Church_of_St_Michael,_Orchard_Portman

St Michael's Church, Orchard Portman

St Michael's Church, Orchard Portman

Church in Somerset, England

The Anglican Church of St Michael in Orchard Portman, Somerset, England, dates from the Norman period. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

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History

The church was built in the Norman period. The chancel was rebuilt in the early 15th century and the tower around 1540, with further building work in the 19th and 20th centuries.[1]

The church formed part of the former Portman family estate. The Portman chapel was erected as the south aisle around 1450, demolished in 1844 and rebuilt again in 1910.[2][3]

The parish is part of the Seven Sowers benefice which includes Beercrocombe, Curry Mallet, Stoke St Mary, Hatch Beauchamp, Staple Fitzpaine and West Hatch. It is within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.[4][5]

Architecture

The church consists of a chancel, vestry, three-bay nave and south chapel. The chancel has a wagon roof with plastered barrel vault. The crenellated three-stage tower is supported by diagonal buttresses.[1]

Inside the church is a hexagonal Jacobean style pulpit.[1] There is some medieval stained glass; however, most is from the 19th and 20th centuries.[6]

Dr Thomas Bond (1841–1901) a British physician considered by some to be the first offender profiler, and best known for his association with the notorious Jack the Ripper murders of 1888, was buried in the churchyard.[7][8]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Michael's Church, Orchard Portman.
  1. [1]
    "Church of St Michael". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  2. [2]
    Dunning, Robert (2007). Somerset Churches and Chapels: Building Repair and Restoration. Halsgrove. p. 44. ISBN 978-1841145921.
  3. [3]
    "Church of St Michael". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  4. [4]
    "St Michael's Church , Orchard Portman". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  5. [5]
    "Orchard Portman". Seven Sowers Benefice. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  6. [6]
    "St Michael's Church, Orchard Portman". Stoke St Mary. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  7. [7]
    'Handbook of Criminal Investigation' by Tim Newburn, Tom Williamson, Alan Wright Published by Willan Publishing (2007) pg 493 ISBN 1-84392-187-1
  8. [8]
    Serial Crime: Theoretical and Practical Issues in Behavioural Profiling By Wayne Petherick Published by Academic Press (2005) pg 1 ISBN 0-12-088512-3
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