Chinnock, West, 3 m. N.N.E. of Crewkerne, is a parish on the Parrett. Its church has been wholly rebuilt (1889), the only parts of the original fabric retained seemingly being a lancet-window in the N. wall of the chancel and a Perp. one in the S.
Included in this parish is the village of Chinnock, Middle, which lies a little to the E. of W. Chinnock. The church has been restored, but retains several features of interest. The low embattled tower has a very wide staircase-turret. The S. door is Norm., with the zigzag moulding on the jambs and arch, and a carved tympanum. Under one of the stone seats in the porch is a canopy, protecting the head and shoulders of a small effigy (apparently an ecclesiastic). There is a (late) Norm. font, with an unusual moulding. Note, too, an old carved stone built into the exterior of the N. transept. The gable of the porch carries a curious sundial (as at Tintinhull).
Chipstable, a picturesquely situated village, 3 m. W. from Wiveliscombe. The church is of ancient origin, but it is difficult to say how much of the original fabric survives. The Perp. W. tower appears to have been restored merely, but the nave and aisles were rebuilt in 1869. The window tracery is good, and the clustered columns with angel capitals on the S. are noteworthy.
Chiselborough, a parish near the Parrett, 4½ m. N.N.E. of Crewkerne. Its church has a central tower and spire, built over unusually low E.E. arches, with a groined vault. One of the bells bears the inscription "Carmine laetatur Paulus campana vocatur," and the name of the maker. The body of the church was rebuilt in 1842. The chancel is a makeshift.
Christon, a parish 3 m. S.W. of Sandford and Banwell Station, has a small but very interesting church. It is without aisles or transepts, but has a low central tower. The tower-vault has quadripartite groining, with curious ornaments at the base of the ribs, and is supported by two Norm. recessed arches, with double chevron and other mouldings, resting on fluted pillars. The S. door has likewise a fine Norm. arch with the lozenge moulding. The chancel windows have rear foliations. The other windows are modern restorations.
A fine view is obtainable by crossing the hill on the N. which separates Christon from Hutton.
Churchill, a parish 1½ m. E. of Sandford and Banwell Stations. Like Wellington, it is associated (though perhaps distantly) with one of the greatest soldiers our history has known, for Churchill Court, a mansion near the church, was once the home of the family from a branch of which the Duke of Marlborough sprung. The church itself is not without interest. There are two aisles, separated from the nave by arcades of different styles. The N. aisle has a good wooden roof, whilst the S., in which are hung some pieces of armour, contains a brass (protected by a carpet) to "Raphe Jenyns" and his wife (1572), who are said to have been ancestors of Sarah Jennings, who became Duchess of Marlborough. Note (1) the old font, (2) the carved seat ends, (3) the squint looking from the S. aisle, (4) the monument to Thomas and Sarah Latch, with a quaint inscription, said to have been written by Dr Donne.
A little way S.E. of Churchill, on the summit of a conspicuous hill, is Dolbury Camp. It occupies 22 acres, is irregularly oblong in shape, and is defended by a rampart, constructed of fragments of limestone piled together, outside of which is a ditch, traceable in places. The camp is presumably British in origin, but was used by the Romans, who seem to have made their ramparts within the British earthwork.
Clandown, a small unlovely village on a hillside a little to the R. of the Bath road, 1½ m. N. from Radstock. The church, which is almost screened from observation by the workings of a colliery, is a small, modern building, rather foreign in appearance. The Fosse Way strikes right through the village, and may here be inspected with advantage. The modern Bath road deserts the Roman trackway to make an easier descent into Radstock, but the Roman road, more suo, regardless of obstacles, clambered up hill and down dale, and made straight for Stratton. The lane which passes in front of the post-office and mounts the opposite embankment keeps the line of the original route.
Clapton-in-Gordano, a parish 4 m. N.E. of Clevedon. The description, in Gordano, still attached to four places in this neighbourhood, Clapton, Easton, Walton, and Weston, and formerly affixed to Portbury and Portishead besides, goes back to the 13th cent. The prevailing English form seems to have been Gorden or Gordene, and the name was probably applied to the triangular vale in which all these places are situated, from gore, a wedge-shaped strip of land (cp. the application of the term to a triangular insertion in a garment), and dean or dene, a valley (as in Taunton Dean). Clapton Church and manor house are both of considerable antiquity. The church has a plain W. tower, which is said to be of the 13th cent., though the main building has Perp. windows; it contains a large monument to the Winter family. At the entrance to the tower is a curious wooden screen, which is not ecclesiastical but domestic, and originally belonged to Clapton Court, the 14th-cent. manor house mentioned above, which is near the church.