St Martin's, Zeals
Introduction
The photograph on this page of St Martin's, Zeals by Neil Owen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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St Martin's, Zeals
Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 6 Mar 2020
The village has some recorded notation of a chapel in the thirteenth century as well as other places of worship in the sixteenth, but there appears to be no trace of wither today. However, as the village grew in the nineteenth, it was decided to apply for a church to be built here. The landowner, the Duke of Somerset, agreed to allow work to commence and some £3,000 was raised. The designers were Messers Scott (George Gilbert Scott, no less!) and Moffat and the church was consecrated on October 14th, 1846. By 27th June, 1848, Zeals was made a separate ecclesiastical parish from Mere and so this church became the focal point of the village. In 1876 Julia Chafyn Grove (a local benefactor) provided funds for a spire to be added, as well as many interior fittings and improvements.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.084733
Longitude
-2.31461