Church of St Mary, Orchardleigh

Last updated

Church of St Mary
Orchardleigh Lake1.JPG
Somerset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Somerset
General information
Town or city Lullington
CountryEngland
Coordinates 51°15′28″N2°19′33″W / 51.2578°N 2.3259°W / 51.2578; -2.3259
Completed13th century

The Church of St Mary is a 13th-century church in the grounds of the Orchardleigh Estate in Somerset, England.

Contents

History

The church stands on an island in the 11.23-hectare (27.7-acre) artificial Orchardleigh Lake in the grounds of the Orchardleigh Estate within the parish of Lullington, Somerset. It was built in the 13th century, and was heavily restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott for the Rev. W. A. Duckworth in 1878, whose relations held the estate at that period. It has since been designated a Grade I listed building. [1]

The church has retained its sculptures and stained glass from the 14th and 15th centuries respectively. Around 1800, estate owner Thomas Champneys of the Mostyn-Champneys Baronets had a moat dug around the church. [2]

Memorials

The church has the grave of the poet Henry Newbolt and his wife, a member of the Duckworth family.

Present day

Weddings are often performed at the church, which has capacity for 120 guests. It is reached from the mainland via a footbridge, and a public footpath runs nearby over another bridge across the lake. The church does not have an electricity supply and therefore services are candlelit. The organ is pumped by hand. [3]

The Anglican parish is part of the benefice of Beckington with Standerwick, Berkley, Rodden and Orchardleigh within the Frome deanery. [4]

The church was used as a filming location in 1974 for The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, a dramatisation of the M.R James ghost story produced by the BBC as part of its A Ghost Story for Christmas series.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Petherton</span> Human settlement in England

North Petherton is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includes Hamp, Melcombe, Shearston, Woolmersdon and Huntworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cricket St Thomas</span> Human settlement in England

Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district. The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic manor house known as Cricket House, and its estate in recent times formerly home to a wildlife park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keinton Mandeville</span> Village in England

Keinton Mandeville, commonly referred to as Keinton, is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on top of Combe Hill, 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Castle Cary in the former South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,215. It is located next to Barton St David.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orchardleigh Lake</span> Artificial lake in Somerset

Orchardleigh Lake is an 11.23-hectare artificial lake in the grounds of the Orchardleigh Estate, just north of Frome, Somerset, England. It was formed by damming a tributary of the River Frome. Today, the lake is used for angling and birdwatching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckington</span> Human settlement in England

Beckington is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which has a population of 983, and the hamlet of Standerwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkley, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Berkley is a dispersed settlement and civil parish in Somerset, England. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 344. It lies on the north-east edge of the town of Frome, St Mary's church being about 2+14 miles (4 km) from the centre of Frome. The parish includes the hamlets of Oldford, Berkley Marsh and Standerwick, and its eastern boundary is also the county boundary with Wiltshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brompton Regis</span> Human settlement in England

Brompton Regis is a village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Dulverton. It is situated on the River Pulham in the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park, close to Wimbleball Lake, a water supply reservoir constructed in the 1970s and completed in 1979. According to the 2011 census the village had a population of 449. The parish boundary is marked by the River Exe which is crossed by the medieval Chilly Bridge and Hele Bridge. The Haddeo is crossed by Bury Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanton Drew</span> Human settlement in England

Stanton Drew is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset, England, lying north of the Mendip Hills, 8 miles (13 km) south of Bristol in the area of the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stogumber</span> Human settlement in England

Stogumber is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the eastern flank of the Brendon Hills. Besides Stogumber village itself, the parish includes the hamlets of Ashbeer, Capton, Escott, Higher Vexford, Kingswood, Lower Vellow, Lower Vexford, Preston, and Vellow. The village is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lullington, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Lullington is a village and civil parish just across the Mells River from Beckington and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north east of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orchardleigh Estate</span> Country estate in Somerset, England

Orchardleigh is a country estate in Somerset, approximately two miles north of Frome, and on the southern edge of the village of Lullington. The privately held estate comprises a Victorian country house, the Orchardleigh Lake with its island church, and an 18-hole golf course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop's Palace, Wells</span> Historic house museum in UK

The Bishop's Palace is the residence of the bishop of Bath and Wells in Wells, Somerset, England. The palace is adjacent to Wells Cathedral and has been the residence of the bishops since the early thirteenth century. It has been designated a grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in Somerset</span> Buildings of exceptional interest in Somerset

The Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, England, demonstrate the history and diversity of its architecture. The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Mary the Virgin, Nettlecombe</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Nettlecombe, Somerset, England dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St George's Church, Beckington</span> Church in Beckington, England

The Church of St George is a Church of England parish church in Beckington, Somerset, England. It is a Norman church, dating from the 14th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of All Saints, Lullington</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church of All Saints is a Church of England parish church in Lullington, Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mostyn-Champneys baronets</span>

The Champneys, later Mostyn-Champneys Baronetcy, of Orchardleigh in the County of Somerset, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 12 January 1767 for Thomas Champneys, subsequently High Sheriff of Somerset from 1775 to 1776. He owned the Orchardleigh estate near Frome and other English properties. In 1771 he inherited from his uncle, Anthony Swymmer a sizeable plantation: Nutt's River, in the parish of St Thomas in the East, Surrey, close to Morant Bay, Jamaica. This estate produced sugar, rum and livestock, mainly cattle. In 1810, 241 slaves were counted as part of the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Mary, Berkley</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Church of St Mary is a Church of England parish church in Berkley, Somerset. It is a Grade II* listed building built in 1751.

The Anglican Church of All Saints in Rodden, Somerset, England, was built in 1640. It is a Grade II* listed building.

<i>The Treasure of Abbot Thomas</i> (film)

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas is a 1974 supernatural drama produced by the BBC as part of its A Ghost Story for Christmas series. Running at 37 minutes and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, it was written by John Bowen with an atmospheric musical score by Geoffrey Burgon. Based on the 1904 short story "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" by M. R. James, the drama was originally broadcast on 23 December 1974 and starred Michael Bryant and Paul Lavers.

References

  1. Historic England. "Church of St. Mary, causeway bridge, and gates (1058142)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. McGarvie, Michael. "History". Beckington Village. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  3. "St Mary's Church". Beckington. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  4. "St. Mary's, Orchardleigh". Church of England. Retrieved 4 November 2011.