Quantocks, 4-1/2 m. S.W. from Bridgwater. It has an old church, with a
heavy battlemented tower. The N. chapel contains a large monument with
the effigies of Sir Nicholas Halswell (d. 1633) and his wife,
surrounded by the kneeling figures of their nine children. The S.
chapel belongs to the Kemeys-Tyntes, and is decorated with numerous
coats-of-arms round the cornice. Note the piscina in the chancel. Near
the church is _Halswell House_ (C.T.H. Kemeys-Tynte), originally built
in the Tudor period, containing some fine carving by Grinling Gibbons,
and pictures by Salvator Rosa, Van Dyck, Ostade, Ruysdael, Reynolds,
and others.
_Godney_ (1-1/2 m. N.E. of Meare, 2 m. N. of Glastonbury) is famous for
the remains of a lake village which have been discovered here. The
village consisted of a number of dwellings, each built on a
substructure of timber and brushwood, resting upon the marsh which once
occupied the site, and held in position by small piles. Upon this base
was laid a floor of clay, in the centre of which was a circular stone
hearth (about 4 ft. in diameter); whilst the walls of the huts were
made of timber, wattles, and daub. As the floors and hearths gradually
sank in the yielding marsh, they had to be renewed from time to time;
so that several successive layers of them have been found, resting upon
one another. Round the collective huts which formed the village ran a
palisade of piles, the enclosure being irregular in shape. The articles
found in the village (many of which are in the Glastonbury Museum) show
that the inhabitants practised agriculture, spinning, and weaving, and
were acquainted with iron weapons. They are supposed to have been Celts
by race; and the period to which they are assigned falls between 300
B.C. and 100 A.D.
_Greinton_, a small parish on the S.W. flank of the Poldens (nearest
stat. Shapwick, 4 m.). The church has an embattled tower with pyramidal
top. The interesting features within are(1) carved bench-ends, dated
1621 (note lily on one); (2) two good wooden doors, N. and S.; (3)
piscina on sill of S. window in chancel.
_Hallatrow_, a hamlet in the parish of High Littleton, 11 m. S. from
Bristol, with a station on the Frome branch.
_Halse_, a pleasant village, 2 m. N.W. of Milverton. It has a small but
very interesting church, standing in a beautifully kept churchyard,
which commands a fine view of the Quantocks. Its choicest possession is
a very fine rood-screen: note the old beam above, and window. Other
features deserving attention are (1) glass in E. window, (2) curious
font, probably early Norm., (3) medallions in spandrels of arcade, (4)
piscina on window-sill of sanctuary, (5) painted mural device on S.
wall of nave, (6) fragments of carving in porch, (7) squint. The large
windows in the porch are somewhat unusual.
_Ham, High_, a village occupying a fine breezy situation on the top of
High Ham Hill, 4 m. N. from Langport. The church in its centre is a
handsome building, typically and consistently Perp. It contains a fair
roof, some panelled bench-ends, and a curious lectern, but its
principal ornament is a fine Perp. chancel-screen. Note (1) stoup in
porch, (2) the vigorously executed gargoyles, especially the pair over
the porch, a mediaeval presentation of Darby and Joan.
_Ham, Low_, a village 2 m. N. of Langport. The church, which stands in
the middle of a field, is something of a curiosity (call for keys at
farm opposite). It is an excellent example of 17th-cent. imitative
Gothic. Its builder was Sir R. Hext, whose political sentiments may be
inferred from the motto with which he has adorned the chancel-screen,
"My son, fear the Lord, and meddle not with them that are given to
change." At the end of the N. aisle are effigies of the founder and his
wife, and at the corresponding end of the S. aisle is a marble tablet
to the memory of Lord Stawell, who has, however, left his own memorial
outside. The perplexing series of terraces overlooking the church are
all that remains of a fantastic scheme of his to build a mansion which,
like his wife and horse, should be the most beautiful thing of its kind
in the world. But _L'homme propose_...; Lord Stawell never got any
further than these embankments.
_Hambridge_, a village equidistant from Langport and Ilminster (5 m.).
The church is modern.
_Hamdon Hill_. See _Stoke, East_.
_Hardington_, a hamlet 5 m. N.W. of Frome. The church is a small
building with a W. tower. In the neighbourhood is Hardington Park.
_Hardington-Mandeville_, a village 4-1/2 m. S.W. of Yeovil. The church
was rebuilt in 1864, but retains some ancient features, including a
good Norm. arch and font, and a Jacobean pulpit.
