A.D. Mills in his book 'The Popular Dictionary of English Place-names', gives the spelling WINESCUMBE with a date of c 965, but a source is not cited. The spelling WINESCOME is found in the Doomsday (Domesday) Book (1086) and WYNESCUMB in the manuscript Liber Albus, dated 1236 in Wells cathedral library. Mills states that the place name is from the Old English, a personal name 'Wine' + cumb meaning 'valley', so, it can be translated as 'Wine's valley'. Hans Balow has published an etymological dictionary of placenames in Europe and found an extensive collection of Ven-, Vin-, Wen-, Wein- Win- syllables as beginnings of placenames. Many of these names occur in Northern Europe, not known for its ability to cultivate wine, so he discounted the likelihood of all these like sounding syllables refer to wine. He suggests they could be interpreted as meaning "dirty" i.e. "fertile" water. 'Winn' can also mean 'meadow' or 'white'.

Francis Knight proposes that the first syllable, 'win' is from the O.E. 'winnan' to fight or to struggle. ('The Heart of Mendip' by Francis A. Knight, 1915) and points out that 'Win' also occurs as the first syllable in the placenames Winthill near Banwell, Winterhead, a settlement in the parish of Winscombe and in the name of the hundred, Winterstoke.

The parish of Winscombe can be called 'sprawling'. The Church of St James the Great now seems remote from its inhabitants, sited as it is on Winscombe hill overlooking the surrounding countryside, but it was probably at the centre of the original settlement. The parish has several settlements, the principal ones being Winscombe, where the parish church is sited, Barton to the west of the church; Woodborough and Sidcot to the east. Sandford, Dinghurst and Nye (Neigh) lie North of Winscombe's parish church. Further settlements are to be found at Winterhead, Max, Hale, Oakridge, Ford, Knap (Knappe) and the Drove. All, without exception, are named in documents held in Wells Cathedral Library.

The oldest unit of local government was the Anglo Saxon shire and a sheriff was appointed by the king to look after the shire. The word county is derived from the Norman French comté. The boundaries of Norman counties generally corresponded with those of the Saxon shires of the immediate pre-Norman period. The hundred was a subdivision of the shire and its establishment also dates back to Anglo Saxon times. The hundred had military, judicial and administrative functions. The meaning of the term is not altogether clear. It could have meant an area of 100 taxable hides of land, or ten tithings. Winscombe lies in the medieval hundred of Winterstoke, of which Banwell was the capital manor. Below are the parishes in the hundred of Winterstoke as listed in the Doomsday Book (later additions in brackets)

Ashcombe, Axbridge

Badgeworth, Banwell, Blagdon, Bleadon, ( later, part of Burnham)

Cheddar, (later, Christon, Churchill, Cleeve, Compton Bishop), Claverham, Congresbury

Draycot,

East Harptree, Elborough,

Hutton

Kenn, Kewstoke, Kingston Seymour,

(Locking) , Loxton

Milton,

Ponteside, (Puxton)

Rodney Stoke (Winterstoke & Glastonbury 12 Hides), (Rowberrow),

Shipham

Uphill

Weare (Winterstoke & Bempstone), Wemberham, (Weston super Mare, Wick St Lawrence), Winscombe, Winterhead, Woodspring, Worle

Yatton

The ecclesiastical parish system dates back many centuries and though independent of the hundred it is effectively a further division of the hundred. A parish was simply an area of land associated with a church from which the incumbent could take an income from the tithing system i.e. 10 per cent of the produce of the land. The parish system effectively has its roots in the time of Theodore of Tarsus, a Greek monk who arrived in Canterbury in 669. Theodore, renowned for his organisational skills, appointed many more bishops to smaller dioceses and held regular councils of church leaders so that the church could be governed properly. It is during his lifetime that the terms 'tithe' and 'parishes' were first used. Theodore ordered all christians to pay a tithe, a tenth of their income, to the church to help the poor, pilgrims and churches. However, it was after Theodore's death, about 690 that all dioceses in England were divided into parishes with a priest for each parish.

The oldest description of Winscombe is found in the Doomsday (Domesday) Book, the name given to the record of the great survey of England made by order of William the Conqueror in 1085-86. The Doomsday Book was, in effect, the first national census, a royal survey of all England for administration and tax purposes. It records that the manor of Winscombe was given by Aelswitha (Ealhswitha, Ealhswyth - died 905 AD), wife of Alfred the Great, to Glastonbury Abbey who were in possession at the time of the Conqueror's survey.

Glastonbury held -

Alhampton, Andersey, Batcombe, Blackford, Butleigh, Camerton, Catcott, Chilton Polden, Cossington, Croscombe, Dinnington, Ditcheat, Downhead, Durborough, East Brent, East Cranmore, Edington, Edingworth, Glastonbury, Greinton, Ham, Hornblotton, Kenton, Lamyatt, Marksbury, Meare, Mells, Middlezoy, North Wootton, Overleigh, Panborough, Pedwell, Pennard, Pilton, Podimore, Pylle, Shapwick, Shepton Mallet, Stawell, Walton (Glastonbury), Westcombe, West Cranmore, West Monkton, Winscombe, Woolavington, Wrington.

The Abbey of Glastonbury retained possession of the manor of Winscombe until the reign of Richard I (1157-1199). In 1194 the Abbey of Glastonbury was annexed to the see of Wells. Jocelin, the Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury, restored possession to the Monks of Glastonbury in 1218, but in 1239, Jocelin gave the manor to the Dean and Chapter of Wells. In 1244 Bath and Wells were united to form the diocese of Bath and Wells. A description of Winscombe as contained in the Doomsday Book is outlined in 'The Heart of Mendip' by Francis A. Knight, 1915. (see appendix)

(H.O. 107/ 1937 as transcribed by Gordon Beavington)

ADAMS ALDERMAN ALLEN ALSTON ATHAY AUTON AVERY

BADMAN BAKER BALFOUR BALL BALSTON / BATSTON BANWELL BARCLAY BARNETT BAWDEN BELFOERD BELL BENNETT BIDDLECOMBE BISHOP BLAKE BOBBETT BODY BOLLETT BOWDEN BRADFORD BRAY BREEN BRISTOW BROAD BROOK BROOKMAN BROOKS BROUGH BROWETT BUNE BURCH BURDGE BURGE BUTLER BUTT

CALCUTT CAOLE CAPLE CAPPER CARTER CARVER CHAPLAIN CHAPMAN CHAPPELL CHARLEY CHINNICK CLARK CLARKE CLEVERDON CLOTHIER CLUTTON COBLEY COLE

COLES COLLINGS COMER COOKSLEY COOMBES COPELAND CORFING CORNER CORNISH COTTEL COTTRELL COUNSELL COX CRANDON CULLIFORD CURRY CURTIS

DANVERSE DAVEY DAVIES DAY DEAN DERRICK DOEWRA DOLING DOOLAN DOULTING DRAKEFORD DURBIN DYER

EDGELL EDWARDS ELLIS ENDICOT ESTERBROOK ESTINS EVANS

FALCONER FAULDER FEAR F ERY ? FISHER FOLLES FORD FOX FRANCIS FRANK FREEMAN FRENCH FRY

GADING / GODING GILKES GILL GILLET GLOVER GODDING GOLDSBROUGH GOLDSTONE GOODING GORDON GORE GOUGH GREENWOOD GREGORD GREGORY GUNDRY

HAIN HALE HALL HAM HAMILTON HANCOCK HARDING HARES HARRIS HARSE HAWKINS HAYES HEAL HELLARD HEMENS / HEMMINS HEMMENS HOLBROOK HOOK / HOCK HOOK HOOPELL? HOPKINS HORSINGTON HOUSE HUNT HURDICH HURDIDGE HYDEN

