Quantock Centre members visited North Curry and two fine churches in March, with Mark McDermott as their guide. Ruth Adams was delighted with the sights that greeted them.
I don't know North Curry well and had never visited the church of St Peter and St Paul before. But when I first saw it, I was reminded of a smaller version of Ely Cathedral with its octagonal tower rising above the flat fenland.
In the churchyard, we were greeted by lovely blue Anemone blanda, whilst from the north side of the church there was a panoramic view down to the river Tone and to Curry Moor. North Curry, like most of the villages in the area, has grown up on the higher and therefore usually flood-free land. In dry Summer weather, the waters of the Tone can be held back to prevent the land upstream from drying out.
The church, large and impressive, is predominantly of blue lias with Ham stone and local sandstone. It dates from 1300 and was built in a Decorated style, only to be modified a hundred years later with Perpendicular additions.
Our guide, Mark McDermott, pointed out evidence of these alterations, both inside and outside. That the church was probably preceded by a Norman one is evident from a rounded Norman arch in the north wall.
St Gregory's church is smaller, of similar stone, also with an octagonal tower, but is mainly Perpendicular in style. It has an intriguing wooden Jacobean pulpit with carvings of Faith, Hope, Charity, Father Time and (according to Pevsner) the Virgin. But the latter has wings and may represent the Archangel holding Adam's soul.
Tea at the Willows and Wetlands Centre rounded off an interesting afternoon.
Ruth Adams