent the
founders, Lord and Lady de la Warr), and each side of the parapet has a
niche containing a figure (cp. Tickenham and Wraxall). The S. aisle has
a waggon-roof, and there is a piscina in the S. chapel. The square font
is presumably Norm. _Brislington Hill House_ is a 17th-cent. brick
mansion.
_Broadway_, 2-1/2 m. N. of llminster, derives its name from its
situation on an ancient track cut through what was once a surrounding
forest. The church (dedicated to SS. Aldhelm and Edburga) is cruciform,
with E.E. lights at the E. end, though the W. tower and nave windows
are Perp. Its most interesting features are the 15th-cent. hexagonal
font with six figures (seemingly of apostles) at the angles, and the
churchyard cross, with two effigies under a single canopy on its W.
face.
_Brockley_ is a small parish on the road from Bristol to Weston
(nearest stat. Nailsea, 2 m.). The church lies a little to the R. of
the main road from Bristol; it is E.E., but retains a Norm, font. There
is an ancient court-house close by.
On the left of the road is _Brockley Combe_, a beautiful glen between
two wooded hills, flanked on one side for some distance by rocky
cliffs, which are unfortunately being quarried in places. The wealth of
foliage in summer makes the ascent of the combe a delightful walk or
drive. It affords access to Chew Magna and Stanton Drew.
_Brompton Ralph_, a parish 4 m. from Wiveliscombe, on the road to
Watchet. The church is conspicuous by its position and has a tall
tower, but is not otherwise remarkable, though it retains its old oak
seats.
_Brompton Regis_ or _King's Brompton_, a village 5-1/2 m. N.E. of
Dulverton Station, lying amongst the hills which form the more
cultivated fringe of Exmoor. The church has the usual local
characteristics--a plain tower of the Exmoor type, and the Devonshire
foliage round the arcade capitals. Note plain large squint on S., and
another, of more ornate character, on N. There is a plain Jacobean
pulpit.
_Broomfield_, a parish situated at the S. end of the Quantocks, 5 m. N.
of Taunton. In the church, which has a plain embattled tower and square
turret, the chief features of interest are: (1) stoup in S. porch, (2)
the foliaged capitals of the arcade (on one note the emblems of the
Passion), (3) the seat-ends, sadly needing repair, one of which bears
the name of Simon Warman (whose name occurs on the woodwork at Trull),
(4) the fine old glass in the S. window of the chancel. In the
churchyard is the headless shaft of a cross. The mansion close by is
_Fyne Court_. A mile away to the N.N.E. is _Ruborough Camp_. It is
remarkable for its shape, being triangular in plan (cp. Tedbury, near
Mells), and occupies the extremity of a ridge between two declivities.
It covers 27 acres, and is overgrown with firs, which make inspection
difficult. On the W., the only vulnerable side, it is defended by an
additional vallum and fosse, thrown across the ridge 100 yards from the
base of the triangle (where the entrance to the camp is supposed to
have been). It is regarded as Roman, the usual rectangular plan being
adapted to the nature of the ground.
_Brushford_, a parish near Dulverton Station, but 2 m. S. from
Dulverton itself. It has an aisleless church, interesting only for (1)
a good 15th-cent. screen, (2) a font, of which the bowl and base date
from the 13th cent. There is a splendid oak tree in the churchyard,
which is reputed to be 600 years old.
BRUTON, a small town of 1788 inhabitants, 7 m. S.E. from Shepton Mallet,
with a station on the G.W.R. Frome and Weymouth line. It is also served
by bus from Cole Station (S. & D.), 1-1/2 m. away. It is a quaint
little place, lying at the bottom of a deep valley watered by the Brue,
to the proximity of which it owes its name. Bruton makes no show of
business; its activities are chiefly educational. The antiquarian will,
however, find here much to interest him, for there is a fine church,
and the town has many ecclesiastical associations. It was at one time
the site of a Benedictine Priory, which was subsequently converted into
an abbey of Austin Canons in 1525. Of this foundation nothing now
remains but a three-storeyed pigeon-house (which stands out
conspicuously on the summit of a little knoll behind the town) and the
abbey court-house in High Street (see below). The abbey itself stood on
the site of the present rectory, which is said to incorporate one of
its walls. At the Reformation the monastery went down in the wreck of
the religious houses, and Sir M. Berkley, who as the king's
standard-bearer was not without friends at Court, came in for the
spoil. The church is a handsome Perp. building, with a noble W. tower
of the Shepton type, decorated with triple windows and a rich parapet.
