Church of St Gregory, Stoke St Gregory

St Gregory’s is a Church of England parish church in the Somerset Levels village of Stoke St Gregory. Built in the 14th century, perhaps as early as 1300, it stands on a low rise above the flat fields. The church is cruciform, with a crossing tower that has an octagonal upper stage added in the 15th century. Inside, the nave is divided by north and south aisles with four-bay arcades. A south porch shelters a sundial above its outer arch and a statue of St Gregory the Great above the inner arch. The tower holds a ring of five bells, each cast by a different founder over three centuries. John Wiseman of Montacute made the treble bell in 1628. Thomas I Wroth of Wellington cast the second bell in 1714. John Kingston of Bridgwater produced the third bell in 1818 and the tenor in 1823. John Taylor & Co completed the ring with the fourth bell in 1909. Fragments of medieval stained glass remain in the western windows of the aisles. The churchyard contains a 16th-century monument, a late-18th-century headstone and a set of stocks from the 17th or 18th century. The flat landscape stretches away from the low churchyard wall, giving wide views across the Levels. Inside, the crossing tower’s upper stage rises above the nave and aisles. The four-bay arcades frame the nave, while the south porch shelters the sundial and statue.