situated near the Channel. Of the church, the only ancient part is the
base of the tower (15th cent.), under which a few fragments of carved
stones are preserved. The present building is said to be modelled on
the style of the old.
_Wanstrow_, a village 6 m. S.W. of Frome, with a station on the G.W.R.
branch to Wells. The church is ancient, but without interest.
_Washford_, a large hamlet in the parish of Old Cleeve, with a station
(on the G.W.R. branch to Minehead) which affords easy access to Cleeve
Abbey.
WATCHET, a small port of some 2000 inhabitants, situated on the Bristol
Channel. It has always been of some trading importance, as giving
access to the valley between the Brendons and Quantocks, and has seen
some history. In Saxon times it was more than once raided by the Danes,
and on the road to Williton is a spot called "Battle Gore," which may
preserve the memory of a fight with the invaders. Its church, _St
Decuman's_, on the way to Williton, is interesting. It has a good
tower, with a figure of the saint on the S. face. There is a stoup
outside the W. door, and remains of another in the S. porch. It will be
seen that the chancel roof is a continuation of that of the nave. In
the interior note (1) the group of four bishops, and St George (or St
Michael) with the Dragon on some of the arcade piers; (2) the oak roof,
pulpit and cornice; (3) the screen (which, however, is mostly modern).
There are two chapels, Holy Cross on the S. and St Peter's on the N.
The latter is filled with tombs and brasses of the Wyndham family,
chiefly 16th and 17th cent. In the churchyard is a restored cross. The
farm-house of Kentisford, near the church, was once a manor-house, and
preserves the name of St Keyne.
_Wayford_ is a village 3 m. S.W. of Crewkerne Station. Its church
occupies an elevated position, and displays several ancient features.
Its windows are E.E. or Dec., some having the interior arch foliated.
There is a good double piscina under a foliated canopy, and an old
octagonal font.
_Weare_, a large village near the Axe, 3 m. S.W. of Axbridge. It is
said to have been a borough in the early part of the 14th cent.,
sending two members to Parliament. The church has a good tower, rather
deficient in height, with triple belfry windows. The treatment of the
belfry staircase is unusual, and deserves notice. The interior of the
church contains comparatively little of antiquarian interest. In one of
the N. windows are some fragments of ancient glass, bearing seemingly
the initials of Thomas Beckington. Note (1) piscina and small brass
(late 15th cent.) in the sanctuary, (2) square Norm. font, (3) Jacobean
pulpit (1617). There is a cross in the churchyard.
_Wedmore_, a large village 4 m. S. of Cheddar, situated on rising
ground, which affords a good view of part of the Mendips and of the
hamlets resting upon their slopes. The place is famous as the scene of
Guthrum's "chrisom-loosing" after his baptism at Aller, and of his
treaty with Alfred (see p. 13). Its church (Perp.) is an interesting
building. The tower is central (as at Axbridge, Yatton, etc.), with
triple windows in the belfry; and as it has no pinnacles, it presents a
very plain outline (cp. Yeovil). The original cruciform plan of the
church is disguised by the N. and S. aisles and chapels. The oldest
parts are the tower arches and the S. doorway, which are late Trans.;
the S. chapel has a Dec. window; the rest of the structure is Perp.
Note (1) gallery or parvise over the porch; (2) groined vaulting under
tower; (3) wooden roof of N. chapel; (4) sedile, piscina, and squint;
(5) fine Jacobean pulpit; (6) mural brasses to Thomas and George Hodges
(1583 and 1630). There appear to be traces of a double rood-loft (as at
Axbridge and Crewkerne). There is a cross in the churchyard, and a
second (with defaced sculptures) in a garden on the L. hand of the
Glastonbury road.
At _Mudgeley_, a hamlet 1-1/2 m. away, King Alfred is believed to have
had a palace, and the foundation of walls have been discovered in the
course of recent excavations.
WELLINGTON, a market town 7 m. S.W. from Taunton, with a station on the
main G.W. line to Exeter. Population, 7283. No one seems to know why
the hero of Waterloo chose to immortalise this quiet little
west-country town: he does not appear to have had any original
connection with it. The reputation of Wellington, made by war, is now
maintained by woollens. The town is girdled by large cloth and serge
mills. In general appearance the place is not unprepossessing. The
streets are wide and airy, and their arrangement compact, but the shops
are poor, and create an impression of dullness. The only object of more
than passing interest is the Parish Church, inconveniently situated at
the E. extremity of the town. It is chiefly remarkable for a good Perp.
W. tower, distinguished by the local peculiarity of a stair turret
carried up the centre of its S. face. The interior--Perp. throughout,
with the exception of an E.E. east window--is lofty, but not
particularly impressive, and has an unusually high chancel. The
fragments of an elaborately carved reredos which the building once
possessed are now in Taunton Museum. There are two monuments of note:
(1) fine Jacobean tomb with canopy and effigies of Lord Chief-Justice
Popham and wife (1607); (2) defaced effigy of ecclesiastic in recess at
E. end of N. chapel. The other features to be observed are (1) old
carved reading-desk and pulpit; (2) very fine piscina in chancel; (3)
crucifix on mullion of E. window of S. chapel, now obscured by the
organ.
The _Wellington Monument_, a conspicuous landmark on the summit of one
of the Blackdowns, is nearly 3 m. S. of the town. It is a triangular
column, erected by public subscription to commemorate the Iron Duke,
and was originally intended to be surmounted by his statue. The site
commands an extensive prospect in the direction of the Quantocks,
Brendons, and Exmoor.
_Wellow_, a largish but somewhat declining village, lying in a valley 6
m. S. from Bath, with a station on the S. & D. line. St Julian's Church
is a fine specimen of early Perp. architecture (1372). It is
interesting within and imposing without. The tower is severe but
dignified, and a good effect is obtained by a small octagonal turret
over the rood-loft staircase. The chancel is new (1890). Within note
(1) the good bossed and panelled roof, (2) dark oak screen, (3) old
benches, (4) the E.E. font attached to one of the pillars and furnished
with a book rest, (5) effigy of a priest with an incised chalice on
breast (cp. Minehead), (6) piscina on splay of S. sanctuary window. The
Hungerford chapel--now filled by an organ--is an interesting little
chamber, with a gaily coloured roof and an effigy of some Lady
Hungerford under an Elizabethan canopy. At the bottom of a ditch in a
cottage garden to the E. of the church is the site of St Julian's well,
said to have been the trysting-place of the Hungerford family ghost. A
flat stone is now the only indication of this once uncanny fountain.
Opposite the school is a grim-looking gabled farmhouse, once a manorial
residence of the Hungerfords. It is said to contain an oak room and
some fine carving, but the occupants do not encourage visitors. Half a
mile to the W. of the village, in a field nearly opposite the cemetery,
the foundations of a Roman villa were unearthed in 1685. Four upright
stones at the top of the field mark the site, and portions of the
tessellated pavement are still said to lie beneath the sod. Another
antiquity of great interest will be found in the centre of a sloping
field nearly a mile S.S.W. of the village. This is _Stoney Littleton_,
a large Celtic tumulus composed of masonry, but now entirely overgrown
with brushwood. The mound is easily observable (call for key at
neighbouring farm-house). An inscription at the entrance claims that at
a restoration in 1858 everything was replaced as found. A low passage
gives access to a number of small chambers constructed of flagstones.
Skeletons are said to have been found within when these were first
opened.
[Illustration: WELLS CATHEDRAL]