St Thomas à Becket Church, Pensford
| St Thomas à Beckett Church |
| Pensford church.JPG |
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| General information |
| Town or city |
Pensford |
| Country |
England |
| Coordinates |
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| Construction started |
14th century |
St Thomas à Beckett Church in Pensford, Somerset southwest England dates from the 14th century, although only the tower remains from that date, the rest of the church having been rebuilt in 1868 by Giles and Robinson Architects and the church was reconsecrated in 1869.[1]
The church has been unused since flood damage from the River Chew in 1968.
The west tower and tierceron vault date from the 14th century. The west doorway with a two-centered arch, dates back to the 15th century, and the font which has quatrefoils and roses, is of similar age. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1869, by C.E. Giles of Taunton.[2]
It is a Grade II* listed building[3] and currently on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register,[4][5] following damage in a flood in 1968. The church was declared redundant on 30 July 1971,[6] and the tower is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[7]
During the 1980s an attempt was made to turn it into an arts centre but this was abandoned when the extent of the repairs required to make the building safe became clear. In 2007 the church was put on the market for redevelopment,[8] and in 2008 purchased for repair and use as a private dwelling.[9] The conversion[10] was recorded for a documentary as part of the BBC television programme Restoration Home, which also explored the history of the church.[11]
See also
References
- ^ Robinson, W.J. (1915). West Country Churches. Bristol: Bristol Times and Mirror Ltd. pp. 100–103.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-300-09640-2.
- ^ "St Thomas à Becket Church". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=32618. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ^ "St Thomas a Beckett Church, Pensford". English Heritage. http://risk.english-heritage.org.uk/2010.aspx?id=810&rt=0&pn=1&st=a&ctype=all&crit=Pensford. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ^ "South West England". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. p. 243. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/heritage-at-risk-register-south-west-region/harsouthwestacc.pdf/.
- ^ (PDF) Diocese of Bath and Wells: All Schemes, Church Commissioners/Statistics, Church of England, 2011, p. 4, http://www.churchofengland.org/media/810289/bath%20and%20wells%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf, retrieved 2 April 2011
- ^ Church of St Thomas a Becket, Pensford, Somerset, Churches Conservation Trust, http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/Church-of-St-ThomasBecket-Pensford-Somerset/, retrieved 2 April 2011
- ^ "For Sale — Pensford Church". Chew Valley Gazette. October 2007.
- ^ "Church sold". Mendip Times. May 2008.
- ^ "Planning application: Former St Thomas à Becket Church Pensford". Bath & North East Somerset Council. http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/publicaccess/propdb/property/property_detailview.aspx?keyval=001V4BCTLI000&module=P3. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ "Church". Restoration Home. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012gkrf#synopsis. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
Bibliography
- Durham, I. & M. (1991). Chew Magna and the Chew Valley in old photographs. Redcliffe Press. ISBN 1-872971-61-X.
- Janes, Rowland (ed) (1987). The Natural History of the Chew Valley. ISBN 0-9545125-2-9.
External links
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