Somerset by J. H. Wade;G. W. Wade
page 90 of 283 (31%)
page 90 of 283 (31%)
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In it remains of flint implements and pottery have recently been found,
and are now preserved in the Taunton Museum. _Chew Magna_ (originally Bishop's Chew) is a village on the Chew, 3 m. W. from Pensford Station. As its appearance suggests, it was once a small town. The main street has a raised causeway and several old houses. The church, supposed to have been built by Bishop Beckington, whose arms appear on the fabric, is a large and stately building with a lofty Perp. W. tower. It has N. and S. aisles, but no clerestory. The S. arcade is Dec. A fine gilded Perp. screen stretches right across the church. Note (1) round-headed piscinas in sanctuary and S. aisle, (2) Norm. font. There are several interesting monuments: (1) in S. chapel an elaborate Elizabethan tomb with recumbent effigies of E. Baber and wife (1575), (2) in N. chapel an altar-tomb with effigies of a gigantic knight and a diminutive lady (Sir J. St Loe and wife), (3) in recess beneath window in S. aisle a gaudily painted wooden figure of Sir John Hautville (_temp._ Henry VII.), said to have been brought from Norton Hautville Church (see _Stanton Drew_). The churchyard contains the base of a cross. At the entrance to the churchyard is a fine old mediaeval building with a good roof, where the manorial courts were once held. Hard by is _Chew Court_, an old manor house, possessing a Tudor gateway with a solar above. Down a lane leading off from the Chew Stoke road is the _Manor House_, rebuilt in 1656 on the site of an earlier residence. _Chew Stoke_, a village 4-1/2 m. S.W. from Pensford Station. The church stands back from the road, and has a graceful tower (restored), with spirelet. The building is Dec., but much restored. On the R. hand side of lane leading to the church is the old rectory, a quaint 15th-cent. building, with small octagonal turrets and a front much decorated with heraldic devices. |
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