The Church of St Dunstan in

Baltonsborough Baltonsborough is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 864 at the 2011 Census. As well as Baltonsborough village, the parish contains the hamlets of Ham Street, Catsham and Southwood. History The par ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, was built in the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The dedication honours

St Dunstan Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...

who was born in Baltonsborough in 909, and eventually became

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

and an important monastic reformer of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

period. Legends attached to Dunstan portray him nailing a horseshoe onto the devil, earning him a place as a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of blacksmiths. There is a four bay

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 ...

and two bay

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

. The nave is particularly wide and has caused stress in the roof and an outward lean in the north wall. The church's simple Somerset tower is topped by an elaborate ironwork

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

crafted by the local blacksmith in the 19th century. The interior includes a 15th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

. The screen was designed by

Frederick Bligh Bond Frederick Bligh Bond (30 June 1864 – 8 March 1945), was an English architect, illustrator, archaeologist, Parapsychology, psychical researcher and member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Early life Bligh Bond was the son of the Rev. Fre ...

. The churchyard contains

war graves A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of a

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

soldier of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

sailor of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.
CWGC Cemetery report, detail from casualty record. The parish is part of the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Baltonsborough with

Butleigh Butleigh is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The nearest village to it is Barton St David, and it lies a short distance from Glastonbury and Street. The parish population at the 2021 census was 876. Butleigh has a church, ...

, West Bradley and

West Pennard West Pennard (or West Pennard Manor) is a village and civil parish east of Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town ...

, which is known as the Brue Benefice. One former vicar of the church was Edward Mellish who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltonsborough, Saint Dunstan 15th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Somerset Church of England church buildings in Mendip District Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District

See also

References