arcade and the external battlements. The character of the arcade on
both N. and S. is peculiar (cp. Shepton Mallet). The chancel has been
rebuilt, but it retains the original piscina. The church has some fine
bench ends (1533). The initials _W.H._ on the door of the reading-desk
are said to be those of William Hope, the patron of the living early in
the 16th cent. Note (1) position of Dec. piscina in S. aisle and dwarf
doorway, showing raising of floor; (2) squint and rood-loft stairs on
N.; (3) square fluted font with cable moulding; (4) consecration
crosses on jamb of W. door, on chancel buttresses, and on wall of S.
aisle (cp. Nempnett); (5) arched doorway into tower from chancel, made
up of a sepulchral slab with incised foliated cross.

_Batcombe_, a small village equidistant (3 m.) from Cranmore,
Evercreech, and Bruton stations, has an interesting church. The tower,
one of the finest in Somerset, is of marked individuality, combining
features belonging to two distinct types. It resembles Shepton in the
arrangement of its buttresses, and Evercreech and Wrington in the
character of its triple windows. The absence of pinnacles and of
superfluous ornamentation lends to it considerable dignity and
impressiveness. Note the figure of our Lord and censing angels on W.
front, as at Chewton. On exterior of church observe (1) debased S.
porch; (2) crucifix on E. gable of nave. The interior is disappointing.
The clerestory is spacious, and the roof fair, but a general sense of
bareness pervades the whole building. The shabbiness of the chancel in
particular is enhanced by a casement which does duty for an E. window.
Note (1) Dec. windows to aisle; (2) rood-loft stair; (3) curious
quatrefoil piscina in sanctuary; (4) some fragments of old glass in E.
window of S. aisle. At the W. end is a handsomely-carved font, and the
remains of another font from Spargrove Church (now destroyed) are under
the tower. An ugly monument to the Bisse family stands in one of the S.