INGLIS ISAAC ISGAR

JACKWAY JENKINS JENNINGS JONES

KERSLAKE KERTON KILBY KING KINGSTON KINGSTONE KINGTON KINMGSTON KNIGHT

LAKE LEAHEY LEAKEY LEES LEIGHTON LEMAN LETHABY LEWIS LOVELL LYNE

MABBETT MAISHMAN MARSHMAN? MALTRAVERS MARSHALL MASON MASTERS MEAD MELLIER? MILLARD MILLS MITCHELL MORGAN MORSE MULLINSON

NICHOLLS NICHOLS NIGH NIPPER

OGBURN OLIVER OSMOND

PAIN PAINE PALMER PANES PARSLEY PARSONS PAYNE PELLY PETERS PETHERAM PETHETON PHILLIPS PIMM PITMAN PITT PLAISTER POOL POPE POPLE PUMPHREY PURNELL

RADFORD RAINES RAWLINGS RAYNON REED REEVES RICE RICH RING ROBINSON ROE ROGERS ROPER ROSSITER RUTTER

SALISBURY SALOMON? SAUNDERS SAY SEGAR SEVIER SHAW SHEPPARD SHEPPARD SHEPSTON SHEPSTONE SHIELD SHOE? SHORLAND SISSIONS SLADE SMALL SMITH SOUTHEY SPEAR SPEARE SPENCER SPERRING STARKEY / HARKEY STEPHENS STEVENS

STOCK STONE STRINGER STRONG SULLY

TALLACK TANGYE TANNER TAYLOR TEMLLAR THAYER THOMAS THOMPSON THORN TILLEY TILLY TINKLES TREW TRIPP TUCKER TUCKETT TUTT TUTTON / TRITTON TYLER

URCH

VENN VERIER? VIRGIN VOWLES

WADHAM WATTS WAY WEBB WEDMORE WEEKS WELSH WHEELER WHITE WICKHAM WIDMORE WILKINS WILLIAMS WILLIS WILLMOTT WILMUTTON? WITHEY WOOKEY WOOLF WYATT

YATMAN YOUNG

ADAMS ADAMSON ALEXANDER ANDREWS ASHBY ATWELL AVERY

BABER BACHO BADMAN BAILEY BAYLEY BAKER BALL BALTH BANCROFT BARNES BARRITT BARRINGTON BARROW BAWDEN BAWDON BEADON BECK BEES BINTER BIRD BISGROVE BLAKE BOBBETT BOLT BOWN BOYCE BRADFORD BRAY BRAYSHAW BRISTOW BROOKS BROWN BROWNE BUCK BUCKLAND BURCHAM BUTT

CANTERBURY CAPLE CARD CAREY CARLING CASEY CHAPMAN CHAPPELL CIRDLAND CLARK CLARKE COCKRAM COLE COLES COLLINGS COMPTON COOKSLEY CORAM CORNISH COTTRELL COUNSELL COX CURTHONS

DAVEY DAVIES DAY DEAN DEMARK DERRICK DICKSON DOVE DREWETT DRIVER DRURY DUDDEN DURMAN DURSTON DYER

EADES EDGELL EDINGTON EDDINGTON EDWARDS ELLIS ELSTON ELSTONE EMERY ESCOTT

FAY FEAR FISHER FLINT FOLLETT FORD FOORD FOWLER FOX FRY

GAD GALLUP GEORGE GERVIS GILES GLOVER GREEN GREGORY GRIPPER

HAIN HAINS HANES HALL HALLE HAM HAMILTON HAMPSHIRE HANCOCK HARGRAVE HARMAN HARRIS HARSE HART HARVEY HAWKINS HAWKINGS HAYWARD HEAL HEATH HEMMENS HEMMONS HEMONS HESLER HIGGINS HOLMES HOUSE HOWE HOWELL HOYLAND HUGHES HUNT HURDITCH

JACKWAYS JAMES JARMAN JEFFREY JOHNS JOHNSON JONES JUPP

KEDMORE KEELER KEINGTON KENWAY KERSLAKE KERTON KIRTON KNIEGTON KNIGHT

LEAKEY LANE LATCHMORE LEE LETHERBRIDGE LEWIS LEWES LINTHORN LLOYD LUCKETT

MABBETT MACKEY MALONE MANLEY MAPSTONE MARCH MARKS MARRIAGE MARSH MARSHALL NOLAN-MARTIN MASTERS MATHLON MCAWES MEACHIM MESSER MILES MILLER MITCHELL MOGG MORGAN MORLAND MORSE MOXHAM

NEATH NEIGH NEWING NEWMAN NEWTON NICHOLAS NICHOLLS NICHOLS NIGH NIPPER (NOLAN-MARTIN)

OATEN OLIVER

PARISH PARKER PARSONS PAYNE PEARCH PEARSONS PEDDY PERKINS PETERS PETHERHAM PETHERS PHILLIPS PIDGLEY PIMM PITMAN PLASTER POLLARD POLLS POOL PRICE PRIDEAUX PRINCE PRIOR PURNELL

RADFORD RAINES RAINTRIE RASLEY RAYNER READ REDFERN REECE REES RICH RICKETTS ROGERS ROPER RAWLE RAWLINGS RAWLINS ROWLEY ROYNAN RUTTER

SAINSBURY SALISBURY SAUNDERS SAWTELL SAY SCOLDING SCOURSE SCULLY SEAMAN SELLICK SESSIONS SEYMOUR SHELTON SHEPPARD SHEPSTONE SHORLAND SILKS SIMMONS SIMONS SIMMONDS SIMPSON SIMMS SKINNER SLEAMAN SLOCOMBE SLOGOOD SMALL SMART SMITH SMYTHE SOPAR SPURLOCK STEPHENS STEVENS STILLMAN STOCK STONE STURGE SWAIN SWARM

TANGYE TEMPLAR THATCHER THAYER THOMPSON THORN THORNE TILLEY TRIPP TUCKETT TURNER TUTT

VENN VIZARD VINCENT VOWLES

WADE WALTERS WARNER WARREN WEBB WEBSTER WEDMORE WEEKS WERE WESTLAKE WHALES WHEALER WHEELER WHITE WHITTING WILKINS WILKINSON WILLAN WILSON WILLSHER WINTER WOOLES WOOLF WOOD WOOKEY WORSDELL WOTHEY WREN

YATMAN YOUNG

ZELLEY

As stated, the parish of Winscombe lies in North Somerset in the old hundred of Winterstoke and within the registration district of Axbridge (see map of neighbouring parishes). Its near parishes (within a 5 mile radius) are set out below -

In the sixth century, Pope Gregory I had sent Augustine to organise the Roman Church in Britain. To achieve and maintain order and obedience, bishops were appointed to districts called a diocese. An Archbishop was responsible for a number of dioceses. The task of the conversion of what was perceived as 'heathens' was enormous. Many Christian documents of the time refer to pagan temples, priests, idols and sacred places. But, the early church was very adept at adaptation and an example of this can be seen in Pope Gregory's 's brief to Bishop Mellitus who was going to join Augustine in England, to use the heathen temples (fanes) and holy places he found as churches.

A similar treatment of heathen festivals was adopted. Paganism often lies behind the Christian calendar. The pagan spring feast of Eostre became incorporated in the oldest feast of the Christian Church; Easter.The Roman and pagan winter festivals became Christmas. Candlemas (Feb 2nd) is based on the Celtic fire festival of Imbolc. All Saints and All Souls are celebrated in early November because of the church's attempt to Christianise the Celtic feast of Samhain. St. John's Day is just the Summer Solstice under a different name.

