IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Laburnum Villas, WINCANTON, BA9 9ER

Looking along Cemetery Lane approaching Station Road.

The tower of St Peter and St Paul is of differing ages. From an original church that may have been Saxon, we have today a more modern tower. The lower part seems to be Mediaeval (perhaps fourteenth century), with additional stages added after. A significant restructuring occurred in the early 1700s and the tower raised by about 4m to include bells and a clock. However, the work did not include repositioning the gargoyles - then at rooftop level! Aparently, there are many carved initials on the upper section.

Wincanton's old church dates from perhaps Saxon times. Certainly it was in a prime spot for trouble during the Danish invasion of the nineth century and part of the old Kingdom of Wessex. The present structure is mainly a result of the major restoration in 1887-89, although the tower is a survivor, possibly dating from the fourteenth century.

A carved, octagonal, stone font, complete with a small but modern scene at the base.

The church has a poignant tribute to the fallen of world wars. A stained glass window illuminates a set of carved stones, listing the names. Below is a lecturn encasing a book that gives several stories of those who are given above.

Although the church has had many previous workings, the present fabric is almost all the result of the restoration carried out in 1887-89. The acclaimed architect John Dando Sedding was appointed to survey the previous (crumbling) church and later drew up plans for the new one, assisted by C. E. Ponting. Apart from the older parts of the tower, this is their handiwork. Sedding was a firm advocate of Gothicism and passionate about the Arts and Crafts movement.

Looking along Cavalier Way.

The three-stage tower is supported by diagonal offset buttresses and a corner stair turret.

Although the church derived from perhaps Saxon times - or at the least the fourteenth century - the oldest surviving fabric is the lower part of the tower. St Peter and St Paul was rebuilt in the eighteenth century with the input from local industrialist Nathaniel Ireson. His designs served until the early 1800s, whereupon taste and frailty caused concern. By 1835 the stucture was so bad that significant work was needed, but money was not forthcoming. Public subscriptions were meagre; an attempt to raise money by a 'church rate' led to flat refusals, the involvment of baliffs who took goods to sell, the resignations of wardens and eventually the collapse of the fund-raising. In 1885 a new rector was appointed and his efforts proved more successful. He asked the Diocesan Architect John Sedding to assess the situation; his reports were damning, and recommended the demolition of Ireson's church. He also designed the replacement, assisted by C. E. Ponting, which is the dominant fabric seen today. However, some of the older church - chiefly the South Nave - was retained and the difference can be seen in the ceilings: note the different ceilings, particularly the fine barrel vaulting on the South Nave above.

Set into the interior wall of the north porch is an old stone workpiece, depicting St Eligius (or Eloi) of sixth century France. He was said to have helped a blacksmith to shoe a recalcitrant horse. The saint, then Bishop of Noyon, removed the horse's leg, nailed the shoe on it and miraculously re-attached the leg to the bemused beast. The scene features this event, but has lost the heads - probably due to the destruction by Protestant iconoclasts after the Reformation. The stone was found in a wall when the church was rebuilt in the eighteenth century under Nathaniel Ireson's supervision. Despite the extensive demolition and rebuilding in 1887-89, it has been retained to the better illustration of this ancient church.