Church of St Edwards Chilton Polden Somerset. Mucker Movies

The Church of St Edward, was built between the 11th and the 15th Centuries - with further additions and renovations in Victorian times - on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The present church houses traces of Norman stonework, 13th Century Early English columns and arches, and a south tower and nave clerestory of Perpendicular style. The 88ft high 4-stage tower, completed in 1447, is a conspicuous landmark with an embattled parapet with pinnacles and a string course with gargoyles.

The stonework within the church has examples of Early English nailhead decorations to the column capitals, and has cable moulding round the tops of the shafts. The nave houses several grotesque corbels and some plain head corbels (probably depicting local dignitaries).

The south aisle houses a large picture of the Crucifixion by the Flemish painter Gaspar de Craeyer, who flourished around 1610. Joseph Chamberlayne of Maugersbury Manor, Stow on the Wold gave the picture to the church in 1875.

Externally is the most striking aspect of St Edward's is the pair of ancient yew trees flanking the 17th or 18th Century North Porch

 

St. Edward’s Church in Chilton Polden has a history rooted in the 15th century, with significant rebuilding in 1889. The church, originally part of Glastonbury Abbey’s holdings, features a 13th-century predecessor and a 14th-century Parish Room. The 1889 rebuild, designed by E. Henry Edwards, resulted in a Neo-Perpendicular style church, with some original Perpendicular features remaining.

A loose stone, formerly a stoup’s  but now used as a support for a vase, is placed in the N squint of the chancel  . It is of fine-grained limestone which has been polished over time. The upper part, below the ring round the bowl, is cut so that four broad leaves fold over the angles to terminate at a sharp point on the base . Between the leaves there are broad tongues with their angles placed on the base. Despite minor damage which does not detract from the stoup’s elegant beauty, it is in good condition