A second small tower rises above the N. porch (a very unusual feature).
The interior is remarkable for the painful incongruity of the
chancel--a pseudo-classical structure, built in 1743, to replace the
dismantled monastic choir. It contains in a recess on N. recumbent
effigies of Sir M. Berkley and wives (1559-85), and on the opposite
wall a tablet to W. Godolphin (1636). The nave is extremely handsome,
and is covered with a fine roof. Note (1) niches between clerestory
windows (cp. St Mary's, Taunton), (2) stepped recess in N. aisle (cp.
Chewton), (3) indications, on N. and S. walls, of stairway to
rood-loft, which, unless the building was once shorter, must have stood
in an unusually forward position, (4) piscina in S. aisle, (5) fragment
of mediaeval cope in N.E. corner of nave, (6) chained copies of Jewel
(1609) and Erasmus (1548), (7) Jacobean screen under tower. At the W.
gateway is an ancient tomb, said to be that of Abbot Gilbert, whose
initials, _W.G._ are cut on one of the battlements of the N. wall. Near
the school is a quaint pack-horse bridge ("Bruton Bow") spanning the
river (cp. Allerford). In High Street (S. side) will be noticed the old
_Abbey Court-house_ (now a private residence), bearing on its wall the
"canting" device of Prior Henton (1448). On the same side of the street
is _Sexey's Hospital_, an asylum for a few old men and women, founded
in 1638 by Hugh Sexey, a Bruton stable-boy, who in the "spacious days"
of Good Queen Bess rose to be auditor in the royal household. It
consists of a quadrangle, the S. side of which is formed by a combined
hall and chapel of Elizabethan architecture, finely panelled with black
oak. The surplus revenues of Sexey's estate support a local Trade
School. Bruton also possesses a well-equipped Grammar School, of Edward
IV.'s foundation, which replaced an earlier school established here in
1520 by Richard Fitz-James, Bishop of London (1506-22).
_Brympton d'Evercy_, a small parish 3 m. W. of Yeovil. It gets its name
from the D'Evercys, who seem to have possessed the estate in the 13th
cent., but it subsequently passed to other families, till in the 15th
cent. it fell to the Sydenhams, changing hands again in the 18th cent.
The church is a very interesting structure of the Dec. period. It is
cruciform in plan, with a N. chapel of Perp. date, and has on its W.
gable a large bell-cot (cp. Chilthorne Domer). Within, note (1) stone
screen (Perp.), remarkable for the seat along its W. front, (2)
piscinas in chancel, transepts, and chapel, (3) font (Dec.), (4) pulpit
(Jacobean), (5) chandeliers (said to be Dutch), (6) squints. There are
several effigies, which are not in their original positions, but are
conjectured to have belonged to a chapel now destroyed. They are, (1)
in the N. transept an abbot and a nun beneath recesses carved with
modern reliefs; (2) in the chapel a knight in armour and a lady.
Between the chapel and chancel is the large coloured tomb of Sir John
Sydenham, 1626 (the curious epitaph is worth reading). In the chapel is
some ancient glass, and in the churchyard there is the base of an old
cross and two early fonts.
N. of the church is a building of two storeys, variously described as a
_chantry house_ (a chantry was founded here by Sir Peter d'Evercy,
1307) or a _manor house_, with an external octagon turret containing a
staircase. _Brympton House_ (the residence of Sir S.C.B. Ponsonby-Fane)
has a good W. front of Tudor date (note arms of Henry VIII.), with a
porch added in 1722, and a S. front built in the 18th cent., though
from designs by Inigo Jones (died 1697), with terrace leading to the
garden.
_Buckland Denham_, a village prominently perched on a hillside 3 m.
