The Church of All Saints, Curland, lies
opposite Lane End Farm, almost a kilometre to the south-west of
Curland as the crow flies. An earlier church (details unknown, but
possibly of the seventeenth century based on surviving elements) was
demolished so that this version could be built in 1856 by Benjamin
Ferrey. It consists of local stone and ham stone dressings. Lack of
use meant it was declared redundant a few years ago and now serves
as a private residence.
The Church of St Peter, Staple Fitzpaine,
sits at the south-west corner of New Road and Staple Hill,
immediately south of the almshouses. Norman in origin, the chancel
was built in the fourteenth century, followed by the north aisle in
the fifteenth century when the windows were renewed. The notable,
ornate tower was added in the 1400s. The south doorway is notable
for being overwhelmed with decorative zigzags, small heads,
diaperwork, rosettes, oxen, and birds.
It consists of a large, high nave with a chancel
at the east end and a tower at the west. The decorated doorway was
repositioned from the nave wall when the south aisle was added in
1841. The windows from the south nave were also repositioned and
the south porch and north-east vestry were added. The church was
re-seated and restored in 1894, and re-roofed in the mid-1900s.
Access to the three-stage tower's chambers is via a vice turret
on the north side.
Corfe Baptist Chapel sits inside a rough
stone wall on the eastern side of the main north-south street
through the village of Corfe, just fifty metres or so north of the
Pitminster Road junction and the White Hart Inn. The date on the
frontage (visible above the modern porch) reads 1897. The chapel
remained open after the Second World War but numbers clearly
dwindled to the point of closure. Today the chapel is a much-altered
private residence known as Chapel Cottage.
The Church of St Nicholas, Corfe, lies
within its walled churchyard on the eastern side of the main street
(B3170), with Mill Lane on its northern flank. The building is
Norman in style, the original having been built in the twelfth
century. Its condition in the early 1800s has to be wondered at
because it was rebuilt in 1842 by B Ferrey. The nave arcade is
neo-Romanesque, as is the chancel arch, with both claimed as being
based on those of the original building.
The south aisle (visible to the right in the
previous photo) was added in 1858 by C E Giles, and the tower with
its pyramid cap was rebuilt at the same time. The chancel was
restored in 1969. Construction is of squared and coursed blue lias,
with ham stone dressings (common to many local churches). The
building consists of a four-bay nave and south aisle, chancel, and
west tower. Original features from the 1100s are the font and two
corbels (reset in the north nave wall inside).
All photos on this page by P L Kessler. Former
Taunton Deane area church names and locations kindly confirmed by
South West Heritage Trust.
