Former parish church [3]

Image: © Michael Dibb Taken: 18 May 2023

Part of the churchyard. The former Anglican parish church of St Andrew became redundant in 1986 and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church was built in the 14th century of roughly squared lias stone with Ham stone dressings under a clay tile roof. The nave and chancel were rebuilt in 1821 and the building was restored in 1878. Its site - close to a large Roman cemetery beside the Fosse Way - is of outstanding archaeological importance. An excavation of the mound on which it stands could well reveal the foundations of a Saxon minster noted in the Domesday Book and perhaps reveal signs of an earlier pre-Christian/pagan temple. Listed, grade II*, with details at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1267315 Ilchester is a village in Somerset, situated astride the River Yeo or Ivel, some 4½ miles northwest of Yeovil and about 18 miles east of Taunton. Originally an important Roman town, Lindinis, on the Fosse Way and later a market town, in the medieval period Ilchester was the county town. It declined in size and importance and the last markets were held in 1833. The name was recorded in the Domesday Book as Givelcestre, meaning "Roman fort on the River Yeo".

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