South Cadbury

The Church of St Thomas à Becket is the Anglican parish church for the ancient village of South Cadbury in Somerset and is dedicated to Thomas Becket. Today it is one of the 'Camelot Churches' of South Somerset in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and has been a Grade II* listed building since 1961. The church was much restored in the 1850s and 1870s. The Domesday Book of 1086 states that a priest (clericus) here had half of geldable land, which indicates an important church was on the site then. The dedication is to Thomas Becket who was martyred at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. The first recorded Rector at South Cadbury is Peter de Burg in 1265, when the Cult of St Thomas would have been at its height and which makes it likely that the early wall painting (restored in 1984) of a bishop in cope and mitre seen on the splay of a window in the south aisle may represent St Thomas himself.Built of cary and lias stone, mostly ashlar, with some Doulting stone dressings, the church largely dates from the 13th and 15th centuries, but was widely restored in 1874. Many of the fittings date from this time. However, the tower with its turret, pinnacles and gargoyles was built in the 14th-century and has a peal of six bells, while the church also boasts a 15th-century roof with angel brackets and carved bosses, and an early wall painting of St Thomas. The church is a Grade II* listed building.The porch has been much restored but the inner and outer doorways, windows and the chancel arch belong to the later Perpendicular Period. The arcade is part of the original Early English building and dates from about 1280. The pillars are quatrefoil and have moulded capitals and decorative rings; the tower arch dates from the same period. In 1780 the gallery was moved from the bottom of the body of the church, where it hid the belfry arch. The Mary and Martha Window is a memorial to the Rev. James Arthur Bennett who was Rector from 1866 to 1890. It was due to his scholarly supervision that the restoration of 1874 was so successful. The chancel itself was entirely rebuilt in 1874 with the exception of the two windows to the North, which were preserved so far as the stonework allowed. Early in the 19th-century the East window was cut down to form a window for the vestry. The present East Window dates to the restoration of 1874 and the glass depicting the Ascension is by Clayton and Bell, as is all the glass in the church from that period. The finely carved Crucifixion Scene which stands above the altar was erected in 1870 and is by Thomas Earp.The pulpit stands on an old entrance to the rood loft. It is made of Bath stone and was carved for the restoration of 1874. A single panel from the earlier pulpit survived at the time and was used as a model for the pew-ends in the nave. All the wood in the church dates to this period with the exception of the tower door and screen. The niche behind the pulpit is in its original position, as is the squint or hagioscope in the south chancel arch, which was made to allow worshippers a view of the altar during Mass. The baptismal font was placed in the church in 1871; no trace of an earlier font survives except for a pewter bowl which was used for baptisms for many years until it was stolen in 1991.The south aisle was rebuilt during the restoration of 1853 but holds a 14th-century piscina. The nave roof is 15th-century and has been repainted so that the carved bosses and angel brackets stand out. The rib and panel barrel vault roof in the chancel dates to 1874 and replaces one of 1790 which proved not to be effective. The 18th century poet and satirist Charles Churchill was at one time curate at South Cadbury.

Cadbury Castle is a Bronze and Iron Age hillfort in the civil parish of South Cadbury in the English county of Somerset. It is a scheduled monument and has been associated with King Arthur's legendary court at Camelot. The hillfort is formed by a 7.28 hectares (18.0 acres) plateau surrounded by ramparts on the surrounding slopes of the limestone Cadbury Hill. The site has been excavated in the late 19th and early 20th century by James Bennett and Harold St George Gray. More recent examination of the site was conducted in the 1960s by Leslie Alcock and since 1992 by the South Cadbury Environs Project. These have revealed artifacts from human occupation and use from the Neolithic through the Bronze and Iron Ages. The site was reused by the Roman forces and again from c. 470 until some time after 580. In the 11th century, it temporarily housed a Saxon mint. Evidence of various buildings at the site has been unearthed, including a "Great Hall", round and rectangular house foundations, metalworking, and a possible sequence of small rectangular temples or shrines.