_Harptree, East_, a village on a spur of the Mendips, 6 m. N. from
Wells. It possesses the attractions of a castle, a cavern, and a combe.
The last is a thickly wooded glen near the top end of the village. On
an inaccessible tongue of land at the far end of the gorge are the
remains of _Richmont Castle_, one of those lawless strongholds which in
the days of Stephen were a terror to the country side. In 1138 it was
strongly garrisoned by its owner, William de Harptree, on behalf of the
Empress Matilda, but was taken by Stephen by the ruse of a feigned
repulse. Now, only a fragment of the keep overlooks the glen. Half a
mile beyond is a remarkable cavern, the _Lamb's Lair_, entered by a
vertical shaft of some 70 fathoms. The chamber is of very considerable
dimensions, and is said by those who have seen it to be quite the
finest cave in the Mendips. The church is not particularly noteworthy
except for the odd device of avoiding a squint by an extension of the
arcading. The walls, font, and S. doorway are Norm. The S. porch is of
unusual size and contains a monument which must be a standing reproach
to a declining birthrate. Under a large Elizabethan canopy is an effigy
of Sir J. Newton (1568), attended by twenty children. At the other end
of the village are two mansions, _Harptree Court_ and _Eastwood_.
_Harptree, West_, about 1 m. N. of East Harptree. The church has a
Norman tower with an ugly slated spire. The rest of the building has
been reconstructed, but contains a Norman chancel arch, a large Norman
font, and a good piscina. In the churchyard are seven large conical yew
trees. Opposite the church is _Gournay Manor_, a fine Jacobean house,
and near it is _Tilley Manor_, a 17th-cent. building, deprived of its
top storey. They are now farmhouses.
_Haselbury Plucknett_, a village 2-1/2 m. N.E. of Crewkerne. It has a
Perp. church with an E.E. N. chapel, which is associated with the
memory of St Wulfric, who, born at Compton Martin, resided here, and
died in 1154. The body of the Church has an old font. A priory of
Austin canons, dating from the 12th cent., once existed here.
_Hatch Beauchamp_, 6 m. S.E. from Taunton, is a village (with station)
situated in very picturesque surroundings. The church (best reached
through the deer park) has a good tower, crowned with numerous
pinnacles. Note (1) the foliaged bands round the pillars of the arcade;
(2) the excellent bench-ends; (3) the fragments of old glass in the
windows of the N. aisle; (4) the large picture, a "Descent from the
Cross," by Perriss; (5) the window in the chancel to the memory of
Colonel J.R.M. Chard, of Rorke's Drift fame, with a wreath preserved
beneath it sent by Queen Victoria. The obelisk near the S. door is said
to have once been the churchyard cross.
_Hatch, West_, a village 1-1/2 m. W. of Hatch Beauchamp. The church has
been entirely rebuilt (1861).
_Hawkridge_, a parish 5 m. N.W. of Dulverton Station, consisting merely
of a cluster of cottages and a tiny church. It is perched on the top of
a ridge of high ground separating the Barle from its tributary stream
the Danes Brook. The valleys on either side are beautifully wooded, and
exhibit some of the most romantic scenery in Somerset. The church has a
plain Norm. doorway.
_Heathfield_, a parish 2-1/2 m. E. of Milverton. Its church is small,
and the only objects of interest which it contains are (1) a mural
monument on the N. of the chancel, with kneeling figures, of the 16th
cent.; (2) a carved oak pulpit (said to be reconstructed from ancient
materials). There is the shaft of an ancient cross in the graveyard,
with a mutilated figure.
_Hemington_, a village lying at the end of a wide vale, 3 m. E.S.E.
from Radstock. The church has a few features in common with the
neighbouring church of Buckland Denham, viz., (1) peculiar arrangement
of windows in tower, (2) clerestory to nave, though the building
possesses only one aisle. The interior shows (_a_) some good Dec. work
in windows, some of which have foliated rear arches, with detached
shaft; (_b_) plain Norm. chancel arch. Observe also (1) piscina on the
respond of the chancel arcade, (2) the central pier of the arcade (it
is surrounded by four detached shafts). On the hill above the village,
standing by the side of the Trowbridge road, is a square tower of as
much beauty as utility, locally known as "Turner's Folly." The "green"
of the neighbouring hamlet of Falkland retains its ancient stocks.
