be late
Dec., the tower Perp. Note (1) piscina in S. transept or chapel, (2)
small doorway in N. transept, which probably once led to the rood-loft,
but now affords access to the pulpit. Hard by is a fine tithe barn with
finials on the gables, and a 15th-cent. house with a most picturesque
porch and panelled octagonal chimney.
_Priddy_, a lonely village on the top of the W. Mendips, 5 m. N.N.W. of
Wells. It enjoys a certain celebrity as one of the bleakest and most
remote spots in Somerset. Though some considerable distance from
Cheddar, it is generally regarded as part of the Cheddar _entourage_.
Nowhere can the characteristic scenery of the Mendips, with its moors,
mines, and swallets, be sampled to better advantage. Priddy, ever since
Roman times, has been the centre of the Mendip mining area (cp. p. 11),
and wild tales used to be told of the Priddy "groovers." Lead and zinc
ores are still worked in the locality. The village surrounds a large,
three-cornered green, which was once the scene of a considerable fair.
The church stands about a stone's-throw away on rising ground. It is a
Perp. building of irregular design and rough workmanship. It has a good
pillared stoup in the porch, a Jacobean screen, and fragments of a
stone pulpit. In the neighbourhood are two groups of barrows.
_Priston_, a village in a secluded dale 5-1/4 m. S.W. from Bath
(nearest stat. Camerton, 3 m.). The church is something of a deception,
for a good Norm. doorway and an exterior corbel table prepares the
visitor for the Norm. arches and arcading within; but these are
entirely modern. There is, however, some good Dec. work in the chancel;
and notice should especially be taken of the priest's doorway, the
foliated rear arches of the windows (cp. Frome), and the fine pillar
piscina. Observe also (1) old wooden door, (2) the lion serving as a
finial to W. gable. The tower, the base of which is perhaps Norm., is
incongruously finished with a balustrade and urn-like pinnacles.
_Publow_, a village on the Chew (nearest stat. Pensford). One of the
prettiest features of the landscape from Pensford Station is the
graceful tower of Publow Church. It is a stately structure of four
stages, with the customary projecting stone turret and spirelet. The
interior is not particularly interesting, but note (1) panelled arch on
N. of sanctuary, (2) aumbry in N. aisle, (3) square font. The pulpit
has been constructed out of two old pews. Near the church is an
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