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Table of Contents

N.B.—The following abbreviations are adopted:—

Norm.	= Norman (1066–1190).
Trans.	= Transitional (1145–1190).
E.E.	= Early English (1190–1280).
Dec.	= Decorated (1280–1377).
Perp.	= Perpendicular (1377–1547).

Proofreader's Note: Additional abbreviations found in the text are:

G.W.R.	= Great Western Railway
S. & D.	= Somerset and Dorset Railway.

Abbot's Leigh, a village 4 m. W. from Bristol. The church, which stands at the bottom of a long lane, is, with the exception of the tower, entirely modern, the original fabric having been destroyed by fire in 1848. Near the S. porch is the base of an old cross. The churchyard commands a good view of the mouth of the Avon. Leigh Court is a modern residence. A former mansion was one of the many hiding-places of Charles II. when a fugitive.

Aisholt (or Asholt), 8 m. W. of Bridgwater, is a little village on the E. slope of the Quantocks. The church is hidden away in a small combe, and its tower looks most picturesque against the green background of Asholt Wood, but it is not in itself interesting. Note, however, (1) little plain stoup and niche in the S. porch, (2) large squint (now blocked) in the S. aisle, (3) old font. S. of Aisholt is Holwell Cavern, a cave of considerable extent, and containing stalagmites and stalagtites, but rather inconvenient of access.

Alford, a small village on the river Brue, 1½ m. S.W. from Castle Cary. In the fields on the S. side of the road is a mineral spring, which once enjoyed a short-lived local popularity. The church stands in the grounds of Alford House. It is a 15th cent. Perp. building, and contains (1) some ancient benches, (2) old glass in one of the N. windows, (3) a slender Perp. screen, (4) a pulpit dated 1625, (5) piscina. Note massive corbels in chancel. The shaft of a cross with a modern head stands in the churchyard.

Aller, a village 2½ m. N.W. from Langport, lying at the base of High Ham Hill. Aller witnessed the sequel to two stirring events. Here Guthrum was baptised at Alfred's insistence after his defeat at Ethandune (879), and here the Royalists made their last but ineffectual rally after their rout at Langport in 1645. The church stands apart from the village on a knoll rising from the marshes. It contains (1) an ancient font, (2) an effigy of Sir W. Botreaux (1420) on the N. side of choir. The internal arrangements of the tower are peculiar. It has three arches, those on the N. and S. being apparently purposeless.

Angersleigh, a small parish 5 m. S. of Taunton (follow the Honiton road to the fourth milestone, then turn to the right). It has a very small church, perhaps originally Dec., but altered into Perp. It contains a good carved oak reading-desk and lectern.

Ansford, or Almsford, a village ½ m. N. from Castle Cary. Restoration has robbed the church of most of its interest; its tower has some good gargoyles. A memorial-stone on the roadside near the church marks the scene of a sudden death.

Ash, a parish including several small hamlets, 1 m. N.E. from Martock. The church is modern.

Ash Priors, a small village 1 m. N.W. of Bishop's Lydeard Stat., owes its name to the fact that it once belonged to the Priory of Taunton. The church contains nothing of interest, though the N. pier of the chancel arch preserves its squint.

Ashbrittle, 7 m. W. of Wellington (nearest stat. Venn Cross, 3 m.), a parish standing on very high ground. The second element in the name is a personal description, derived from the Norman Brittel de St. Clare. The parish church has been completely restored, and is devoid of interest.

Ashcott, a parish on the Poldens, 3 m. S.W. of Glastonbury, with a station (S. & D.J.R.) two miles away. The church has a W. embattled tower with a carving on the W. face representing the sacred monogram, a mitre, and a pastoral staff. There is a stoup in S. porch, but no other feature of interest.

Ashill, a parish 3¾ m. N.W. of Ilminster, situated on rising ground on the Taunton and Ilminster road. The church is interesting by reason of the Norman work that it contains, including N. and S. doors and triple chancel arch (restored). There are two effigies in recesses in the nave wall, one representing a woman and her six children. At Capland, 1½ m. off, there is a chalybeate spring.