_Henstridge_, a large village 7 m. S. of Wincanton, with a station on
the S. & D.J.R. The church has been rebuilt (except the tower and part
of the N. and W. walls), but contains some ancient features. There is a
15th-cent. altar-tomb in the chancel under a carved and coloured
canopy, with two effigies. These represent William Carent (who
inherited the property of two wealthy families, the Carents and the
Toomers), and his wife Margaret (_née_ Stourton). The arms that adorn
the tomb are those of Carent and Stourton. The rhyming inscription
round the arch of the canopy is, _Sis testis Xte quod non tumulus iacet
iste corpus ut ornetur, sed spiritus ut memoretur_. There is also an
elaborately carved niche or tabernacle in the N.E. angle of the N. (or
Toomer) aisle. Note, too, (1) decorated piscina, (2) remains of figures
over the entrance to the N. chapel. The "Virginia Inn" at the
cross-road is said to be the spot where Sir Walter Raleigh's servant
emptied a stoup of beer over his master, who was smoking, in the belief
that he was on fire. At Yeaston, a hamlet between Henstridge and
Templecombe, there once existed a Benedictine priory, attached to an
abbey of that Order at Coutances (Normandy). A field is still said to
bear the name of the Priory Plot.
HIGHBRIDGE, a growing little town on the Brue, 1-1/2 m. S.E. from
Burnham. It has two stations, one on the G.W.R. main line to Taunton,
the other on the S. & D. Burnham branch. It possesses a town-hall, a
cattle market, and other evidences of prosperity. Brick and tile making
are carried on in the locality, and a large bacon factory and a
timber-yard are amongst its more important commercial undertakings. As
the river is navigable up to this point for small craft it also
encourages a coasting trade. Of antiquarian interest it has none. The
church is as modern as the town.
_Hill Farrance_, 3-1/2 m. N.E. of Wellington, is a village on the Tone.
Its church (ded. to the Holy Cross) has a massive-looking tower, with
an open-work parapet, bearing the initials I.P. It contains sedilia and
a piscina, and some carved bench ends. On the S. of the building is a
mortuary chapel (14th cent.) of one of the De Vernais (once lords of
the manor), which at the restoration of the church in 1857 was given to
the parish.
_Hinton Blewitt_, a small and secluded village, 4 m. S.W. from Clutton.
The church is Perp., with a fair W. tower. It possesses a stoup and a
rather poor piscina. The village, which is on the slope of a hill,
commands a pleasant view of the Mendips.
_Hinton Charterhouse_, a small village 6 m. S. of Bath, on the more
easterly of the alternative roads from the city to Frome. Its sole
attraction consists in a few fragments of a once considerable
Carthusian priory. About 1/2 m. N. of the village, in the corner of a
field near the main road, is what looks like a low gabled church tower,
with a small E.E. chancel and some other out-buildings. These remnants
are all that survive of a house founded here in 1232 by the widow of
William Longsword, for the accommodation of a settlement of
Carthusians; and it is worth noticing that of the Carthusian houses in
England, which never numbered more than nine, Somerset had two. The
ruins, which are very meagre, consist of two groups of buildings. (1)
One is a three-storeyed structure, containing on basement a vaulted,
chapel-like chamber, lighted by side lancets and a terminal triplet,
and possessing a large piscina and an aumbry. This is generally but
quite erroneously described as the "chapter-house." It may have been
the fratry. On the first floor is another vaulted chamber, supposed to
have been the library. It communicated at the end with a pigeon-cote,
and is reached by a good stone staircase, which also gives access to a
loft above. On the L. of the passage leading to the library will also
be noticed a small room lighted by a square-headed window. (2) The
second, in the stable-yard of the adjoining manor house, is the
refectory, a good, vaulted apartment, with a row of octagonal columns
down the centre. At the W. end it opens into the kitchen, in which will
be discovered a fireplace. Of the priory church, which abutted on the
N. wall of the so-called "chapter house," nothing is left but a single
trefoiled piscina and one of the vaulting shafts. The buildings have
evidently been freely used as a quarry for the erection of the
neighbouring manor house. In a dingle in the adjoining field is a
stone-faced, pointed archway, tunnelling the road. The parish church is
an unattractive, ivy-clad building near the village. _Hinton House_
(J.C. Foxcroft) is a modern mansion, with a fine open green in front of
it.