N.W. from Frome. It was once a busy little town with a flourishing
cloth trade. The church has a W. tower with an unusual arrangement of
windows (cp. Hemington). The Norm. S. doorway and the device by which
the upper part of the porch has been converted into a parvise should be
noticed. Three chapels are attached to the church. The one at the N.,
originally the chantry of Sir J. Denham, has on the floor the figures
of a knight and his lady in relief. In two of the chapels are piscinas,
and there is a large one in the chancel. Some ancient glass, with
emblems of the Evangelists, will be found in one of the chapels. The
Norm. font, with different mouldings on opposite sides, deserves
attention.
_Buckland St Mary_, a parish 5 m. N.W. of Chard, has a modern church
(1853-63), very richly decorated, which it owes to the munificence of
the rector, though to some its ornateness will seem a little out of
harmony with its rural surroundings. The wooden cover of the font is
said to be all that remains of the former church. Not far away are a
number of flint stones which are conjectured to be Celtic memorials.
_Buckland, West_, 5 m. S.W. of Taunton, has a Perp. church, preserving
earlier materials, but of no great interest to the ordinary observer.
The W. tower has the bell-turret on the S. side (cp. Wellington and
Bradford). Note (1) the Norm. font (on a modern base), (2) the entrance
to the former rood-loft. The churchyard commands a fine view.
_Burnett_, a small village 2-1/2 m. S.E. of Keynsham. The church is a
tiny late Perp. building of poor workmanship. In the organ-chamber is a
small brass to John Cuttle (1575), once Mayor of Bristol. An attendant
family are all quaintly labelled.
_Burnham_, a watering-place on the Bristol Channel, 24 m. S.W. from
Bristol and 8 N. from Bridgwater. The S. & D. branch line from Edington
Junction has a terminal station here. Neither art nor nature has done
much for Burnham. Though a good deal exploited by the local railway
company as a half-holiday resort, it possesses few attractions for the
summer visitor. It has shown recently some signs of improvement, but no
enterprise can make a first-rate watering-place out of a muddy estuary
and a strip of sandy shore. A small pier, a narrow esplanade, and some
small gardens form its chief artificial recommendations, and its one
natural merit is an invigorating breeze which never seems to fail. A
tall lighthouse, standing some considerable distance away from the sea,
is a conspicuous landmark on the N., and a supplementary light burns
from a wooden erection on the beach. The church of St Andrew, near the
esplanade, is early Perp. Its two features of interest are its leaning
W. tower, and an altar-piece designed by Inigo Jones for Whitehall
Chapel, but eventually erected in Westminster Abbey. It appears to have
been turned out of the abbey as lumber on the occasion of George IV.'s
coronation, and to have been placed in Burnham Church by the then
vicar, who was also Canon of Westminster.
_Burrington_, a small village in the Vale of Wrington, with a station
on the Light Railway. It possesses a remarkable ravine, which would be
considered fine by any one unacquainted with Cheddar. It has the
magnitude but not the grandeur of its famous competitor. The hillsides
present merely a series of steep slopes broken by protruding masses of
rock. The combe runs up to the shoulders of Blackdown, and is
throughout wild and picturesque. Like the Cheddar gorge, it abounds in
caverns, there being no fewer than four, all of which have been
prolific in "finds." It was whilst taking shelter here that Toplady
composed "Rock of Ages." On one of the hills above the combe is a Roman
encampment fenced with a rough wall of stone, locally known as
_Burrington Ham_. Another picturesque spot in the neighbourhood is a
glen called Rickford. The church, which stands in some fields near the
mouth of the gorge, is a Perp. building with a low W. tower and a
peculiarly graceful spirelet over the rood-loft turret. There are some
good parapets to the aisles, but the roof of one of the chapels
projects in an ugly manner above that of the chancel (cp. Yatton). Note
(1) ancient glass in window above N. door, (2) pieces of an old bell
with maker's mark (a ship), _c._ 1470.
_Burrow_ (or _Borough) Bridge_, 1-1/2 m. N.E. of Athelney Station. It
is noteworthy for its conical hill, locally called the _Mump_, crowned
by a ruined church (St Michael's). It affords an extensive view over
the surrounding plain, and may be the site of Alfred's fort (see p.
13).