work of various periods, Norm. (chancel arch and moulding on
N. wall of nave), E.E. and Dec. (windows in chancel and transepts), and
Perp. (tower and nave). The tower is good, with its stages divided by
rows of quatrefoils. Note (1) groining of N. porch (the ribs are
inaccurately centred), (2) brackets beneath organ (the eastern alone is
ancient), (3) elaborate niches in chancel arch, (4) squint and piscina,
(5) texts round reredos, dated 1543, (6) effigies of the Phelipses, the
earliest dating from the 15th cent. In the churchyard is the carved
shaft of a cross. Near the W. end of the church is a beautiful
15th-cent. gateway, once belonging to a Cluniac Priory (founded in the
time of Henry I.), with oriel windows N. and S., the latter flanked by
two turrets of unequal height. Note over N. window a portcullis, and
over the S. the letters _T.C._, the initials of Thomas Chard, the last
prior but two. In the village square is a picturesque house with the
initials _R.S._ (Robert Sherborne, the last prior) between two figures
with fools' caps. _Montacute House_, the seat of the Phelipses, is
built in the form of the letter H, and dates from the reign of Queen
Elizabeth (1580-1601). The E. and W. fronts are handsome, the former
being decorated with nine large statues, supposed to represent various
martial characters, historical, legendary, and biblical. The two large
upper-storey windows that project from the N. and S. sides, light a
gallery running the whole length of the house. The building was
designed by John Thorpe, the architect of Longleat. Note the "gazebos"
in the garden (cp. Nether Stowey).

[Illustration: MONTACUTE HOUSE]

_Moorlynch_, a village on the S. edge of the Poldens, 4 m. S. of
Shapwick Station. The churchyard commands a good view of Sedgemoor,
with the towers of Othery, Middlezoy, and Weston Zoyland rising
conspicuously from it. The church (said to be E.E., but altered in
Perp. times) has some features of interest: (1) pillar piscina, (2)
carved bench-ends, (3) Norm. font, (4) effigy of lady (preserved under
the tower), (5) bits of old glass in chancel windows, (6) consecration
crosses on exterior chancel wall. There are some carved bench-ends and
old oak seats.

_Muchelney_, 2 m. S.E. of Langport, is a small village rich in
antiquities. Like Athelney, it was once a marsh-girt "island "--the
largest, or _muckleey_, amongst its peers. Its church has a fair tower
(double windows in the belfry), though mu