Many later Anglo-Saxon settlements had a small church, usually built of wood. Evidence of these wooden churches have not survived well and only a few almost complete stone Saxon churches are evident, so it is difficult to know how many there were. The humblest type of church was a field church where the faithful heard mass conducted by a peripatetic priest around a stone or wooden cross. In some places there was a sacred shrine. There certainly would have been a designated area where believers buried their dead and there is evidence to suggest that christian graveyards were established before their churches were erected. The location of these early Christian sites and early churches was important too, certainly not a hit or miss affair. It would have been carefully chosen and its significance to the local population might even have had its roots in a pre-Christian sacred place. Sites on 'high places' and isolated hillocks are well known, as are sites near holy wells or running water and sacred trees such as Yew trees. After the 1066 invasion, the new Norman landowners were inclined to replace wooden buildings with something more durable, stone. There was a veritable explosion of building, not just castles, the Normans were great church builders so that churches and massive cathedrals sprang up throughout the country. The Norman or Romanesque period (c. 1060-1200) of church building was typified by heavy rounded arches and massive pillars. As England became bound more closely with Latin Christendom, there was a tremendous growth of monasteries and nunneries. In 1066 there were forty monasteries and twelve nunneries in England. By 1200 there were over six hundred religious houses and the church owned a great deal of the land and wealth in England. Later, a new type of architecture called 'Gothic' was developed. The style covered three periods prior to the Reformation - Early English (13th century), Decorated (14th century) and Perpendicular (15th century). With the advent of the Reformation, the great church building era in England's history virtually came to an end.

There was but one Church in the West, the Catholic Church. Britain had been a Catholic country prior to the reign of Henry Vlll in the 16th century. At the beginning of Henry's reign (1509), the Church in England was in tandem with the rest of Christian Europe. The Head of the Church was the Pope in Rome, believed to be the successor of the apostle St Peter; the spoken and written language of the Church was Latin; priests were celibate. The Reformation in Europe did not suddenly happen. There had been protestations about abuses in the church for centuries and protesters had sought to reform the church from within. By the 16th century matters came to a head and the protesters sought to break away from the Church of Rome and the Protestant Movement was borne sweeping away everything they saw as being connected with popery. Such a drastic separation was too much for Henry Vlll and he chose a middle way with the establishment of the Church of England. Essentially, Henry was not a Protestant and he wished to keep Catholic religious practices, but he wanted to make himself head of the Church in England. Significantly, with the Act of Supremacy of 1534, Henry achieved his goal. In 1536, Henry began the process of stripping the monastic houses of their wealth (dissolution of the monasteries). By the end of his reign the Church in England had retained elements of the old faith - church services were still celebrated in the Latin tongue, Catholic sacraments remained and the mass, with its emphasis on transubstantiation (the belief in the miraculous conversion of the substance of the bread and wine into the whole substance of the Body and Blood of Christ) was still celebrated - but there were Protestant elements such as the official introduction of an English Bible, the Lord's prayer was said in English and the head of the Church in England was the sovereign, Henry himself. But Henry, unwittingly perhaps, had set the Church in England on the road towards Protestantism. Henry was succeeded by his son Edward Vl (1547-1553). During his reign, under the guidance of the Statesmen Northumberland and Somerset and Archbishop Cranmer, the Church in England was more drastically reformed. Catholic ceremonies were abolished and opposing Bishops were sacked. Worshippers in their parish churches saw the changes immediately. Priests were permitted to marry and were to wear plainer clothes; worshippers whose ancestors had contributed to the fabric of their churches saw the painted images whitewashed out and statues of the saints stripped away and destroyed; services were simplified, no longer in Latin but in English; the English Bible could be read in church; the stone altar, with its emphasis on priesthood and sacrifice, was replaced by a simple wooden communion table; the mass was abolished in 1549 and in the same year, a new English prayer book, The First Book of Common Prayer, thought to be the work of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, was introduced. This prayer book was the first attempt at introducing a formula of worship to be followed throughout the year and of putting an English service into one single volume. The prayer book was criticised by reformers for not going far enough, particularly over the question of transubstantiation and was only to last for three years until the Second Book of Common Prayer was introduced in 1552, six months before the death of Edward Vl. The second Book of Common Prayer introduced some fundamental changes, including the denial of transubstantiation and the dogma that this act of celebration was a spiritual representation. There was an attempt under the Catholic Queen Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry Vlll and half sister of Edward, to change the Church in England's face back toward Catholicism, but this was fleeting as Mary died in 1558. Elizabeth l's reign saw the return to Protestantism. Her churchmen also sought to address a problem that had become apparent at the outset of the new religious movement, that of the layout of the parish churches. The parish church of the old religion was built to cater for the beliefs of the old faith. The new religion would see a re-ordering in these churches.

A wooden display board inside St James the Great names the incumbents and their years of service in the church. The first name on the list is that of William de Kaynsham (Kaynesham) and the date ascribed to him is 1226. This would suggest that William de Kaynsham was already established as Winscombe's priest ten years before Jocelin's church was built. The next leap would be to assume that there was a church building in Winscombe prior to 1236. However, Mrs Maria Forbes, a local historian, has pointed out that the original document referring to William de Kaynsham, now held in Wells cathedral, is in fact undated. It was bundled with another document of that date and so the assumption was made that the two documents were of the same date. The conclusion must be that there is no evidence to support the supposition that a church in Winscombe existed before Jocelin built his church in 1236.

Other 'evidence' used to support the establishment of an earlier church building in Winscombe is the claim that there was a monastery in Winscombe. Francis KNIGHT ('The Heart of Mendip'), perpetuated the tradition that a monastic house once stood in Winscombe and speculated that it may have been on the site of the former parsonage, the site now occupied by Winscombe Court. Once again, nothing has yet been found to support this legend, a fact that Knight acknowledged.

Despite all this, my own view is that it is unlikely that the present church was the first one to be erected in Winscombe. The fact that a church is not mentioned in the Doomsday Book is not significant, but it maybe significant that Winscombe's present church is perched on the side of a hill, perhaps located on a more ancient religious site or earlier church building. However, there is also the possibility, that the church was built high on virgin ground, the site of an earlier church being unsuitable for climatic or some other reason. Until some documemtation or archaeological evidence comes to light, the case is not proven.The earliest documented reference to the present church building records a gift of land by one Henry Luveseft for the church at 'Wynescumb' which was dedicated in honour of St James the Great on 26th August 1236. It was consecrated by Jocelin (Jocelyn) Troteman de Welles, who styled himself as Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury until 1219 when he gave up his claim to Glastonbury and from the on was known as Bishop of Bath. In that year Henry III , King of England from 1216-1272, married Eleanor daughter of Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence. In France, Louis IX was King and the Pope was Gregory IX.

A church was regarded as the property of its patron and could therefore be enlarged or even demolished and rebuilt on a new site with a new dedication without reference to its parishioners. Neither was it uncommon for churches to have their dedications changed. Many dedications were changed in the medieval period as the names of more fashionable saints were adopted. St James the Great was also known as one of the 'Sons of Thunder', Jacobus Major, Iago, Santiago. He was a Galilaean fisherman, the son of Zebedee and Salome and the elder brother of John. Originally a disciple of John the Baptist, he and his brother left everything to become 'fishers of men.' James preached in Samaria and Judea and, according to tradition, Spain. James the Great, so called to distinguish him from Saint James the brother of Jesus and James the Less, was one the first apostles to be martyred in A.D. 44 (Acts 12:2). His Feast Day is 25^th July.

If such an early building existed, it would have been of a simple design. Click here to see an image of a typical Norman Church.

Following the custom in the Western Church, it would have been rectangular in shape, facing roughly east towards Jerusalem and clearly divided into two areas, to the east the chancel and to the west the nave. The chancel, raised slightly above the level of the nave, was the domain of the priest, and the nave was reserved for the congregation. Positioned within the chancel, in an area called the sanctuary, was the holy altar. The altar represented the table at which Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Last Supper, and therefore had the form of a table. It would have been of stone, within which holy relics were enclosed. It was stipulated that it had to be stone because symbolically it represented Christ as the corner-stone of the Church, and because in the early days of the Church, mass was usually offered up on the stone tombs of christian martyrs. An area surrounding the church building would have been consecrated ground where the dead were buried. The little church would have been at the centre of the community.

