The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The following notes on Compton Pauncefoot Church and Village are taken from
A Guide to the Camelot Parishes. 

The Building and its History
Most of this lovely church is 15th century and built of hamstone; unlike the majority of local churches, there is no sign of any work prior to the perpendicular period.  In 1485 Sir Walter Pauncefoot left money for the building of the church and for a Chantry at Compton Pauncefoot where a priest could pray daily for his soul and for those of his immediate family.  He also left several yards of differently coloured silks to be made into vestments.  Until 1864 the church comprised a nave with south aisle and porch, and a tower at the west.  The inner arches of the tower carried a spire of graceful proportions, Then the north aisle was added in 1864, and at the same time the two stone coffins (now in the churchyard by the yew tree) were removed.

The Font is 13th century and is perfectly plain.

There is a Mass Dial on the south wall.

The Frieze in the south aisle has part of a stone inscribed Anne Whyting 1535.  Let into the wall under the sill of the adjacent window is a long stone panel divided into compartments, each containing a shield bearing coats of arms relating to the Whyting and Pauncefoot families.

The south wall of the chancel contains a Piscina with a stone button in the centre of the bowl.

Five Stained Glass Windows are signed - a rare phenomenon - by Carpronnier of  Brussels.  The west window is by Kempe, 1896.

The Three Bells were cast in 1627 and one of them has the royal arms inscribed.

The Chancel was panelled with oak in 1934.

The Church Registers date from 1559.

The top of the Spire became unsafe recently, and an appeal launched in 1980, with the help of grants from the Department of the Environment and the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, raised £18,000 for the necessary work to be carried out.
 

Compton Pauncefoot Village

The Manor was held in the Domesday Book by Goisfrid, tenant of Thurstin Fitz Rolph. Later it belonged to the Pauncefoots until 1493 when Peter, son of Walter, died at the age of seven.  It was then shared between his sisters, one of whom, Anne, married John Whyting of Devon.  Mary, their eldest daughter, married Humphrey Keynes, who succeeded to a share of the estate.  This was at the time of the Reformation and when the Chantry was suppressed there was "a chalice of silver…remayning in the custody of Humphraye Keyns wayinge xvii oz".  The family were recusants and royalists, and after the Civil War Edward Keynes was forced to sell his share to Mr John Hunt, who already had the other part.

As a contrast to Cadbury Castle in the nearby village of. South Cadbury, there is also a castle here - Compton Castle, built about 1825 with large grounds, gatehouse and lawns stretching down to a shining lake.  Owned by the Showering family in recent times, it was sold in 1986.

The Old Rectory, south of the church, was originally a Priest’s House of 1500; it has later, particularly Georgian additions.  Recently this house and the church caught the eye of the television producers and both were used quite extensively in a serialised version of Jane Austen’s 'Mansfield Park'.

To the north of the church lies another fine building - the mainly 18th century Manor House, parts of which date back to the 15th century. 

The Crescent is a quarter circle of cottages built in about 1815 for farm workers, and originally known as Waterloo Crescent.

The whole Village has been adopted officially for conservation.

FOOTNOTE: although the modern spelling is Pauncefoot, some still use the older form Pauncefote.

Return to top of page