Nettlecombe Church, Somerset

There has probably been a church at Nettlecombe since the late 13th century and by 1440 it was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. At that date it comprised chancel, nave, south chapel and tower, the last being a recent addition. The chapel was dedicated to St John the Baptist and was endowed as a chantry by Simon de Ralegh (d. 1440). The church was restored by Richard Carver c.1820 and more drastically between 1858 and 1870 by C E Giles under the guidance of the Trevelyan agent James Babbage who claimed the new clerestorey made the church look two centuries older.