When a church was consecrated, twenty-four consecration crosses would have been carved or painted or metal ones fixed on the walls, twelve outside and three on each of walls inside the church, symbolising the twelve apostles. They were positioned seven to eight feet above floor level to preserve them.

They were never to be removed as they proved the church had been consecrated and marked the spot where the Bishop blessed the building. Evidence of these consecration crosses is rare now due to erosion and the fact that churches were enlarged and modified over time. Candles were fixed in brackets beneath each of the twelve interior crosses, which were lit when the ceremony began. The Bishop walked around the exterior of the building three times. On the first circuit he sprinkled holy water on the upper part of the walls, the second time the lower and for the final circuit, the central area was blessed. Then, the Bishop and his attendants blessed the interior in a service that was rich with symbolism. By the light of the candles and to the sound of prayers, the recitation of psalms and chanting, the Bishop conducted the ancient ceremony of consecrating the new church. An area of land surrounding the church enclosed by a wall or a ditch, was also consecrated for the burial of the faithful. A churchyard cross now stands in Winscombe's cemetery, erected this century to commemorate those who lost their lives in two World Wars. Such a feature probably stood once long before in this consecrated ground. It was customary as far back as Lanfranc's time for processions to be made to the churchyard cross on festival days such as Palm Sunday.

The newly erected stone church would have been, by today's standards, initially small and dark. In the 13th C worshippers entered the building through the North door. There was no porch then. A small door on the south side in the chancel was reserved for the priest

The stone font stood symbolically next to the entrance of the west door, the holy water it contained changed twice a year at Easter and Whitsun. In later times the font was covered with a lid to prevent any misuse of the holy water. Holy water mixed with salt was also contained in the stoup, the bowl of holy water near the main entrance. The worshippers dipped their fingers in the water and made the sign of the cross symbolising spiritual cleansing before entering the church proper. Little daylight would have penetrated through the small single narrow windows built high up in the thick walls. Glass was so expensive that often the window openings had pressed animal horn or parchment fitted to keep out the elements. If there were any glass it would have been in the chancel. Cold and damp in winter, cool in summer, the dim interior would have been illuminated by candles and wall sconces, their acrid smell mixed with the heavy aroma of incense. The chancel and the nave would have been divided into two roughly equal parts. Often, the chancel was built in superior stone and to a higher degree of craftsmanship. We know from a record of a fire occurring in the chancel in 1610 that the timbered roof was thatched. The chancel may have been paved in stone but it is likely that the floor of the nave was beaten earth strewn with rushes in the warmer months and with straw in winter. The chancel was divided from the nave by an arch. Through the arch stood the sacred stone altar. The top, or the mensa, bore five crosses; one in the centre, the other four in each corner. Next to it, on the south wall of the chancel, still to be seen in Winscombe's church, was the piscina, a small bowl that the priest used to wash the sacred vessels after mass set within a niche called a fenestella. The water, considered holy because it had touched the holy vessels that had contained the wine (blood) and wafer (body) of Christ, drained outside to an underground sump. On the opposite North wall there was often a recess built to hold the Aumbry, a cupboard or chest intended to store the altar plate. In 604 St Gregory the Great announced the walls of parish churches were the be the bible of the poor "biblia pauperum" so it is likely that, even in St James' infancy, above the chancel arch there was a representation of what was known as 'the Doom'. The very phrase paints its own picture. Almost certainly, there would have been a statue to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The nave, at this time relatively small, was basically an open aisless space, as seating was not yet installed. There may have been narrow stone sills along the walls of the nave about eighteen inches above floor level for the aged and infirm to lean against, but for the most part, worshippers stood or knelt to hear mass. The mass was celebrated daily by the priest sometimes in an empty church, but everyone attended on Sunday. Few partook in communion as they thought the mass was something offered by the priest for them. In fact, the normal practice was to take communion once a year at Easter. The Medieval Christians did not and were not expected to understand word for word the entire service of the Latin mass, but they understood what was happening when the Host was elevated. They knew the story and meaning of the great Christian festivals - Christmas, Easter and Whitsun, knew the central teachings of Jesus, the lives of the saints and martyrs. They were taught to recite the Apostle's creed and the Ten Commandments and of course everyone knew the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary. In 1382 Wyclif translated the Lord's Prayer (Pater Noster) into English

But the language of the church was Latin. Parishioners were taught that to be a good Christian they needed only to be obedient, follow the moral teaching of the Church and to know and observe the importance of the seven sacraments - the seven sacred mysteries - of baptism, communion (celebrated by most only once a year), confirmation, matrimony, penance (confession and absolution for sin), ordination, extreme unction (anointing with oil before death). The Christian Trinity, God the Father (creator), Son (saviour), and Holy Ghost (spirit of comfort), was paired against the three enemies of mankind - the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. The seven virtues of faith, hope, charity, justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence with were contrasted with the seven deadly sins: pride, avarice, gluttony, lechery, sloth, wrath and envy.

As worship became more ritualistic and as the population grew, so did the church. The church was enlarged in stages over different periods of time. The North and south aisles were constructed and the tower raised so that the nave grew far larger than the chancel and the church took on a its now familiar layout. Screened side chapels with their own altars and statutory were added as was a fine new porch. Unlike cathedrals, which use the west door as their main entrance, parish churches were entered through a side doorway.

Click here to see a diagram showing the growth of the parish church:

The main entrance into the nave of St James the Great is through the North porch, probably built in the 15th C when the nave was enlarged. Traditionally, side entrances into the nave were sited on the south side of the church. There were exceptions, and Winscombe's north facing porch is one of them. This deviation from tradition is probably due to the steepness of the hill on the south side of the church. The porch protected the church door and gave shelter to parishioners, but it also had other functions, for example marriage banns were announced in the porch. Sometimes porches had small altars and it was there that the first part of the marriage ceremony was conducted, including placing the ring on the bride's finger before the couple entered the church for the wedding mass. The first part of the sacrament of baptism took place in the porch. It was also in the porch that the marriage contract was drawn up. After childbirth women had to be 'churched' - a form of thanksgiving following childbirth- before they re-entered the building and that took place in the porch. The custom was based on the events described in Luke 2:22-24 which describes the Purification of the Virgin who went to the Temple after the birth of Jesus. The porch had secular functions too. It was customary for executors of wills to use the porch and payment of debts were transacted there. Macarbly, unidentified bodies were placed in the porch in the hope that the corpse would be recognised. Above Winscombe's porch is a chamber, which could have, been used for a variety of purposes such as temporary accommodation, or to house a chantry priest. It could have been by a chantry guild, as schoolroom or just for storage. It is possible that Vestry meetings were held here. It is very likely that its use changed over time.

Following tradition, the church would have been painted, decorated and adorned, enriched with numerous works of devotional art, highlighted with gold and glittering by the light of candles. Focusing on the two thousand or so partial examples of surviving pre-Reformation works of art in this country, we can allow our imaginations to speculate as to what the interior of St James the Great may have aspired to. There would have been colour everywhere, primarily through decorative wall paintings created by professional travelling painters. The walls would have been covered with smooth plaster and sized or coated with a skim of lime plaster. The images of Jesus, the Virgin; the lives of the saints and the apostles; martyrs; angels; devils; frightening images of death, judgement purgatory and hell; scenes from nature and the Testaments - all served as visual representations of elements of the faith. A colourful story book for the most part for an illiterate congregation. Benefactors would have endowed the church with fixed and freestanding works of art. The most popular representations in the mediaeval church were that of Jesus, St John the Baptist, the Apostles the saints and, of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Any of these may have had an area set aside with a statue for devotional purposes. There were saints everywhere. It was not unknown for the pillars to have fixed brackets on them supporting a statue of a saint. St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers was probably represented .He, who put a child on his shoulders and found that the child was unbelievably heavy. The child was Christ, carrying the sin of the whole world. It was believed that if you looked at St Christopher's image, you would be safe from being struck down that day.

