The Somerset towers, church towers built in the 14th to 16th centuries, have been described as among England's finest contributions to medieval art. The paragraphs and descriptions below describe features of some of these towers. The organization follows Peter Poyntz-Wright's scheme for grouping the towers by what he understands to be roughly the date and group of mason-architects who built them. Poyntz-Wright's scheme came under criticism in the 1980s.
Churchill generation
These churches have smaller towers with a single window in each face of the top stage; a pierced top parapet without merlons and four square-set corner pinnacles above.
Name of churchPhotograph Listed building grade Year tower built Height LocationDescriptionRef(s) St John the Baptist c. 1360 OR after 1420 Churchill The church was built around 1360. The tower has three stages with diagonal buttresses, moulded string courses, north-east polygonal higher corner stair turret with blind panelled embattled cap and pierced quatrefoil lozenge parapet with corner pinnacles and gargoyles. Church of St Michael the Archangel c. 1370 OR 1443 Compton Martin Built around 1370 in a Norman style. It is dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. Norman vaulting can be seen in the chancel and Jacobean work in choir stalls and organ screen. The tower is approached from the nave via a lofty Tudor paneled arch. It contains six 18th-century bells, five of which were cast by the Bilbies of Chew Stoke. In the north wall is a recess containing the effigy of Thomas de Moreton which was discovered in 1858. One of the columns in the South side of the nave has an unusual spiral fluted decoration known as an apprentices column. Above the ceiling of the Bickfield Chapel there is a void which contains a columbarium or dovecote. This housed 140 "squabs" or pigeons in 1606 for the rector's table. Church of St Andrew c. 1380 Compton Bishop The church dates from the 12th century, being consecrated by Bishop Jocelin in 1236, with more recent restoration in 1370. It has a 15th-century pulpit with tracery panels, carved friezes and cresting. Above the pulpit is a large pedimented wall monument to John Prowse who died in 1688, as well as several of his children. St Paul's c. 1395 Kewstoke The church dates from the 12th century. The tower is in two stages, with rendered, diagonal buttresses with setbacks which rise through the parapet as corner pinnacles. A polygonal stair turret at the south east corner rises to a pyramidal cap. The first stage has two, 2-light perpendicular west windows under a plain drip mould, and a similar but smaller window with carved stops to the south. The second stage has one 2-light perpendicular window under a drip mould with carved stops on each side; all are louvres except the west which is blank. A quatrefoil pierced parapet has gargoyles at the corner.
Cheddar generation
These churches have three windows in each face of the top stage; diagonal buttressing; some with squareset corner pinnacles; some with buttress pinnacles. These range from simple to elaborate designs: (Bleadon, shortly before 1390; Brent Knoll, about 1397; Mark, about 1407; Weare, about 1407; Banwell, about 1417; Cheddar, about 1423; and Winscombe, around 1435.)
Name of churchPhotograph Listed building grade Year tower built Height LocationDescriptionRef(s) Church of St Andrew c. 1417 Banwell The mainly 15th-century church includes a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles and, a rather short chancel considering the proportions of the rest of the church. The high tower that contains 10 bells dating from the 18th to 20th century and a clock dated 1884. Bells dating from 1734 and 1742 were made by Thomas Bilbie, of the Bilbie family. Church of St. Peter and St. Paul c. 1390 Bleadon It was built in the 14th century (dedicated in 1317), being restored and the chancel shortened in the mid-19th century. The tower contains five bells dating from 1711 and made by Edward Bilbie of the Bilbie family. Church of St Michael c. 1397 Brent Knoll The church dates back to the 11th century but has undergone several renovations since then. The tower contains a bell dating from 1777 and made by William Bilbie of the Bilbie family. Church of St Andrew c. 1423 Cheddar The church dates from the 14th century. It was restored in 1873 by William Butterfield. It contains some 15th-century stained glass and an altar table of 1631. The chest tomb in the chancel is believed to be to Sir Thomas Cheddar and dated 1442. The tower contains a bell dating from 1759 and made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family. Church of St Mark c. 1407 Mark The Church of St Mark (or Holy Cross) dates from the 13th century, but is mainly 14th and 15th century, with further restoration in 1864. Church of St Gregory c. 1407 Weare Dates from the 11th century. In the churchyard is a 15th-century cross, and a 19th-century church room. In 1257 the church was granted to St Augustine's Abbey in Bristol and after the dissolution of the monasteries given to the dean and chapter of Bristol Cathedral. Church of St James c. 1435 Winscombe The church has 12th- or 13th-century origins but the present building dates from the 15th century. There are no records remaining of the Norman church on the site, but there evidence of the building of the church which was consecrated by Bishop Jocelin on 26 August 1236. The 4-stage tower was added in the early 15th century by Bishop John Harewell, and at the same time stained glass was added. The church was restored and a new Chancel added in 1863. The bells of St James have long called people to worship, the original bells being cast in 1773 by local founders, the Bilbie family. Two newer bells were added in 1903 by Taylors Founders. The eight bells are in the key of E flat and the tenor weighs 18-1-8 – 18 hundredweight, 1 quarter of a hundredweight and 8 lb (930 kg).
Mendip generation
Continues with the triple windows, but with a heavier groundplan featuring heavier buttresses braced diagonally back onto their walls and across the corner; pinnacles diagonal to the tower plan: (Shepton Mallet, about 1423; Cranmore, about 1440; Mells, 1446; Bruton, about 1456; and Leigh-on-Mendip, about 1464)
Name of churchPhotograph Listed building grade Year tower built Height LocationDescriptionRef(s) Church of St Mary c. 1456102 feet (31 m) Bruton The Church of St Mary was built in the 14th century. Unusually, the church features two towers, a smaller and older north tower over the porch from the 14th century, and a much larger west tower from the 15th century, built of four stages. It is 102.5 feet high. Church of St Bartholomew 15th century Cranmore Dates from the 15th century. It has a three-stage embattled tower, supported by buttresses with corner pinnacles, tracery and gargoyles. There is a stone fan vault under the tower. St Giles' church c. 146494 feet (29 m) Flannery, Julian (2016). Fifty English Steeples: The Finest Medieval Parish Church Towers and Spires in England. New York City, New York, United States: Thames and Hudson. pp. 378–385. . Leigh-on-Mendip Dates from the 15th century and has an unusual faceless clock. St Andrew's Church 1446 Mells The church is predominantly from the late 15th century. The centre of the chapel is dominated by an equestrian statue to Edward Horner who fell at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 by Sir Alfred Munnings. There is also a memorial, designed by Edwin Lutyens, to Raymond Asquith, who died in France in 1916. The churchyard is the last resting place of the poet Siegfried Sassoon and the writer Ronald Knox, among other notables. Church of St Peter and St Paul c. 1423 Shepton Mallet Dates from the 12th century, but the current building is largely from the 15th century, with further rebuilding in 1836. The timber roof includes 350 panels of different designs and 36 carved angels along the sides.
Winford generation
These churches are contemporary with the Mendip Generation, but more akin to the Churchill group; conveying a sense of great height; single window per face in the top stage as well as lower stages; buttresses set back away from the corners and stepped at stage junctions and middles of stages; square-set pinnacles and most without merlons: (Portishead, about 1420; Backwell, possibly 1428; Winford and Chew Magna, about 1437; Kilmersdon, about 1443; Dundry, 1448 or earlier; Batheaston, about 1458; Publow, about 1467; Wellow, about 1475; and Yeovil St. John the Baptist, around 1480)