Church of St Philip and St James: An Anglican Parish Church in Norton St Philip
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.9
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- English
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page7 sections
History
The Church of St Philip and St James is an Anglican parish church in Norton St Philip, United Kingdom. A church probably stood on the site before the Norman Conquest, while the present building contains elements from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Dedicated to Saints Philip and James, early Christian apostles associated with the beginnings of Christianity, it remains part of the Church of England.
Medieval origins and parish income
In 1345, a fair previously granted to Hinton Priory, a medieval religious house, was transferred to Norton St Philip. The fair provided much of the church’s income and helped support the parish during the later medieval period.
Seventeenth-century associations
The north aisle was probably added in the seventeenth century. During that century, Samuel Pepys, an English naval administrator and diarist, visited the church. He described a tomb traditionally identified as that of a Knight Templar, a member of a medieval Christian military order associated with protecting pilgrims and the Crusades. The tomb is now thought to commemorate a lawyer or merchant connected with 1460. Pepys also noted the story of the “Fair Maids of Foscott,” probably two conjoined sisters from the nearby village of Foxcote.
A memorial in the church commemorates a soldier killed at Norton St Philip in 1643 during the English Civil War, the conflicts of the 1640s between supporters of Parliament and supporters of King Charles I.
Restoration and modern parish life
George Gilbert Scott, a leading nineteenth-century English Gothic Revival architect, undertook a major restoration in the 1840s. Further work in 2000 introduced a wood-and-steel vestry, toilets, and meeting facilities. The new facilities, known as “The Hub,” and the church’s community services contributed to its receiving the Village Church for Village Life Award in 2008.
The church belongs to the Hardington Vale benefice, an ecclesiastical unit that organizes parish ministry and provides a cleric’s income, within the Archdeaconry of Wells and the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The archdeaconry is a subdivision overseen by an archdeacon, while the diocese is a church district governed by a bishop. The building has been listed as a Grade II* building since 11 March 1968, a designation for structures of more than special interest but below the highest Grade I category.
Remains
The church is built chiefly of rubble Doulting Stone, a limestone from Doulting in Somerset. Its irregular stonework is rough in some areas, while the south and east sides use more finely dressed ashlar, or regularly cut and finished blocks, probably added during the Victorian restoration. A slate roof covers an oak barrel roof, a continuous curved roof form with a vault-like shape.
Tower, clock, and windows
The three-stage west tower contains six bells. Its clock was made in 1841 by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy and Charles Frodsham. Inside, the east window contains stained glass by Christopher Webb, while other windows retain much older stained glass.
Memorials and parish fittings
The church contains several memorials, including the monument to the soldier killed at Norton St Philip in 1643. The later vestry, a room used for clergy preparation, storage, and parish administration, forms part of the wood-and-steel facilities added in 2000 and known as “The Hub.”
