stately 15th cent. hostelry standing at the top of the
village. It is a fine old half-timbered building, with a small bay
window in front and an octagonal projecting staircase and gallery at
the back, and is well worthy of inspection within and without. It was
probably built for the accommodation of the merchants of the staple in
the old cloth fair-days.

_Norton-sub-Hamdon_, a village at the foot of the S.W. flank of Hamdon
Hill, 2-1/2 m. S.W. of Montacute Station. The church has a fine tower,
which was rebuilt in 1894 after destruction by lightning; it is
characterised by large single windows extending from the belfry into
the storey below (cp. Shepton Beauchamp and Hinton St George). The body
of the church was restored in 1862; the oldest part would seem to be
the S. porch, which has a ribbed stone roof (cp. Tintinhall). The
interior is imposing by reason of the height of the nave and chancel,
but it contains little that calls for notice. In the E. wall is a
piscina and two niches. The modern and very ugly font is made of a
single block of alabaster. The most interesting object is in the
churchyard, which contains a circular dovecot, quite perfect, supported
by buttresses.

[Illustration: NUNNEY CASTLE AND VILLAGE]

_Nunney_, a village 3 m. S.W. from Frome. It possesses the unusual
attraction of a ruined _castle_. The castle is an excellent specimen of
a 14th cent. fortified dwelling-house. The walls are still complete,
but bear abundant traces of the ravages of time and warfare. In plan
the castle consists of a rectangular parallelogram with a cylindrical
tower at each angle The interior is gutted, but as the beam-marks still
remain, the general arrangements are easily reconstructed. It was
divided into four storeys by wooden floors, the dining-hall being (as
the large fireplace indicates) on the first floor. Access was gained to
the different apartments by a large spiral staircase winding round the
interior of the N. turret. The top storey of the S. turret, marked
externally by a Perp. window, was evidently furnished as an oratory; an
altar slab and piscina can still be seen projecting from the wall. The
position, not naturally strong, was rendered more defensible by a moat,
beyond which flows a stream. The castle was built by Sir J. de la Mere
in 1373 out of the spoils of the French wars. It afterwards passed
successively to the families of Pawlet and Prater, and during the Civil
Wars was held by Colonel Prate