Stoke St Gregory, a parish 2 m. S. of Athelney Station. It has an interesting church, which, like that of its neighbour North Curry, is cruciform with a central octagonal tower. The oldest parts are E.E. (note in particular the E. windows of the S. transept, of which the piers have E.E. capitals as bases, and the base of the tower). The rest of the building was reconstructed in Perp. times. The figures (of Apostles) on the outside of the tower are modern, though the pedestals are ancient. There is a little ancient glass in one of the N. windows; but the most noteworthy features of the church are the carved Jacobean pulpit, a cupboard in the vestry made from the former reading-desk, and the carved bench ends. The pulpit has five figures in relief which should be compared with similar ones at Thurloxton and North Newton. They represent Time, Faith, Hope, Charity, and (probably) the Virgin and Child. There are also five carved figures on the vestry cupboard, which are possibly the five Wise Virgins. The W. door is closed by a bar inserted in the wall. Note the niched figure in the S. porch. At Slough Farm is an old moated manor house.
Stoke St Mary, a parish 2 m. E. of Thorne Falcon Station. Its church (restored) is prettily situated, but contains nothing to interest the antiquarian.
Stoke St Michael (or Stoke Lane), a compact but uninteresting village, 3 m. N. of Cranmore Station. Its church is an instructive example of architectural depravity, but internally has been much improved. The tower is ancient but poor. About a mile E. of the village are the ruins of a villa once owned by the notorious Duke of Buckingham.
Stoke, South, a parish 2½ m. S. of Bath. The church has a fine Norm. doorway, with carved tympanum and pillars, and zigzag and other mouldings round the arch.
Stoke Trister is a small hamlet of mean appearance, 2 m. E. of Wincanton. It has a modern church (1841).
Ston Easton, a small wayside village, 2½ m. S. of Hallatrow station. The church is an unpretentious little Perp. building, with a rather fine Norm. chancel arch, and has been well restored. Ston Easton House stands in a well-wooded park, and possesses an old carved oak ceiling and an ancient staircase.
Stowell, a very small parish 1 m. W. of Templecombe, which probably gets its name from the spring seen near the church. The church itself was originally built in the 15th cent., but only the tower arch belongs to this date. The nave is quite modern (1834), but it preserves a Norm. font.
Stowey, a parish 2 m. W. of Clutton. It has a small church, noteworthy for the irregularity of its windows (the small one in the S. wall was originally the S. door). It has a 14th cent. font (note the cockle-shell); and an interesting bit of sculpture is built into the exterior N. wall of the chancel. Near it is an incised pair of shears (a woolstaplers' mark). Not far from the church is an old manor house, half of which has been destroyed. Within the parish is [ Sutton Court ] (Sir E. Strachey), a house which has historical associations, for here Bishop Hooper found an asylum during the Marian persecution. The mansion is of considerable antiquity, parts of it dating from the reign of Edward II., and others from Tudor times.
Stowey, Nether, a village 9 m. W. from Bridgwater (from which place there is a motor service). It owes its interest to having been the residence of S.T. Coleridge from 1796 to 1798: his cottage, marked by a tablet, is at the end of the village on the Minehead road. Both "Christabel" and "The Ancient Mariner," as well as several of his shorter poems, are said to have been partly written in this neighbourhood. Here he must have entertained Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and many others of his literary friends. A movement has been recently started to purchase the cottage for the nation. The church contains nothing of note except a mural tablet in memory of Thomas Poole, described as the friend of "Wordsworth and Davy (i.e. Sir Humphrey), Southey, and Coleridge": his tomb is on the W. side of the S. door. The two painted mitres beneath the roof-beams commemorate two vicars who became bishops (Majendie of Chester and Fisher of Exeter).
