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Exterior
. . Layout
. . Porch
. . Door
. . Roman
Coffin . .
Font . . Painting
. . Organ
. . Memorials
. .Lectern
. . Piscina
. . Priest's
Door . . Windows
. .Tower
& Bells . . Clock . .
Cockerel
Wind-Vane |
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| Exterior |
 click here
to enlarge
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A nave at the west end, chancel and sanctuary at the east end, vestry on the north and porch on the south. The tower is centrally placed, and the church is the shape of a cross, similar to Englishcombe church. It has been suggested that it is based on the design of Bath Abbey. |
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| Layout |  |
Click here
for a photo of the
interior of Priston church, taken prior to the stone surround
of
the pulpit being replaced by ironwork, and showing the lettering still
intact around the arches. |
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| Porch |
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Above the
outside door
a panel reads
"Priston
repent and believe the gospel. Thomas Watts Preacher of the
word
of God Departed ye world the 20th November 1589." |
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To the left of the outside door can be found a scratch dial. Although now in poor condition, the lines indicating the time can just be made out, together with the central hole (now filled in) which would have held the gnomon which would have cast the shadow across the dial. | |
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| Door |
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The doorway is
of Norman
construction, with a
segmental arch. The great wooden door is thought to be
Norman. It is equipped with fine scroll hinges and a wooden
lock
on the inside. The iron studs on the inside were reputedly
for
holding hides to the door to exclude draughts. |
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| Roman
Coffin |
 click here to enlarge |
It was Kelson
and Edward Lippiatt who found the Roman coffin in 1917 in Great Croft
Field on Hill Farm. The coffin dates from around 100 AD and housed the body of a woman with bronze bracelets on each of her arms. Some of the hundreds of sightseers at the time apparently threw rocks at the coffin and broke it - it is said they confused "Roman" for "Roman Catholic". [adapted from text in "Our Millennium Book"] Read the 1917 report of the original coffin find, (893kb) |
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| Font |
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An octagonal
font in
the style of
the 15th
century, but the panels bearing the arms of the Long family suggest the
latter half of the 16th century. |
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| Painting |
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A painting of
the Holy
Family
presented by
the Rev. Francis Bell hangs to the right of the entrance. |
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| Organ |
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The organ
purchased for
£200
in 1976,
thought to have been built by Sweetlands of Bath, and came
from
the redundant church at East Horrington. It is a two manual
instrument with tracker action with 9 stops, 4 swell, 4 great and a
pedal. |
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| Memorials |
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The
church has a number of memorials
to the
family of the Lord of the Manor, from the 18th century onwards. |
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| Lectern |
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The brass lectern is a gift in
memory of 2nd
Lieutenant John Ormond Butler of the Royal Flying Corps who
died
in the Great War in 1918 aged 19. |
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| Piscina |
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Just to the east
of the priest's
door is a piscina,
a bowl structure which was used for the cleaning of communion
vessels. It is in the Decorated style with an elegant fluted
column and ogee-shaped canopy, and was found walled up in 1843. |
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| Priest's
Door |
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The priest's
door is on the
south-side of the church just
before the
altar. |
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| Windows |
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Made by
Messrs. Heaton, Butler & Bayne in or after 1869. In the sanctuary, the East Window illustrates the story of Christ. The side windows depict the four evangelists. In the chancel the North window depicts Abraham and Moses, on the South side Isiah and Daniel. |
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| Tower &
Bells |
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The tower was
rebuilt in
1754 and is
in three
stages. It is 75 ft to the cockerel's head. The
thickness
of the walls varies from 6 ft. at ground level to 2 ft. in the
belfry. There are 7 bells in the tower: Fixed bell - c. 1450-1500 (6cwt.*) Experts think this was the work of Robert Hendley of Gloucester. It bears the inscription "HELPOVS ANDREV WEBIDDITNYE EVREBY FORYE TRINITE". A possible translation is "Help us Andrew, we biddeth ye, ever/hereby for your Trinity". The bell was hung for full circle ringing until 1980, when it was found to be unsafe to ring in that manner, so it is now hung "dead" ie fixed, amd struck by a chiming hammer on the outside. 6th (Tenor) - 1612 18¼ cwt - also recorderd as 13¼ cwt Attributed to Robert Purdue of Bristol. 2nd - 1640 (4cwt.) Originally cast by John Lott of Warminster, and recast in 1866. The benefactor was H.W. Hammond, a relation of the Rector John Hammond (1820-1860). 4th - 1684 (8cwt.) Cast by John Lott, presumed to be the son of the founder of the 2nd bell. 5th - 1755 (10cwt.) Cast by Abel Rudhall of Gloucester. 1st (Treble) - 1811 (5cwt.) Cast by Thomas Mears of London,, and recast in 1906 - originally presented to the church by William Vaughan, Lord of the Manor. 3rd - 1980 - (7cwt.) Donated by an anonymous benefactor in 1980, and founded by John Taylor of Loughborough. * cwt. = hundredweight = 112 pounds =1/20 of a ton |
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| Clock |
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Purchased in 1813 by the Lord of
the Manor,
William Vaughan, and manufactured by Thomas Mops of Ludgate in the
City of London. The clock is driven by two weights, one for
the
clock and the other for the chiming mechanism., wound weekly.
The
accuracy is maintained by a 9 ft . pendulum. The dial was
last
repainted in 1997 to celebrate the parish's 700th year of independence
from the jurisdiction of the Priory of Bath, at a cost of
£845. |
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| Cockerel
Wind Vane |
 click
here to
enlarge
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The cockerel weathervane (6 ft long, 5 ft high) on top of Priston Church Tower, given to Priston Church by William Vaughan in 1813. |