Two cults in particular gained popularity in the late 13th century: the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the cult of the dead.The impact of the Black Death was to intensify ways of thinking about death, the afterlife and the severing of the vital links between the living and the dead. Sudden death, with no chance of confession and repentance was dreaded. Morbid depictions of death and the afterlife as depicted in the visual arts bore out this fear an the Church urged Christians to contemplate their own mortality by stressing the transience of life, the corruptibility of the body and the horrors of hell. Such teaching brought about the formalisation of the doctrine of Purgatory. Medieval christians believed that one of three things could happen to the soul after death. The wicked went straight to hell; the saintly went straight to heaven; the souls of the majority went to purgatory - an intermediate state where the dead waited before going to heaven. But help was at hand. The Church taught that there was no severance between the living and the dead. The living could assist the soul on its journey through purgatory by offering prayers and masses. This led ultimately to a whole industry of postmortem prayers and charitable works to help the souls of the dead towards salvation. Prayers and masses were paid for and said regularly for the souls of the dead in the belief that their time in purgatory would be shortened. The rich had the means to ensure that prayers would be said on behalf of their souls by any priest and over a period of time, private chantries arose, separate chapels or altars within a church, where a hired chantry priest sang masses for its founder and his family. Such a thing was beyond the poor. To provide for them, there existed voluntary religious associations, fraternities or guilds of lay people, overseen by the Catholic Church. For a nominal amount each week a chantry priest could be paid to say masses for their souls of. Over time, the pennies of the poor was invested in land. Land that brought in such income was known as chantry lands and they became rich pickings during the Reformation. Fraternities often had small chantry chapels within parish churches. As space was limited, they were often tucked away in corners, positioned at the end of an aisle, or in any empty space that could be found. From the evidence of the documents pertaining to the reformation changes in Winscombe, it is clear that Winscombe had such a fraternity devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Marian cult had reached its peak during the mediaeval period and by the 13th century, a mass to the Blessed Virgin Mary, called a 'Ladymass' was offered traditionally on a Saturday, but sometimes daily in cathedrals. Naturally, the practice spread to parish churches and Lady chapels, sited to the side of the chancel with all the religious trapping of plate, rich statuary and furnishings, were built within the church for this purpose. In St James, in the Lady Chapel and elsewhere, the Blessed Virgin Mary may have been portrayed as a figure of hope and joy holding the infant Christ. Alternatively, she may have been shown cradling the crucified Christ, a picture of sorrow. Perhaps both. Such images were intended to concentrate the mind and functioned as aids to mediation and prayer. Here a worshipper could pause to meditate and recite the Rosary before, after or even during mass. Christians said the rosary in the Middle Ages as they do today. Rosaries were amongst the most popular and precious devotional objects in the medieval period owned by high and low. The word Rosary means 'crown of roses' and it consists of beads divided into five groups of ten. It was customary to recite five decades i.e. one third, at a time. As an aid to prayer, it helped the worshipper to meditate the mysteries of the joy (5 decades), sorrow (5 decades) and glory of Jesus and Mary (5 decades). It is also very likely that at least a statue of the church's namesake, St James the Great would have been represented inside the church. He may even have had a small area set aside and dedicated to him. The patron saint was expected to guard the building. As the patron saint of those suffering with arthritis and rheumatism and the saint of blacksmiths, tanners, labourers, soldiers, knights and pilgrims, prayers would have been offered to St James. Every saint had symbols, which invoked immediate recognition. St James the Great is often portrayed wearing a pilgrim's hat and holding cockle or scallop shells, which symbolises pilgrimage. In fact, the whole church was filled with signs and symbols as easily recognisable to the medieval christain as road signs are by today's driver. For example The letters IHS are a monogram of the word Iasous which is the Greek word for "Jesus". The symbol of the fish was one of the earliest Christian symbols. It represents Christ and also the Eucharist. The Greek word 'Ixthus' which means 'fish' is spelled from the first letters of Greek words meaning, 'Jesus CHRIST, Son of GOD SAVIOUR.' The early Christians used this sign as a secret symbol in the days of persecution. The gospels are symbolised by the figures of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle referring to the gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who respectively represented Jesus as man, king, priest and victim and God. The Good Shepherd, one of the earliest of Christian symbols also represents Jesus. Light symbolises the presence of God; thus the sanctuary lamp hung before the altar denotes that presence. Jesus, represented by candles, signifies he is the light of the world.

For medieval christians, as for christians today, the religious calendar centred on two cycles of seasons and holy days. The first, the fixed Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle; the second cycle is the moveable Lent-Easter-Pentecost (Whitsun) cycle. Liturgical colours used by the church marked the church's seasons. Violet represented penitence and was used during Lent and Advent; green signified hope and eternal life and was used the Sundays after Epiphany and Whitsun (Pentecost); red signified fire and blood so was used on the feasts of martyrs and at Whitsuntide; white represented innocence and joy and denoted festival and was worn at Christmas and Easter; black, the colour of sorrow, used on Good Friday and when saying masses for the dead.

Glass windows were installed in larger window openings. Windows now were grouped together in twos or threes instead of being single. Upright bars of stone known as mullions divided the windows and tracery adorned the top. These larger windows let in more light. Light is a great metaphor in the Bible. Life depends upon it and Jesus was 'the Light of the World'. In time, stained glass, or more correctly, painted glass began to be used to beautify church windows with pictures. Initially colours were limited to white and gold. Blue for example was very expensive. Fifteenth century glass is recognisable by the use of silver stain. When fired this produced shades of yellow tints ranging from pale lemon to dark orange. As the colour palette expanded and master craftsmen became more skilful, beautiful glass pictures were created. The topics varied greatly. Such windows were sponsored by the Church, guilds and the middle classes, the latter in the belief that good works must be done on earth to gain admittance into heaven. Local families who sponsored these windows often had their names or figures of themselves enshrined in the glass. Winscombe's NE Lady Chapel has a 15th C window over the altar depicting the crucifixion along with the names of the donors. Winscombe is justifiably proud of its medieval stained glass and on the North wall of the chancel, dated to the 1500s, is a the window known as the Peter Carslegh window which depicts three saints named Peter - St Peter the disciple and Apostle, holder of the keys of heaven, held in special honour because he was thought to be the first Pope of the Catholic Church; Saint Peter, exorcist and martyr beheaded under Diocletian c. 304 along with St. Marcellinus and St Peter the Deacon, a Benedictine monk disciple, secretary, and companion of Gregory the Great.

Liturgical objects may have been up-graded made of precious metals and beautifully embellished. The chalice, or cup, was the vessel into which the priest poured the wine that miraculously became the blood of Christ. The chalice was to be made of gold or at least gold-plated silver inside. The paten, the cover for the cup, was used as a plate from which the wafer was offered during the mass. It also had to be gold or gold-plated. Numerous liturgical objects were acquired such as a pix (the vessel in which the Host is kept); the chrismatory (the vessel in which chrism - a mixture of oil and balsam - was kept); a wafer box; a salver (a plate larger than a paten on which the wafer was offered); censers; a censer box; a hand bell for burials; candlesticks; crosses and crucifixes. It is likely that textiles and tapestries were also acquired such as communion cloths; hanging altar cloths, one for above another beneath vessel in which incense was kept. Then there were the priest's vestments - copes, large semi-circular vestment worn by priests over the surplice usually richly embroidered along with vestments for the deacon and subdeacon with albes (a white priestly vestment worn at communion); embroidered hearse cloths; several altar cloths etc.