_Hinton St George_, a clean and attractive village equidistant (4 m.)
from Crewkerne and Ilminster. It possesses a very fine cross, having on
one face a representation of St John Baptist, which was originally
flanked by smaller figures. The shaft has been barbarously crowned with
a sundial and large ball. The church has a dignified tower with
numerous pinnacles, and a pierced, embattled parapet. The W. front has
a single large window which breaks the string course (cp. Shepton
Beauchamp and Norton-sub-Hamdon). The S. porch has a ribbed and
panelled roof and numerous niches. The interior of the church is not
very interesting, apart from the tombs and monuments of the Pouletts,
dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Most are in a large N. chapel,
but there is one between the chapel and the chancel, and another in
front of the family pew. The font is carved with shields bearing
alternately a cross and the Poulett arms. There is a piscina in the
chancel. _Hinton House_, the mansion of Countess Poulett, in the
neighbouring park, has portions dating from the time of the first Sir
Amyas Poulett (d. 1537), but the rest is later. It has a fine
collection of pictures.
_Holcombe_, a colliery village 3-1/2 m. S. of Radstock. It has a small
modern church; but an old church, now disused, lies in a dingle in some
fields a mile away from the village. This possesses a good Norm. S.
doorway, with a curious inverted inscription scratched on one of the
capitals. The careless rebuilding of the columns shows that it is not
in its original position.
_Holford_, a village 6 m. E. from Williton, at the foot of the
Quantocks. Its church is picturesquely situated; in the graveyard is an
old cross with a mutilated figure on the shaft. Past the church, two
pleasant combes may be reached, Tannery Combe and Hodder's Combe (the
latter is perhaps a corruption of the name of Odda, the Earl of Devon
who aided Alfred, see p. 201). The hill between them bears the name of
_Hare Kanp_, possibly preserving the memory of the Saxon armies that
once marched along the trackway that crosses it (M.E. and A.S. _here_,
an army). Near Holford is _Alfoxden_, the residence of Wordsworth in
1797, when Coleridge was at Nether Stowey.
[Illustration: ALFOXDEN HOUSE, NEAR HOLFORD]
_Holton_, a village 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Wincanton. Its church is small and
contains a stone 15th-cent. pulpit and a Norm. font. On the S. porch is
an old sundial, and in the churchyard the base of a cross.
_Holms, The Flat and Steep_, two islands in the Bristol Channel,
forming familiar objects to all visitors to the Somerset sea-board.
Geologically they belong to the county, for they are the last expiring
protest of the Mendip chain against its final submergence in the sea.
The Steep Holm, the nearer and more conspicuous of the two islets, 5 m.
from the coast, is little better than a barren rock rearing its huge
bulk precipitously, nearly 300 ft. above the waves. It is almost
inaccessible, but has perhaps for this reason occasionally afforded an
asylum to refugees from the mainland, although the statement that
Gildas found security in this retreat appears to be an error. There
still remain some fragments of a priory. The Flat Holm, 2 m. farther
off, though of about the same circumference (1-1/2 m.), is a far less
imposing object in the sea-scape, but is more amenable to the
influences of civilisation. It is occupied by a lighthouse and a farm,
and is sometimes made the excuse for a channel trip by visitors from
the neighbouring watering-places, as it affords amongst other
attractions some facilities for bathing.
_Hornblotton_, a parish 3 m. N.W. of Castle Cary Station. The church,
which stands about a mile from the Fosse Way to Ilchester, is modern,
but the tower of the old church is left standing, and a piscina has
been removed from it to the new building.
[Illustration: HORNER WOODS AND PORLOCK VALE]
_Horner Valley_, one of the many charming walks which abound in the
neighbourhood of Porlock. Follow the Minehead road for about a mile and
then strike up the banks of the Horner Water by a lane on the R. On the
way will be noticed spanning the stream a quaint pack-horse bridge
beloved of photographers (cp. Allerford). At Horner village the road
winds round to Luccombe, but a broad path follows the course of the
Horner and leads up through the woods. The scenery is comparable with
that of the E. Lynn. It is a delightful combination of wood, mountain,
and rill, and is everywhere full of charm. The Horner Water descends
from the moors and babbles its way through the valley to the sea. It
receives on the right a contributary rill which flows through a combe
that rivals the main valley in romantic beauty. The second plank-bridge
across the water will lead up a very steep footpath to Cloutsham.
_Horrington, East and West_, two contiguous villages on the S. slope of
the Mendips, 2 m. E. from Wells, and overlooking the city. At E.
Horrington there is a small modern church (1838).
_Horsington_, a largish village 1 m. N. of Templecombe. The church is
spacious and has been rebuilt (1884-85), with the exception of the
tower. It contains a 15th-cent. octagonal font with, rudely carved
figures of angels at the angles. Near the church is a cross (said to be
13th cent.) with the canopied figure of an ecclesiastic on the shaft.
