The Anglican Church of St Peter in Catcott,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England dates predominantly from the 15th century, but still includes some minor 13th century work, and has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The church was formerly one of the Polden Chapels held under

Moorlinch Moorlinch is a village and civil parish where the Polden Hills meet the Somerset Levels in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. History The village was known as ''Mirieling'' in 971 and the name is believed to come from the Saxon ''myr ...

, it was adjudged in 1548 to have been a chantry chapel and thus liable to closure and sale by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

's commissioners. It was bought by William Coke, who already held the

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

. He armed himself to keep out the parishioners until 1552 when he demolished it. Following a series of court cases he was forced to rebuild it. The church includes a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and a north chapel which has been converted into a vestry. The two-stage west tower is supported by diagonal

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es. One of the church bells was cast in 1716 by Edward Bilbie of the

Bilbie family The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. Their importance to the local economy and ...

. The octagonal font dates from the 13th century. The church has been placed on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

due to structural problems with the walls and roof. Work has been carried out to improve the fabric of the building at a cost of over £100,000. The parish is part of the Polden Wheel benefice within the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catcott, Saint Peter 15th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Sedgemoor Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor

See also

References