As the later medieval worshipper entered St James' church through the new North porch and made his way past the old familiar font further into the church, he would have had the sensation that the further he moved towards the east window, the nearer he was drawing to the very presence of God. There, dramatically infront of him in the middle distance, supported on a weighty horizontal beam spanning the chancel, stood a huge cross, known as 'the rood' on which the image of the crucified Christ was painted in graphic detail. Illuminated by candles in holders or rood lights (a wick and oil in a container) to catch attention, the structure was intended to be eye-catching and immediately concentrate the mind on the sacrificial aspect of Jesus' mission. The beam sat on an arch, the lower half filled with a carved screen called 'the rood screen', a physical barrier separating the common part of the church from the holy sanctuary.

The word 'rood' is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'cross'. Traditionally, by the 15th C Christ was flanked by the Virgin and the beloved disciple John, an illustration from the gospel of John 19: 25. It was the first example of the adoration of the cross. Early rood screens were carved from stone, but after the 14th C wooden screens, like the one that once graced in St James, was more common. Rood lofts were constructed over the rood screen to enable the priest to attend to the candles or oil lamps. All that remains of this structure in the present building is the entrance to the staircase and the loft door high up on the south wall of the chancel. Above the rood screen, if tradition was followed in St James, would have been the depiction of the Doom. Perhaps Winscombe's portrayal of the Doom may have taken the form of the risen Christ, displaying the five signs of the crucifixion looking down on the congregation, surrounded by heavenly angels. To the sides, separated from the glory of Christ, are the sinners and all the evils of hell. It could have been more fearsome, a gaping mouth depicting the horrors of hell.

Christian plays may have been performed infront of the rood screen at religious festivals such as Easter and Christmas. During the last two weeks of Lent, the rood was covered with a violet or black cloth called a rood cloth. The rood screen would have partially hidden the altar and the priest from the worshippers as he celebrated the mystery of the mass in the most holy part of the church and as such added to the sense of separation and holiness. Standing in the nave, the congregation could only catch glimpses of what the priest was doing on their behalf. The word 'mass' meaning dismissal, comes from a word from the closing words, 'Ite missa est', 'Go, it is ended'. In the early days of the faith, the unbaptised were only permitted to partake in the first part of the service and were dismissed before the sacrifice of the mass was celebrated. The priest led the service of the mass from the altar in the distant chancel. The altar was lit with candles to symbolise Christ as the light of the World and to remember a time when the early Christians were forced to worship in secret in the dark catacombs in Rome. The altar was censed with incense, which pervaded the air, the sweet odour a symbol of prayer rising to heaven. White linen cloths covered the altar so that if the wine representing the blood of Christ should spill, the cloths would prevent it running ontop the floor. For the same reason, a lip was incorporate into the foot of the chalice. Linen cloth because Christ was thus wrapped before being placed in the tomb. White a symbol of purity. Central to the altar was the cross, its figure of the crucified Christ prominent. Only the priest and his officiating helpers would have seen the liturgical objects at this close range. The celebration of the mass in the Middle Ages seems to have varied greatly between regions and religious orders. It was only after the Reformation that a standard rite of mass was imposed on the entire Catholic Church at the order of the Council of Trent in 1545. However, despite this fact, there were common elements. The Mass was in Latin and the priest said mass facing the altar with his back to the nave as if leading his congregation towards God. The first part of the service consisted of preparatory prayers and throughout the service further prayers for intercession for the sick, dying and dead, prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication were offered. There then followed the Introit or introductory psalm, followed by the Kyrie Eleison, Greek for 'Lord Have Mercy' and the Gloria was sung. The Apostle's and or the Nicene Creed, a both statement of faith, was recited and of course, the Lord's Prayer was said.The second part of the service was concerned with the Eucharist when the priest facing the altar repeated the actions and words of Jesus at the Last Supper. He took the previously blessed bread and wine and raised it high above the altar, elevating the Host in offering. It was then taken to the screen's central entrance and offered to the participating members of the congregation. For many centuries it was the custom for the worshippers to receive only the bread or wafer from the paten. The priest alone consumed the wine. During the mass, the faithful played a subordinate role. At times during the mass they bowed heads and knelt, a sign of adoration, homage and respect. They joined their hands in supplication of prayer or raised them in entreaty for aid. They signed themselves with the sign of the cross and they repeated the chants of the priest.

If the parishioners of Winscombe initially thought that the events in far away London did not really concern them, only what was happening in and immediately around Winscombe did, they had been wrong. We can only imagine how the worshippers of St James the Great felt about the changes the reformation brought over some thirty years or so, not only to the very fabric of their church, but to everything they believed in and held sacred. Human nature being as it is, the reaction was probably mixed. The majority of those who had reached middle age had been brought up as Protestants. Maybe they were committed to the new faith: perhaps they were indifferent It is equally impossible to know how many of the population had hidden their rosaries and tried to remain faithful to the catholic faith during the time of change, who remembered marrying, christening their children and burying their shrouded dead in the churchyard of St James, according to the ancient rites of the Catholic Church, with their heads to the west and their eyes looking east. They were all gone now. The Protestants had said they could not find proof in the Bible of the existence of purgatory, the living could not assist departed souls by prayer, so masses were no longer sung for their souls and the chantry altar had long been smashed and removed along with the chantry priest who had been pensioned off.

Emphasis had been laid on direct communication with God through prayer and not through an intermediary such as the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, adoration of the Virgin and any fraternity associated with her, or any other saint for that matter, was unacceptable. Her altar in the Lady Chapel was gone, as were all her statues inside and outside Winscombe's church.

('Mediaeval Nunneries of the County of Somerset', Hugo)

Even their ancient stone altar with its holy relics was gone, replaced by a movable wooden communion table, for the reformers said that the pulpit which represented the Word of God was now to be the focal point of St James and one had been placed in the nave along with a reading desk, for in 1547, Edward VI ordered every parish to provide "a comely and honest pulpit"

Parishioners were encouraged to visit the church to read the Bible for themselves. Mercifully, pews had been installed, as sermons had become much longer affairs.

They had seen the abolition of the numerous religious holidays, festivals and pilgrimages that had been such a feature of medieval life. The familiar Pater Noster had sounded strange in the English tongue to their forefathers. It had become an offence to light candles in front of religious shrines or altars so the statues and shrines were stripped from St James. The wall paintings had gone, whitewashed over, mostly obliterating the holy images, though when the light was right, the shadow of what lay beneath could still be glimpsed. Several more coats were needed to completely eradicate it all. The mystery of the Latin mass was long gone, replaced by an English service as laid down in the Book of Common Prayer brought about to standardise the services. In fact, it was the change in this sacrament that had changed the whole 'feeling' of the church. No longer did there seem to be a division between the man in the nave and the priest in his inner sanctum of the chancel. It all seemed one space. The communicants now entered the chancel, though a communion rails had been installed the keep out straying dogs. They gathered around the table to celebrate Holy Communion and the worshippers gathered around to become part of it, receiving the bread and the wine from a large cup.

In some churches the rood and the screen had been removed, but St James had been fortunate in that their carved wooden screen still stood between the chancel and the nave, though the rood and its lights had gone. The stained glass windows, some donated by the good people of Winscombe, had been spared, probably because the reformers appreciated the high cost of replacing them with plain glass was. The priest along with the churchwardens had provided a strong wooden chest, a collecting box, so that the parishioners could give alms to the poor and needy, for there was no help to be found at Glastonbury monastery. Commissioners had come to St James' church during the reign of Edward VI. They had noted the value of Winscombe's silver church plate and the vestments. Local commissioners had then carefully and systematically made inventories. The churchwardens and leading parishioners were required to attend to confirm its accuracy. Some items had probably been sold to finance the purchase of new larger communion cups and make good the damage that was done when St James' fine altars and statues were ripped from the church.