_Huish Champflower_, a village 3-1/2 m. N.W. from Wiveliscombe. The
church is one of the few Dec. churches in the county, but not a pure
example of the style, as the tower and window tracery are Perp. There
is a good arcade of clustered columns with foliated capitals dividing
the nave from the N. aisle. The window at the E. end of the aisle
should also be observed, as the tracery is particularly good, and it
retains some of its original glass. There is a barrow in the
neighbourhood which has recently been excavated.
_Huish Episcopi_ is a parish situated E. of Langport, the two churches
being less than half a mile apart. It is famed for its beautiful tower,
which, however, is perhaps a little over-praised, for the crown of
pinnacles, graceful in itself, does not seem to spring naturally from
the summit, but to be super-imposed upon it. The belfry storey has
double windows, and each stage is divided from the one below by bands
of quatrefoils which produce rather a formal effect. The S. door is
late Norm., its red colour being due to fire; in the upper corner of
the porch traces of stone stairs are visible. Some Dec. windows remain
in the chancel, but the majority are Perp.: the glass at the E. end of
the S. aisle is by Sir E. Burne-Jones. Note (1) the stoup near S. door;
(2) the piscina in the chancel; (3) the squint in the S. pier of the
chancel; (4) the Jacobean pulpit (dated 1625).
_Huntspill_, a parish 1-1/2 m. S.S.W. from Highbridge, supposed to
derive its name from Hun, a Somerset ealdorman in the reign of Egbert.
It has a very handsome church which has been rebuilt since it was
destroyed by fire in 1878. The pillars of the arcade still show traces
of the flames. The tower is good, with bold buttresses. The church
contains the effigies of a knight in armour and his lady, within a
recess in the S. wall. Note (1) stoup in S. porch; (2) piscina in S.
chapel; (3) fine black oak pulpit.
_Hutton_, a small village 3-1/2 m. S.E. of Weston-super-Mare. It lies
at the base of Bleadon Hill, and may be approached from Weston either
through Uphill or by a path that leaves the Worle road. Its small but
picturesque church has a good tower of three stages and preserves an
excellent stone pulpit, reached by a recess in the wall (which once led
to the rood loft), and two brasses to members of the Payne family (one
will be found immediately in front of the altar, the other in a recess
in the N. wall of the chancel). _Hutton Court_, which is close by, is a
15th-cent. building much altered.
ILCHESTER, a small, decayed town on the Ivel, 4-1/2 m. N.E. of Martock,
which was formerly of considerable importance. Its name recalls the
fact that it was a Roman station, and upon it several Roman roads
converge. It was besieged in the strife between William Rufus and his
brother Robert; and it was fortified in the Great Civil War. It once
had a nunnery, and it was the birthplace of Roger Bacon, who was born
here in 1214. But apart from its historic associations it has little
now to attract attention, its only noteworthy building being its church
(the last remaining of five). This has a short tower which is octagonal
throughout and does not rest, like others elsewhere, upon a square
base. Some Roman bricks seem to be among the materials of which it is
constructed, and there are a few old pieces of carving built into the
walls. The oldest parts of the building appear to date from E.E. times,
but it has undergone a good deal of restoration. Note (1) the E. window
(three lancets under a hood moulding); (2) niches; (3) squint. There is
a market cross, consisting of a cylindrical pillar supporting a sundial
(cp. Martock). Though Ilchester is not now a borough, it was so once,
and a very curious macehead (13th cent.) is still preserved.
_Ile (or Isle) Abbots_, a village 3-1/2 m. E. of Hatch Station. It gets
its name from its position on the little river Ile (or Isle) and its
former connection with Muchelney Abbey. It possesses an interesting
church with a fine tower, having double windows in the belfry and
numerous niches, which for the most part retain their statuary. The S.
porch has fair groining with a central pendant, and there are some
beautiful pierced parapets. The windows are of various dates--E.E.,
Dec., and Perp. Note in the chancel (1) low side-window (cp. Bleadon,
Othery), (2) piscina, surrounded by panelling, (3) triple sedilia. The
font, rudely carved, is Norm. The arcade piers are encircled with the
"Devonshire" foliage.
_Ile (or Isle) Brewers_ (the latter half of the name a corruption of
_De Bruyère_, the family that once owned the manor) is a parish 5 m. E.
of Hatch Station. The church has been rebuilt (1861), and the tower (on
the S.) is surmounted by a spire. Within is a Norm. font.