Ashington, 3 m. E.S.E. of Ilchester, has a small church dedicated to St. Vincent. It is remarkable for the large square bell-cot over the W. gable (cp. Brympton and Chilthorne Domer) which is supported by a massive buttress in the middle of the W. front. Within the building note (1) the three lancets at the E. end; (2) the foliated interior arches of the chancel windows (two of which are very small lancets); (3) the pulpit, dated 1637. The glass in some of the windows is good.

Ashton, Long, is a straggling village, noteworthy for its court and church. Ashton Court, the seat of Sir J.H. Greville Smyth, was erected by Inigo Jones in 1634, and is surrounded by a beautifully-wooded park. Long Ashton church contains a fine screen, gilded and painted (the old colours being reproduced), and a 15th cent. tomb (in the N. chapel) with two effigies, belonging to Sir Richard Choke and his wife. There are also two mutilated effigies, preserved in the N. porch, which are supposed to belong to the de Lyons family, who once owned the park.

Ashwick, 2 m. S.E. of Binegar. There is no village, but merely a group of houses. The church has a graceful late Perp. tower, with spirelet: this is the only original part of the fabric, the rest having been rebuilt in 1825. Ashwick Grove is a prettily-situated mansion, said to contain a good collection of pictures.

Athelney, included within the parish of Lyng (with a stat.), is the spot historically famous for having harboured Alfred in 878 when he had to escape before a sudden inroad of the Danes (see p. 12). It was once an island (the name means "isle of the nobles"), and in wet weather must even now almost resume that condition. Alfred, after having defeated the Danes at Ethandune, founded a monastery here, of which all traces have unhappily disappeared. A small monument (best approached from the main road between Lyng and Borough bridge) was erected in 1801 by Mr. John Slade, the owner of the estate, to commemorate the events connected with the locality; but the inscription is misleading in giving 879 (instead of 878) as the year when Alfred took refuge here, and in stating that he lay concealed for a whole year (instead of a few months). The neighbourhood abounds in osier and reed-beds, producing materials for basket-work.

AXBRIDGE, 10 m. N.W. of Wells, is an ancient town, which still preserves an air of antiquity. It is situated in a neighbourhood largely devoted to market gardens, in which quantities of strawberries are grown. It was a borough as early as the reign of Edward the Confessor, but its corporation was abolished in 1886. Its most notable feature is the church of St. John the Baptist. It is a large cruciform structure with a central tower, having three windows in the belfry, and rather shallow buttresses. The figure on the W. face of the tower is supposed to be Henry VI. or Henry VII., that on the E. St. John. Within the church note (1) the roofs, that of the nave plaster with pendants (1636), those of the aisles oak (15th cent.); (2) the carved capitals of the S. arcade and squint in the S.E. tower pier; (3) the mural monument to William Prowse in the N. aisle; (4) the altar before the tomb of Anne Prowse (in S. aisle), covered with a cloth worked by her own hands (1720); (5) brass in N. aisle to Roger Harper (1493); (6) in S. wall of sanctuary piscina and sedilia. In the N. wall is a curious hole, apparently connected with an external cell (where there are the remains of a broken piscina). The purpose of this cell is a great puzzle. The church seems to have possessed two rood-lofts (cp. Crewkerne); and has a two-storied building on the S. of the W. door, which is thought by some to be a treasury.

In the town there are some old houses with projecting upper storeys. One of them, called The Old Manor House, deserves a visit for the sake of a fine ceiling in one of its rooms. In the Town Hall are preserved the old stocks, the apparatus used in bull-baiting, and a money-changer's table, dated 1627.

Babcary is a village a short distance E. of the Fosseway, 6 m. N.N.E. of Ilchester (nearest stat., Sparkford). The first syllable of the name is a personal appellation which doubtless appears in Babbicombe; the second is derived from the neighbouring stream. There is a church of ancient origin, but since its restoration it exhibits little of interest except a piscina (with credence shelf) and a good Caroline pulpit (1632).

Babington, 1 m. S. of Mells Road station. There is no village. The church dates from the reign of George II. Babington House is a mansion of some age but little beauty.