The younger parishioners had grown up through all these changes. They adapted. But how did things come to this? Why was there no national outcry and uprising at grass roots? It would seem that the time was right. The Church was full of weaknesses and abuses that all men could see, no matter their rank in society. Reforms had been discussed for a very long time, but nothing was done. It would seem that the people of the 16th C thought little of their Church leaders. There was respect for the Church as an institution, but not for its leaders who were regarded as being too wealthy and ostentatious; England's Cardinal Wolsey was the epitome of this trait. The nuns and monks, removed from the outside World, were seen to be too worldly wise. The literature of the later Middle Ages is full of ribald stories where the principal of the tale turns out to be a monk or clerk in secular orders. Too often the parish priest was poorly educated. The laity's lack of respect turned against the clergy. Thus, when Henry VIII, initially driven by passion, turned on the papacy, he had in his favour the people's strong dislike of the clergy, its interference in English affairs and his own spin doctors who were able to milk the general discontent. Interestingly, throughout all the major changes to the fabric of the church and the change in liturgical belief and ritual, the priest of St James the Great, John Carselegh (1532 - 1550) had remained in office. He began his ministry to the people of Winscombe by celebrating the mystery of the Latin mass before the sacred altar within the inner sanctum. He ended his ministry preaching in the pulpit within the nave at one with the people. Perhaps the parishioners took their cue from him. If John Carselegh, their once catholic priest, had found these changes tolerable and had continued in his post as their religious mentor, implementing the changes as they were decreed from London, then it must be all right. We have no idea as to whether he was in favour of the reforms or whether he was a reluctant member of the Church of England. Maybe he continued to celebrate the catholic mass in private. Those with strongly held views had to learn discretion. It could be that stories of what happened to those who disobeyed had made a lasting impression on him. You either bent with the wind or snapped.

I am curious about the statue of St James the Great. He stands now on the east side of the tower, but he should have stood on the other side, facing west, a proclamation that he was the patron saint and guardian of the church, the first thing you saw from the west as you approached the path leading to the North porch. Perhaps he was removed and secreted, perhaps buried in the grounds to be resurrected when times were more tolerant but 'hidden' around the corner in case there were objections. Alternatively, his position could mean that the main approach to St James the Great was from the east. That would make sense if the road named 'Lynch Lane' is an ancient trackway. Perhaps someone 'in the know' could let me know.

In medieval England two percent of the population were employed in Church vocations. These were divided into two groups, regular and secular clergy. Regular clergy, monks and nuns, lived apart from the outside world in religious communities. Those who lived in the community and served the faithful were termed secular clergy. Before the Reformation, there were over nine thousand parishes in England, each with a rector or priest. The word 'clerk' comes from 'cleric' and is used for those who were in minor orders, that is, had taken the initial vows of church service and were either educating themselves for the priesthood or serving in some position requiring education while awaiting their ordination. Parish priests were the lowest levels of ordained clergy. In many cases priests collected the tithes, one tenth of money and farm produce owing to them, but hired a curate (Latin for caretaker) or vicar (Latin for substitute) to do the actual work of the ministry for them. Priests often sought appointment at a chantry where their only responsibility was reciting mass and prayers for the souls of the dead.

A full list of Winscombe's Incumbents can be seen displayed on a board inside the church (see photograph below).

From about the 1830s church buildings were influenced by a religious revival, which swept through the country. As the population grew, there was a new era of building new churches accompanied by a revival of interest in medieval church architecture and ritual. In older buildings, enthusiasm for the Gothic tradition led to much restoration and improvement, not always historically accurate. Chancels were rebuilt and choir stalls were re-sited in them, galleries and later ceilings were removed and high box pews replaced by benches. Medieval-style carving made a reappearance along with stained glass windows and some wall painting were re-introduced. Vestries, organs, better lighting and provision for heating were other common additions. St James the Great was extensively re-modelled in 1863. A stone coffin was discovered under the floor of the nave during the renovations. Francis Knight ('The Heart Of Mendip') gives a vivid description of its discovery.

Below is a representation of the church as it is today.

Very little remains of the original 13th C church. The stone font is considered to be original, along with the piscina in the south wall of the chancel, parts of the chancel wall with its priest's entrance from the south and the door leading from the North porch into the nave.

1. the sanctuary, the inner sanctum, containing the altar

2. the altar, originally stone, now a communion table

3. The perpendicular east window was replaced with a triple lancet window in the 1860s in memory of Mrs YATMAN

4. the Peter CARSLEGH medieval window depicting Saints Peter dated to the early 1500s

5. replica of the original 1236 lancet window

6. Behind the altar in the space between its top and the east window sill is a beautiful carved stone Reredos depicting the Ascension, rected in memory of the Rev R.F. FOLLET and placed in position in 1908

7. 13thC piscina

8. Somewhere in this location lies the remains of John TAYLOR, long time curate of St James the Great, but I could not find a marker to show the exact site burial site.

9. communion rails

10. oak choir stalls

11. arch dividing chancel from nave and site of rood screen

12. priest's door in south wall

13. screen separation NE chapel from chancel

14. 15th C North aisle

15. South aisle, 15th C

16. SE chapel

17. church organ built 1877

18. lectern

19. pulpit

20. raised dias

21. original 13th C North door

22. North porch

23. room above porch

24. original 13th C font

25. list of Winscombe's Vicars

26. bell tower

27. statue of St James the great facing east towards the chancel

28. on west side of tower, two empty niches, one containing ewer or flagon with a flower

29. clock donated in 1902 by Mrs Edmunds

30. West door

In the year 1538, Thomas Cromwell (Henry VIII's chief Adviser), issued a Mandate to the effect that each parish in the land was to purchase a "sure coffer" in which to house the church's register. The register (often loose pieces of paper) was to document each christening, marriage and burial of the parishioners. These events were to be recorded weekly after Sunday service in the register in the presence of the churchwardens. Each party was to have a key to the parish chest. In 1598, Queen Elizabeth I ordered that all loose leaf registers were to be copied up into parchment books, especially those recording events since her accession to the throne in 1558. The format of the entries varied from parish to parish. Some elected to record events in chronological order, while others preferred to sub-divide the register into three sections, one for each category. Furthermore, the year's entries were to be sent to the diocesan bishop every Easter and became known as 'Bishops' Transcripts'. Sadly, Winscombe's early registers have been lost or destroyed.

An Ordinance of 1664/5 stipulated that dates of death as well as the dates of burial must be recorded in the register. In an attempt to protect the wool trade, two Acts were passed in 1667 and 1678. Known as 'The Burial in Wool Act', the 1678 Act stated

In 1694 a tax of 4 shillings was levied on each burial recorded in the register, more for the upper-classes. Paupers were exempt. The tax was intended to raise money for the War with France. Fortunately, the tax was short-lived.

The first burial recorded in the register -

Occupations were rarely given, but there are some examples

As usual, the parish register records more than names. It records tragedies as well

John TAYLOR, long time curate of Winscombe, began entering the names and events of parishioners into the records from 1730s. As I worked my way through the events he recorded on behalf of the parishioners, his own life's history unfolded as well. Winscombe's parish register records that John TAYLOR was born on 25^th March 1709 and was christened the following month. He was the son of Rev'd Francis and Martha TAYLOR. The first entry in the burial register made by John TAYLOR was for his father on 18^th December 1736.

John TAYLOR's marriage is also recorded in Winscombe's marriage register

The very next entry records the marriage of his long time clerk, Nathan FRY

The FRY family has long associations with Winscombe and Nathan FRY had a long association with John TAYLOR. His burial is also recorded in the parish register

John TAYLOR must well have empathised with the joys and tragedies of his parishioners as his own personal highs and lows are recorded in the registers. The children of John and Hester TAYLOR are recorded in the baptismal register along with the times and dates of their births. Sadly, the burial register also records that some of their children died as infants and two more died as young adults in his lifetime.

