Cranmore, West, a village with station on the G.W. branch line to Wells. The church has a good Perp. W. tower of the Shepton type, with triple belfry windows. Within is an ancient bier and some monuments to the Strode family.
Creech St Michael is a village lying 3 m. E. of Taunton, on the edge of the alluvial plain, and perhaps owes its name to an inlet of the sea which once covered the latter. The embankment which is cut by the road from Taunton once carried the Chard Canal. The church, which is said to date from the 12th cent., looks as if it had once been cruciform, with a central tower. The latter is supported on piers, three of which are E.E., and the fourth Perp. The present nave is Perp., but there is an E.E.S. door, concealed by a porch. The chancel arch is exceptionally wide, and there is an unusual number of niches. Note (1) the carved reading-desk (1634), (2) the bench-ends in the choir, (3) the oak cornice, (4) the tomb of Robert Cuffe (d. 1597), (5) carving on face of the tower.
CREWKERNE, a market town of 4226 inhabitants, at the S. extremity of the county, on the borders of Dorset. The station, on the L. & S.W. line, is a mile away. Crewkerne is a clean and compact little place, with some reputation for the manufacture of sailcloth, twine, and shirts. The streets conveniently converge upon a central market-place. It has, however, few features of interest, with the exception of its church, which stands on rising ground above the market-place. This is a fine cruciform structure, with a central tower and a quite remarkable W. front. The doorway is enriched on either side by carved niches, and flanked by a pair of octagonal turrets. The W. window is good, and is surmounted by a niched dragon, which has lost its companion, St George. Externally should also be noted (1) the vigorous, though defaced, series of gargoyles above the S. porch, representing an amateur orchestra; (2) the remains of a stoup; (3) the curious chamber at the S.E. end of the S. transept. This last is a unique feature; it is supposed to have been the cell of an anchorite. Beneath the E. window is a railing which marks the former existence of a sacristy (cp. Porlock, N. Petherton, Ilminster). The original doorways communicating with it will be noticed inside. The interior is a trifle disappointing, and contains few features of interest. Observe, however, (1) wooden groining to tower, (2) windows and roof of N. transept, (3) ancient square font on modern base. In the S. transept there are traces of an earlier church: here, too, note the image of St George. There are several brasses, but none of much interest. The earliest, on the chancel wall, bears date 1525. One in the S. transept carries a crest with a ludicrous resemblance to a well-known advertisement. Note also two old chests. On the N. side of the churchyard is an old building, once the grammar school, founded 1499. Some spacious new buildings for the school have now been erected outside the town, on the Yeovil road. The road to Chard, which crosses St Rayne's and Windwhistle Hills, is a breezy highway, and affords an extensive prospect.
Cricket Malherbie, a parish 3 m. N.E. of Chard. The church is a handsome modern building with a spire.
Cricket St Thomas, 3½ m. E. of Chard, is a parish with a small church charmingly situated above a valley through which flows the Dorset Axe. It has a monument to Alexander Hood, Viscount Bridport, and another to the Rev. William, Earl Nelson, brother of the famous admiral. Cricket House once belonged to Viscount Bridport, but is now the property of F.J. Fry.
Croscombe, a quaint-looking village midway between Shepton and Wells, situated in the pretty valley which connects the two towns. The name perhaps comes from the Celtic cors, a marsh or marshy ground. The church is late Perp., with aisles, clerestory, and a battlemented W. tower with a good spire. The tower parapet has niches, some of which still retain their figures. There is an E.E. doorway to the S. porch. Within note (1) the unusual feature of a two storeyed vestry (cp. Shepton), (2) curious little chamber at N.E. with ribbed stone roof. The building, however, is chiefly remarkable for its elaborate display of Jacobean woodwork. The screen is a fearful and wonderful piece of carving, reaching almost to the roof, and the pulpit (the gift of Bishop Lake, 1616) is of quite barbaric impressiveness. The dark oak roof of the chancel is of the same date. Some fine candelabra hang from the roof beams. The remains of a village cross stand at the bottom of the pathway leading to the church. An old house at the Shepton end of the village was an ancient hostelry, and is worth inspection. Behind the church is the old manor house with a Perp. window. Overhanging the road to Shepton is Ham Wood.
Crowcombe, a village 2 m. N. of Crowcombe Heathfield Station, and 1½ m. E. of Stogumber, has a church ded. to the Holy Ghost. The roof of the S. porch is covered with fine tracery and has a large room above it, reached from within the church by a staircase in a recess topped by a turret. Note (1) the large late Perp. windows; (2) the fine bench-ends (one showing a man slaying a dragon, and another bearing the date 1534); (3) the splendid octagonal font with carved figures on each face; (4) the piscinas in chancel and S. aisle. There is a small ancient screen and a modern reredos. The N. chapel belongs to the Carew family. In the churchyard there is a good cross (13th cent.) with niches on the shaft filled with figures now much worn. There is another cross in the centre of the village. Opposite the church is an old pre-Reformation building, the basement of which served as an alms-house, and the upper floor as a school. It is now unfortunately quite ruinous.
Cucklington is a parish 3 m. E. of Wincanton, standing on a high ridge. The church (St Lawrence) has the tower on the S. side, having been reconstructed, after damage received in a storm, in 1703. The arcade is severely plain, and is perhaps 13th-cent. work. The font is Norm. The E. window of the chancel consists of three lancets. There is a little ancient glass in the E. window of the S. chapel. The figure in this window represents St Barbara, who is reputed to have suffered martyrdom in the 3rd or 4th cent.; notice in her left hand the tower, which is one of her emblems. St Barbara is said to be the patron saint of hills; hence perhaps her connection with Cucklington.
Cudworth, a small isolated hamlet 3 m. S.E. of Ilminster. The church is a very plain building without a tower, chiefly Perp., but retaining some Dec. work, and examples of the still earlier Norm. period. Note (1) Norm. doorway of the 12th cent.; (2) blocked doorway on the S., with gabled weather moulding; (3) very curious round-headed recess beneath E. window of N. aisle, lighted by a tiny round-headed slit; (4) piscina with stone shelf above; (5) Norm. bases to arcade columns; (6) Norm. font.
Culbone, a small parish 9½ m. W. of Minehead. It is reached from Porlock Weir by a woodland walk of a mile along the coast, through the Ashley Combe estate. Its little Perp. church is remarkable more for its unusual and picturesque situation (by the side of a delightful combe) and its diminutive size (35 ft. x 12 ft.) than for any great architectural interest, though it contains some Norm. work in its font and a chancel window of two lights, cut in a single stone. The churchyard contains the base of a cross. The pathway from the Weir is unfortunately very much broken by a landslip at one point, and difficult for ladies to traverse.