ST JAMES . MILTON CLEVEDON . SOMERSET

THE CHURCH IN THE FARMYARD

GRADE II* ❖ Original church built C12; rebuilt 1790; restorations 1860s. 5 bells, of which one cast in Bristol c1380 (PEV). Delightfully situated beyond a large farmyard (in adverse weather a visitor might wish they had brought wellies). 6m SE of Shepton Mallet. 51.1383 /  -2.4807 / ST664377

DIAL

One of DEH’s early finds, in June 1912, as his researches spread out from Downside Abbey. He describes the dial as easily found, and ‘curious’. And so it is. I’d welcome any wise views on this unusual configuration.

‘There appears to be little doubt but that this arrangement of five holes is really a dial. While no other has been found exactly like it, it shows a family likeness to those on the churches of Seavington St Mary and Whitelackington’.

But each of these just has a single large style-hole, as opposed to the array at Milton.

ROTATION

Occasionally it helps to rotate a dial image to check correct orientation. Not here though.

GSS Category: Scratch dial; Mass Dial; Repositioned dial; Dial interpretation; DEH – early research

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour