Architecture

St Michael’s church hosted a treat for those who came along to hear Jerry Sampson’s talk on the architectural history of this beautiful Norman building. Jerry, a fellow the Royal Society of Antiquties, has completed surveys of at least 100 churches within 20 miles of Wells Cathedral; his impressive mastery of the subject matter was evidenced by his well-illustrated and entertaining presentation.

Beginning with a description of the earliest Romanesque features of the chancel, built in the 12^th century, Jerry explained how and where successive architectural features were added to the building over the centuries. We learned how the first two arches and pillars of the nave, including the famous barley twist pillar, were constructed at the same time as the initial building, to act as external buttresses to help hold up the chancel. This kind of patterned pillar was common in other churches of the same period, such as Durham cathedral, but such detailed work was not to be repeated as the rest of the nave was built later on.

Of all Jerry’s intriguing observations none provoked more interest than the evidence for the playing of fives (a form of handball) against the bell tower in the churchyard. This game seems to have been very popular right up to the 18^th century, with church records noting a multitude of attempts to prevent players damaging the building. Attachments for shutters and lattices to protect the glass windows can still be seen adjacent to the fives court area, and there is even a “climbing buttress” with foot holes so players can retrieve their ball from the roof. St Michael’s climbing buttress has the remains of metal spikes added to try and stop this practice. Next time you are in the churchyard have a look at a line of red sandstone on the west side of the bell tower – could this be a purpose built marking for the fives court below?

Those familiar with the appearance of St Michael’s will know that the south aisle was both widened and elevated in the 14^th century, and that the pillar linking this aisle to the chancel leans outward. Jerry showed how the arch between the leaning pillar and the barley twist pillar had been raised about four feet from its original Romanesque proportions. He suspected the intention had been to raise all the arches along this side of the building; however, the entire east end of the church began to subside through the loss of the original support, as evidenced by the leaning of the pillar. Considerable masonry was hastily added to the external buttressing at this point to shore up the structure, and builders thought better of proceeding any further!