North Cadbury Court in North Cadbury, Somerset, England is a country house built around 1580–1610, by Sir Francis Hastings. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.Hastings bought North Cadbury from his older brother Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon. He had lived on the estate for several years previously while he managed his brother's estates in the Southwest. After Francis's wife Magdalene died in 1596, Hastings sold the court with the rest of the manor to Matthew Ewens, one of the Barons of the Exchequer. His great-nephew, also called Matthew Ewens, sold the manor to Arthur Duck. The house and estate was subsequently bought by Richard Newman c.1620; the Newman family owned it until around 1796 when it was bought by the Bennett family. Around 1800 the courtyard was turned into a ballroom and the south façade rebuilt in Georgian style.In 1910 the court was bought by Sir Archibald Langman and remains in his family. It is currently available to rent for private parties and weddings, and has 25 bedrooms and 19 bathrooms.During the 1980s the interior fittings and decoration of the adjacent Church of St Michael were damaged beyond repair. The local sculptor John Robinson designed modern figures to replace them. Some controversy arose about the figures and they were eventually placed on the wall of the stables at North Cadbury Court which overlooks the churchyard.It was a filming location for the BBC Persuasion (2007 film) starring Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones as Kellynch Hall, the ancestral home of the Elliots.

The Church of St Michael in North Cadbury, Somerset, England, dates from 1417, although the tower was built a few years earlier. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.In 1423 Lord and Lady de Botreaux were granted a royal licence to form a college of seven chaplains. As a result, the nave and chancel were rebuilt although the earlier three-stage tower was left intact.Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon granted the patronage of the church to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, leading to a dispute between the college and the owner of the manor of North Cadbury that became famous in the history of mortgage law. From the 17th century until 1979 the church remained under the patronage of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and every rector from the mid-17th century to the mid-20th century was a former fellow of the college. The church includes elaborately carved bench ends dating from the 1530s. The decoration includes not just religious imagery but also birds and animals along with local people at work.During the 1980s the interior fittings and decoration of the church were damaged beyond repair. The local sculptor John Robinson designed modern figures to replace them. Some controversy arose about the figures and they were eventually placed on the wall of the adjacent North Cadbury Court which overlooks the churchyard.The parish is part of the Camelot Parishes benefice within the Bruton and Cary deanery.

The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity at Sutton Montis in the parish of South Cadbury and Sutton Montis, Somerset, England, has Saxon origins but most of the surviving building is from the 12th century and subsequent periods. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.The first building on the site was Saxon, however most of the current Doulting stone building is from the 12th century and has been revised in the centuries since, with major Victorian restoration in 1862. The Norman building seats approximately 80 people within the three-bay nave and chancel. The west tower has three bells, dating from 1420, 1636 and 1764.The octagonal font is from the 15th century, and the wooden pulpit from the 17th.To enable the use of multimedia within services a sound system and projection screen were installed in the church. Ramped access for disabled churchgoers has also been installed.The parish is within the Cam Vale benefice within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

The Anglican Church of St Mary in Compton Pauncefoot, Somerset, England was built in the 15th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

North Cadbury is a village and civil parish 5 miles (8 km) west of Wincanton, by the River Cam, in the Unitary Authority of Somerset, England. It shares its parish council with nearby Yarlington and its civil parish includes the village of Galhampton, which got its name from the settlement of the rent-paying peasants, and the hamlet of Woolston.

Compton Pauncefoot is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated beside the A303 road, 5 miles (8.0 km) south west of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 139 in 2011. The civil parish also includes the village with Blackford (located one mile to the east) and therefore population is based on the two villages together. Blackford parish was merged with Compton Pauncefoot on 1 April 1933. The civil parish holds a Parish Meeting twice a year and has no Parish Council. There are approximately 35 houses in the village of Compton Pauncefoot and a similar number in Blackford. Compton Pauncefoot is a designated Conservation Area. The civil parish is in the Blackmore Vale ward of South Somerset District Council and Somerset County Council.

Royal Naval Air Station Charlton Horethorne, (RNAS Charlton Horethorne; or HMS Heron II) is a former Royal Naval Air Station in the hamlet of Sigwells in Somerset, England. It opened in 1942, as a flying training base under the administrative care of HMS Heron. It closed in 1948 and has since been returned to agricultural use.

Sigwells is a hamlet located in an area rich in archaeology remains, overlooking Cadbury Castle in Somerset, England. It was the target of research by the South Cadbury Environs Project, which produced significant Early Bronze Age and Middle and Late Iron Age archaeology. Of national importance was the identification of the earliest known metalworking building in Britain, dated to Middle Bronze Age (12th century BC). It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (No:199838).

St Andrew's Church is a Church of England parish church in Corton Denham, Somerset, England. It was built in 1869–70 to replace an earlier church of 13th-century origin. The church is a Grade II listed building. Historic England describes the building as "relatively unaltered" with a "balanced, single-phase composition" and praises the quality of the architectural detailing. The church now forms part of the Cam Vale Benefice.

Corton Denham is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated seven miles north east of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 189.