The Church of St John the Baptist

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

The Church, much restructured on more than one occasion, was restored and enlarged in 1878 at a cost of £830 during which the inside was faced with ashlar.  The building consists of chancel and organ chamber which, according to Kelly's Directory of 1910, were erected in 1886, with a nave of three bays and a north aisle in Decorated and Perpendicular styles.

The Chancel is markedly offset from the nave.  It has been suggested that this feature is symbolic, representing the reclining head of Christ on the cross.  The chancel at nearby Cucklington is similarly built,

The Western embattled tower is early Gothic having four pinnacles and corner sculptures known in Somerset as hunky punks, These features, which resemble grotesques sitting on their bunkers, are found on a number of the traditional Somerset towers and are the Trademark of mediaeval masons.

The Tower contains five bells.  The tenor of 11cwt bears the date 1651 while the treble was added in 1907 as a memorial to the Rev T J Gatehouse.

The Gatehouse family supplied all the incumbents between 1799 and 1933, with one exception.  Thomas Gatehouse served for 40 years until 1863.  Thomas Ernest Gatehouse was the last incumbent from this family and he served for 40 years until 1933.  The Tower Screen is a memorial to John Farwell Gatehouse and William Robert Gatehouse and is modelled on the Chancel Screen.

The Jacobean Pulpit is dated 1633.  The panels have squat blank arches and there is a frieze of vine foliage.

The Norman Font is bucket shaped in stone.  It is thought that it might have originally been placed in a stream or spring as it has a filled-in section which could have been a 'lip launder'.

The Font Cover, with its ogee shaped ribs, is Jacobean.

The Oak Reredos and side panelling is a memorial of the Hardy family.

The Organ was built by Norman and Beard and installed in 1915.  It is a very fine instrument but curiously was originally placed with the organist sitting in the vestry.  In 1991 the organ was dismantled for overhaul and rebuilt in its present position.

The Registers date from 1558.  There is a vestry account book of 1690-1693.

Four old Bell Clappers are displayed in the vestry.

The Churchyard contains the steps of a stone cross reputed to be Saxon.  The Churchyard closure document records the following:

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
- No burials in the Church forthwith, or the Churchyard after 31st March 1890 -
( except relatives of those interred therein.)

North Cheriton Village

The name Cheriton is from the Saxon words meaning "the enclosure (or village) with a church." Clearly then, there was a church next to the Saxon Manor, near or on the site of the present one, before the Norman Conquest.

There are two village charities:

Thomas Abott's Charity is of an unknown age but definitely over 200 years old.  Two local fields were given to the parish, the rents of which are to be given to "the second poor of the village".  These are believed to be the people who fell outside the scope of the Poor Laws of the day.

The Gale Trust was set up in 1980 from the proceeds of the sale of the village school.  The school was bequeathed to the village by the Gale family but the school was closed in 1977.  The income from the invested capital is used to help fund various village facilities such as the Village Hall, the Bus Shelter and the Church Building.  The elegant War Memorial was erected by the parishioners in 1921 on land which formed part of the trust.

The impressive Manor House by the church is 19th century, built of local stone and with later modifications.  The original Manor was held by Ernni, a Saxon, prior to 1066; there is a full description of it in the Domesday Book.  "Cireton" passed into the hands of Warmund, a supporter of William the Conqueror.  Later it came under the supervision of Dunster Castle.

The Pelota Wall.  At the top of the village, by the Well House and at right angles to the Sherborne road, stands a high vertical wall which it is believed was used for the game of Pelota by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars in 1805 to 1815.  The prisoners apparently used to quench their thirst at the nearby Windmill Inn situated just opposite.  Later the wall was also used for the game of Fives.  Behind the wall is an 18th century barn.

The Stocks outside the Church gate, date from the 16th century.  Recently a roof was added to protect them.

The Old Post Office is probably over 300 years old, but of course it has been much altered.  It was in use as a Post Office from 1895 until 1932.

The Village Pump almost opposite the Village Hall, is an interesting relic of the early 19th century; it is of cast iron and was made by Portnell of Wincanton.

The Old School built in 1846 and closed in 1977, is now a comfortable dwelling.

Parts of the Red Lion privately owned since 1958, date back to the 17th century.  It is not certain for how long it was used as an Inn.

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