Easton-in-Gordano, a village 1 m. W. from Pill (G.W.R.). The church is a large and dignified modern clerestoried structure (rebuilt in 1872), with a good Perp. W. tower (original).
Edington, a village on the Poldens, with a station 2 m. away. The church has been rebuilt (1877-79), and contains no ancient features except a very good Norm. font. On the locality, see p. [ 13].
Elm, or Great Elm, a village 3 m. S.W. from Frome, perched on the edge of a vale of quite romantic picturesqueness (see [ Vallis]). The church is an unpretentious little building with a saddleback tower. It bears one or two indications of high antiquity. Note (1) on S. external wall, herring-bone masonry (cp. Marston Magna), (2) Norm, doorway to tower, and E.E. arch within. The interior has been remodelled in accordance with early Victorian ideas of ecclesiastical propriety.
Elworthy, a village 4 m. S.W. of Stogumber Station. The small church (Perp.) contains a carved illuminated Caroline screen (1632). The pulpit, approached by the rood staircase, is of the same date. In a small window in the N. wall is some ancient glass. Above the village is a British camp, called Elworthy Barrows, which can be reached from near the church. Towards Wiveliscombe, on the L. of the road, rises Willett Hill (950 ft.), crowned by a tower.
Emborrow (the first syllable perhaps a corruption of Elm), a small hamlet on the Mendips, 1½ m. N. of Binegar Station. The church is a forlorn-looking building with a central tower containing a 14th-cent. sanctus-bell. Emborrow Pool is a dismal sheet of water bordering the main road and surrounded by trees. It has the appearance of being rapidly silted up.
Englishcombe, a small and rather uncouth-looking village 3 m. S.W. from Bath, and 1½ m. S.W. from Twerton Station (G.W.R.). It still retains something of the aloofness which once characterised it as an English outpost on the Welsh border, and is worth a visit. The church is of considerable antiquarian interest. It consists of a Perp. nave, a central Norm. tower, and a Norm. chancel. A Perp. chapel, now occupied by the organ, adjoins the porch. Externally, note the fantastic corbel table round chancel. Within, it has two good pointed Norm. arches, and on the N. wall of tower a well-preserved Norm., arcade. Observe (1) detached Norm. capitals on N. wall, (2) panelling round splay of W. window of nave and S. window of chapel. Almost opposite to the S. entrance to the churchyard is a tithe barn once belonging to Bath Abbey, which still shows some indication of its ecclesiastical origin. At the W. end of graveyard is a farm-house with orchard, and beyond this is a field where may be seen a good specimen of the [ Wansdyke. ] Near the village once stood a castle of the De Gourneys. The site is marked by a mound on a neighbouring estate.
Enmore, a village 5 m. S.W. of Bridgwater, on the road leading to the S.E. extremity of the Quantocks. Its church has a good tower, noticeable for the pinnacles that crown the staircase turret. The tower-vault is groined, the chancel arch panelled, and there is a Norm. S. door (belonging to a former fabric) with carved capitals and good mouldings. Note (1) the carved wooden pulpit, (2) the niche, supported by an angel, on the S. face of the tower. In the churchyard there is the broken shaft of a cross. Enmore Park (W.B. Broadmead) is hard by. It was formerly called Enmore Castle, and once belonged to the Malets.
Evercreech is a large village 3½ m. S.S.E. from Shepton Mallet, with a station on the S. & D. J.R. The first syllable of the name probably means "boar" (cognate with the Latin aper), and recurs in Eversley. It is famed for its church, which has perhaps the most graceful tower in all Somerset; its double, long-panelled windows, buttresses, and clustered pinnacles are particularly fine. The earliest part of the building is the chancel (14th cent.), with Dec. windows at the E. and N.; the rest of the church is Perp., the S. aisle being modern. Note (1) wooden roof of nave, the colours of which are believed to reproduce the original; (2) carving of gallery in the tower; (3) brackets (perhaps for lights) on piers of N. arcade; (4) quaint inscription behind the organ, of the date 1596. Outside the churchyard is a much defaced cross. S.S.E. of the village is the commanding eminence of [ Creech Hill], where there seem to be traces of earthworks, and whence a fine view is obtainable, with the town of Bruton in the valley to the S., and Stourton Tower conspicuous on the hills to the E.
Exford, a village on the fringe of Exmoor "Forest," near the source of the Exe, 12 m. N.W. from Dulverton Station. It is one of the many rendezvous of the huntsman, as there are kennels here for staghounds and harriers. The houses are dropped into a hollow of the moors through which trickles the stream. The church braves the gale on the hill top above. It is remarkable for nothing but its exposed situation, a thousand feet above sea-level—a fact which has no doubt necessitated its frequent renewal. The tower is original, but the nave and chancel are modern. The S. aisle appears to have been built chiefly out of a legacy left by a local blacksmith about 1532. Note the Devonshire foliage on capitals. The churchyard contains the base of a cross locally known as the "Crying Stone," from its appropriation by the parish beadle as a pedestal for proclamations. At the churchyard gate is a "lipping" or mounting stone.
Exmoor. Though generally associated in the popular mind with Devonshire, Exmoor is really, in the main, a part of Somerset. It is the highest, wildest, and most fascinating portion of the county—a truly delightsome land, a veritable paradise for the sportsman and the painter. The red deer run wild at will over the moors, or find a congenial covert in the oak scrub which clothes the combes. Brawling brooks abound on all sides to entice the angler and interest the artist, and a charming strip of sea-coast must also be numbered amongst its attractions. Though mainly given over to the sportsman and the tourist, efforts have from time to time been made to civilise these wilds. In general they have proved futile. Mines have been sunk only to be abandoned, and the agriculturist has fared little better than the miner. Early in the last century, a Mr Knight made an heroic effort to enclose a large portion of the moor for the purposes of cultivation. The heather, however, is still triumphant. The only memorial of his ambition is a ruined mansion at Simonsbath. The hills are all of considerable altitude—well over 1200 ft.—but with the exception of Dunkery few can pretend to any marked individuality. The landscape is a mere "tumultuous waste of huge hill-tops," which no one takes the trouble to specify. Perhaps the least praiseworthy feature of Exmoor is its weather. To adapt a Cornish description of something quite different, "when it's bad, it's execrable; and when it's good, it's only middlin'." It has a disagreeable partiality for haze and drizzle. In such an untamed region "routes" are only an embarrassment. The regulation drive is from Minehead to Dulverton, and from Dulverton through Simonsbath to Lynton, which virtually circumscribes the moor. The best way, however, is to turn oneself loose in the district, and ramble over the moors at will. The sturdy tourist will find many an exhilarating excursion. Winsford, Exford, Withypool, and Simonsbath are all worth seeing. Dunkery Beacon (1707 ft.) may be conveniently ascended on the Porlock side from Luccombe or Cloutsham, and on the Dulverton side from Wheddon Cross, near Cutcombe.