Church of St Mary, Bruton

The first church on the site was founded by Ine of Wessex in the 7th century, which grew into an Augustinian priory, becoming Bruton Abbey shortly before the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The church was within the grounds of the abbey so strictly a chapel of it, but always in effect the parish church of the town, with an office and what was perhaps a schoolroom in the north tower above the porch. The earliest part of the present building is the north aisle and north tower, dating from circa 1350, and the crypt under the chancel from the same period. Together, these three parts formed the original church before it was greatly expanded in the 15th century. In 1445, the construction of the…

It has two towers, the larger of which dates from 1445-1446, and is the furthest south of a type called the "Mendip towers". It is 102.5 ft high. This is the west tower; the older north tower is unusually placed over the church porch. The west tower is the town's chief landmark, and it can be seen from many places around the town and beyond. The north tower is simpler in design, built of three stages with angled corner buttresses and a stair turret. The central aisle of the nave is late 15th century, and is classic late Perpendicular Gothic in style, as is the close proximity of the west window to the tower arch. The moulding on the tower arch, described as "triple wave moulding", is said…