Church of St Michael & All Angels, Greinton

The Church of St Michael & All Angels stands in the quiet village of Greinton, Somerset. Parts of the building date to the 12th century, and traces suggest it may have been built on an older, pre-Christian site. The church has Grade I listed status, marking its national importance. Over the centuries it was repaired and enlarged in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Records show it was once led by a series of striking clergy, starting at least in 1259 when Boniface de Foliano became rector. The church’s history includes colourful incidents. In 1397 the rector was accused of attacking the vicar of Pawlett during mass and extorting money and livestock. John Hyne, rector from 1584 to 1624, spent time in prison in 1590, leaving the church without a leader. Later he faced minor charges, such as allowing a twelve-year-old girl to act as godmother and refusing communion to a couple. The 15th-century tower holds six bells, one of medieval Bristol make and others dated 1586, 1707, 1788 and two from 1899. Victorian restorers added stained glass, built a north porch and turned the south porch into a vestry. The church register survives from 1655, though only incomplete entries remain before 1777.