Church of All Saints, Rodden explained

Church of All Saints
Coordinates:51.2283°N -2.2895°W
Location:Rodden, Somerset, England
Built:1640
Designation1:Grade II* listed building
Designation1 Offname:Church of All Saints
Designation1 Date:11 March 1968
Designation1 Number:1058893

The Anglican Church of All Saints in Rodden, Somerset, England, was built in 1640. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

History

The church was built in 1640, on the site of an earlier medieval church. Although it served only a small community, the church was built on the orders of Archbishop William Laud.[2] He was an autocratic clergyman and sought to reduce the influence of Puritans, after which Laudianism is named.[3]

The church was dedicated to St Blaize, and served as a chapelry of Boyton, some 11miles to the south-east in Wiltshire,[4] both Rodden and Boyton being estates of the Giffard family in the 13th century.[5] The date this arrangement ended, and Rodden became a separate parish, is unclear. It is described as a chapelry in a correction note to the 1811 Census[6] but the 1831 Census Abstract states the separation occurred in 1784.[7] John Collinson, published in 1791, has Rodden as a chapelry of Boyton. Another source gives the creation date of Rodden ecclesiastical parish as 1802.[8]

The church was rebuilt in a Victorian restoration in the mid-19th century.

The benefice was united with that of Berkley in 1964. Today the parish is part of the benefice of Beckington with Standerwick, Berkley, Lullington, Orchardleigh and Rodden, which was created in 1978, within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.[9]

Architecture

The stone building has a three-bay nave and one-bay chancel with tile roofs. The west tower is supported by diagonal buttresses.[1] The majority of the interior dates from its restoration in the 19th century, but it retains its 18th-century pulpit.

Present day

The church, in spite of its isolated location, continues to have services once or twice a month.[10]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Church of All Saints. National Heritage List for England. Historic England. 12 January 2018.
  2. Web site: Rodden, Somerset, Family History Guide: extract from Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, 1848. 2022-02-08. Parish Mouse. en-GB.
  3. Book: Dunning, Robert. Somerset Churches and Chapels: Building Repair and Restoration. 2007. Halsgrove. 978-1841145921. 54.
  4. Book: Willis, Browne. A Survey of the Cathedrals of York, Durham. T. Osborne. 1742. 137. Browne Willis.
  5. Book: Collinson, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset. 1791. 226-227. John Collinson (historian). Internet Archive.
  6. Book: Abstract of the Answers and Returns Made Pursuant to an Act Passed in the Fifty-first Year of His Majesty King George III, Intituled, "An Act for Taking an Account of the Population of Great Britain, and of the Increase Or Diminution Thereof" : Preliminary Observations, Enumeration Abstract, Parish Register Abstract, 1811. H.M. Stationery Office. 1811. vi. 282.
  7. https://archive.org/details/abstractofanswer03grea/page/n327/mode/1up?q=rodden 1831 Census Abstract: Vol. 3 p.280
  8. Web site: Rodden EP. 8 February 2022. A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth.
  9. Web site: All Saints. A Church Near You. Church of England. 12 January 2018.
  10. Web site: All Saints, Rodden. 2022-02-08. Beckington Benefice.