The burial registers reveal that John BIG(G)S had a tragic tale to tell. On 23 October 1737, his daughter Rebecca was buried. Three days later, John BIGS buried his wife Sarah BIGS. On 22 November 1737, John BIGS was again in St James the Great when he buried his daughter Sarah. And again, on 7 December 1737, John BIGS buried his son John. One wonders what happened to John BIGS.

Other entries tell a tale -

In 1783, stamp duty of 3d (3 pennies) was placed on all entries in the registers from 1^st October. Those receiving parish relief were exempt.

The fee was to be collected by the incumbent who retained 10 per cent. Many entries of 'pauper' were made by the minister when parents could not pay. The stamp duty was repealed 10 years later in 1793

As is the case with the marriage entries, the first part of St James' burial records, from May 1662 to September 1736, show family ties with the parish of Churchill and an interaction between the two parishes. There are eighteen burials associated with the parish of Churchill during this period. The next parish to feature in the burial records is Banwell, with seven entries. The second part of the burial records from September 1736 to November 1799 do not show the same level of interaction.

The dead from Sandford in the parish of Winscombe are noted as 'of Sanford'. Because they are noted in the register, I have included them in this list of people associated with other parishes below.

An Ordinance of 1664/5 stipulated that dates of births as well as the dates of christenings must be recorded in the register. In 1694 a tax of 2 shillings was levied on each christening recorded in the register. In addition, all births were to be reported to the Incumbent within 5 days and he was to receive a fee of sixpence for recording them. This was because Dissenting Ministers were baptising children and Incumbents were losing revenue. The tax was intended to raise money for the War with France. Fortunately, the tax was short-lived.

The first christening to appear in the register is that of Martha STOAKES, daughter of Henry STOAKES on 1 January 1662 when Charles II was King.

My own surname interest is PARSONS (my maiden name). The first entry for the surname PARSONS is found in the christenings of 1692

Unfortunately, I cannot link this entry with my family.

Another family which made a later appearance but was to occur very frequently later on was HAN(D)COCK. The first record of the name was in 1701

There is an isolated entry in 1666 where the birth is noted in the register

The recording of "born" picks up again in 1689 and continues again sporadically until 1698 when almost every entry is followed by a note on the actual birth date until 1706. From then on dates of birth are entered for the Vicar, Francis TAYLOR's children only.

As in the case of the burials, some entries are of particular interest

(The 'Act' referred to above, is the Stamp Act of 1783).

Assuming that the baptismal records display a more settled population than for example the marriage or burial entries do, we can, by looking at the frequency of surnames in the register, get an idea of the 'resident population' of Winscombe in a given period. I have selected the christening records for the period 1737 - 1799. This time range give a span of 64 years where some 224 surnames appear in the christening register. Obviously some surnames appear just once or twice. Elizabeth BULK though, described as a strange woman from Bristol, christened and buried her son John BULK in Winscombe and apparently moved on. Other families, such as the BIG(G)S family appear just once in this time period but were clearly resident for quite a time in the earlier period of the Winscombe registers.Other surnames such as HAN(D)COCK and HEM(M)ENS, with 96 & 55 entries respectively, are the clear prolific leaders.

I have listed the surnames in alphabetical order, with their variant spellings below. I realise that some surname spellings maybe interchangable, so when in doubt I have listed them separately. Next to the surname I have given the number of times a particular surname appears in the register in the given time frame.

Click here to see a sample page from Winscombe's register of christenings:

In 1653, during the Commonwealth Period, The Registration Act determined that the Government should be responsible for the parish registers. Parish Registers (Registrars) were appointed to keep Civil Registers and a fee of 1 shilling was charged for each registration. An Act of 1654 made Justices of the Peace rather than the clergy responsible for marriages. Couples who wanted a religious ceremony did not register their marriage. These acts were revoked when the monarchy was restored in 1660.

The tax of 1694 levied 2 shillings and sixpence on the registration of each marriage recorded in the register. The tax was intended to raise money for the War with France. The tax was short-lived.

From 25^th March 1754, Hardwicke's Marriage Act became law in England and Wales. It stipulated that marriages could only be held after the publication of banns (to be recorded separately) or after a licence had been granted by the diocesan Bishop. Marriages had to be solemnised by a clergyman of The Church of England in the parish church or public chapel, the only exceptions were for Jews and Quakers. Minors (under 21) had to have the parental consent before they could be married. Separate marriage registers were introduced.

The earliest marriage is recorded in 1658, the year Oliver Cromwell died and during the commonwealth period.

Other couples came from further away

or were strangers and noted as such in the register

Sometimes, the comments seem harsh

The first thing that becomes apparent when looking at the marriage entries between the years 1700, when the parishes are first recorded in the register and 1736, is how many grooms were not actually 'of the parish' (otp). Of the 448 marriages between these dates, just 84 grooms state they are of the parish. It should be borne in mind that, of the 44 entries left blank, a high percentage are probably of the parish of Winscombe. Of the other entries, 39 grooms state their parish of residence as Churchill. Following on, 26 grooms are from Banwell and 21 from Congresbury. These four parishes account for 38% of the total.

The 69 parishes break down as follows -

For brides in the same period, 63 parishes are listed.

They breakdown as follows -

103 brides state they are of the parish of Winscombe (plus one styled 'Sandford'), and no parish is entered for 27 brides. Sixteen parishes are written down, but are unreadable. Brides who are stated to be from the four parishes of Winscombe, Churchill, Banwell and Congresbury account for 45% of the total.

Written on blank pages in the banns book 1754-1811 are the following notes on licences granted.

At the beginning of the banns register-

At the end of the banns register -

Following on marriages from 1737-1754 in marriage register, are the following entries -

There are four old volumes of Churchwardens' accounts that run from 1678-1806. They can be difficult to decipher, written as they are in many hands, but they offer a glimpse of Winscombe's village life. For example, in 1704 a note is made that it cost 6 shillings to re-thatch the roof of the Church House in Winscombe. The Church House was the centre of village life. It was the place where the poor could come and take advantage of the facilities offered there to cook and bake their own food. In the same year, the village stocks were repaired. They stood outside the old Woodborough Inn.

An entry in the Accounts book suggests that the Village Poor House was built around this time

An entry in the Accounts suggests that on occasion, the Poor House was used as a People's Dispensary

The inoculations referred to were for smallpox.

The Poor House was in fact two small cottages with a garden on a plot of land to the North west of Winscombe churchyard. They were abandoned when a new site was secured on Woodborough Green and eventually, the land on which they stood was incorporated into the churchyard. The new Poor House was not one building, but a row of cottages of fourteen rooms. Its occupants however, did not enjoy their new accomadation for very long. The Churchwardens noted in April 1838 that

The Vestry Minutes Book gives lists of the poor receiving alms

The book also records events that were pending for some individuals

And nominations of those who were to hold positions of responsibility in the parish

Winscombe, as described in the Doomsday Book.

Notes

The king of England immediately prior to the Norman invasion was King Harold II, but as William the Conqueror's claim to England rested on the argument that Harold was an usurper, the surveyors did not acknowledge him

In Saxon times, land was measured in hides. It was a variable measure. On good land, a hide might be as little as 60 acres, but on poor land it could be up to 240

A vigate was about a quarter of a hide i.e. 40 acres

A plough-team was about half a hide i.e. 80 acres

Serfs were slaves

A villein belonged to the land - the vill or manor where they were born. They were not free but could not be separated from the estate and some held land of their own

Boors - highest rank of field labourers

A Doomsday league - a mile and a half.

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