Church without dedication, High Ham
{{Short description|Church in Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name =Church without dedication
| native_name =
| image =Low Ham church.jpg|alt=Stone building with square tower
| caption =
| locmapin = Somerset
| map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|51|03|30|N|02|48|40|W|display=inline,title}}
| location =Low Ham, High Ham, Somerset, England
| area =
| built =17th century
| architect =
| architecture =
| governing_body =
| designation1 =Grade I Listed Building
| designation1_offname =
| designation1_date =17 April 1959
| designation1_number =263114
| designation2 =
| designation2_offname =
| designation2_date =
| designation2_number =
}}
The Church without dedication (also known as Church in the Field) at Low Ham in the parish of High Ham, Somerset, England was formerly a private chapel to the manor. It stands on the site of an earlier church, and was started in the early 17th century, damaged in the English Civil War, and completed in 1690. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.{{NHLE|desc=Church in the Field|num=1346080|accessdate=21 September 2016}}
History
The church was built around 1600, on the site of an earlier church, which was probably in existence in the 13th century,{{cite web|last1=Dunning|first1=Robert|title=High Ham In: A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 8, the Poldens and the Levels.|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol8/pp70-91#h3-0027|website=British History Online|publisher=Victoria County History|accessdate=21 September 2016}} but may have been built by Serlo de Burci.{{cite web|title=Home|url=http://www.lowhamchurchinthefield.co.uk/|publisher=The Church In The Field|accessdate=21 September 2016}}
The new church was built by Sir Edward Hext and completed by Baron Stawell to be the chapel for a new manor house, however the house was never completed.{{PastScape|mname=Low Ham Church|mnumber=193645|accessdate=21 September 2016}} The gateway which was built was moved to Hazlegrove House.{{cite web|title=High Ham with Low Ham|url=http://www.langport-somerset.btck.co.uk/HighHamwithLowHam|publisher=Huish Episcopi cum Langport Parish|accessdate=21 September 2016}}
Architecture
The church was built of local stone with Hamstone dressings, in a Gothic style. It has a three-bay nave and two-bay chancel. The three stage tower has corner buttresses and gargoyles. It contains two bells one of which was cast before 1350 and the other around 1500. There are still some remnants of 15th century stained glass in the windows. The windows have decorative tracery.{{cite book|last1=Mowl|first1=Tim|last2=Earnshaw|first2=Brian|title=Architecture Without Kings: The Rise of Puritan Classicism Under Cromwell|date=1995|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719046797|pages=12–14|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=697mAAAAIAAJ&dq=Church+without+dedication%2C+Low+Ham&pg=PA12}}
The interior includes monuments to Sir Edward Hext and to several generations of the Stawell family. There is a wooden chancel screen and a stone screen which was brought from St Mark's Church, Bristol. The pulpit is Jacobean.{{cite web|title=The Church Interior|url=http://www.lowhamchurchinthefield.co.uk/the-church-interior/|publisher=The Church In The Field|accessdate=21 September 2016}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
The parish of High Ham is within the Langport Area Team Ministry benefice which is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells.{{cite web|title=Low Ham Chapel, Low Ham|url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/low-ham-chapel/|website=A Church Near You|publisher=Church of England|accessdate=21 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319233034/http://www.achurchnearyou.com/low-ham-chapel/|archive-date=19 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Church without dedication, High Ham}}
- [http://www.lowhamchurchinthefield.co.uk/ Church website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Without Dedication, High Ham}}
Category:Churches completed in 1690
Category:17th-century Church of England church buildings
High Ham, Church without dedication