Mells is a pretty and interesting little village just west of Frome, with houses scattered along steep lanes. At its heart is the impressive church of St Andrew, set alongside an equally impressive Tudor Manor House, approached along a planned 15th century street — the combination being described by architectural historian Nikolas Pevsner as «among the happiest in Somerset». The church itself — now Grade I listed — was founded in the 13th century, but almost entirely rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries in the Perpendicular Gothic style. From this period, the most notable features are the wonderful porch and tower — the latter with impressive pinnacles. Indeed, the whole church is decorated with battlements and pinnacles, as well as an unusual two-storied polygonal vestry. Both porch and tower are vaulted with elaborate fan vaults, of a quality which would grace any cathedral. Inside, the roofs and furnishings are largely Victorian, but it still feels like a mediaeval church: the north chapel has its original wooden roof, and the south chapel — largely filled with the 19th century organ — has two very impressive brasses to earlier Vicars, unfortunately rather hard to appreciate in their cramped surroundings. Look closely and you can also find the remains of the odd Jacobean pew. The adjacent manor house was once home to the Horner family, and passed by marriage to the Asquiths. Around the turn of the century, the house became something of a magnet for the artistic worthies of the time such as Eric Gill, Edwin Lutyens and Burne-Jones, who left some impressive furnishings, including tombs, memorials, glass and tapestries. Most notable are the tapestry and a plaster memorial depicting a peacock to Laura Lyttleton, both by Burne-Jones; and the handsome equestrian statue by Mannings and Lutyens in the north aisle. This is a memorial to Edward Horner, the last of the male Horner line, killed in action at Noyelles in France in 1917, aged 28. Outside, behind the East end of the church are memorials to the Horners and Asquiths, to Lady Violet Bonham-Carter, and — most notably — to Siegfried Sassoon, who asked to be buried close to his friend, Ronald Knox, the Catholic priest and scholar. To the north, a clipped avenue of yews is another example of Lutyens’ work.
Ellie
Place rating: 4 Dublin, Republic of Ireland
For history buffs there’s several points of interest at St Andrews church in the tiny village of Mells, some 3 miles out of Frome. Situated at the end of New Street(new in the 16thC that is.) this church was built in the 15th Century, although there has been a church on that site since the 13thC. My auntie and uncle used to live in New Street, so this is very familiar territory to me, clambering over the style in the churchyard to the fields beyond to play when I was a nipper. The church — and village — has strong manorial links to the Asquith family. Raymond Asquith, the son of the former Prime Minister Herbert Asquith(PM from 1908 to 1916) has a memorial on the wall following his death in WW1. The theme of War Remembrance is noteably continued as the grave of Siegfried Sassoon, the great War Poet is situated in St Andrews churchyard, close to the grave of Monseignier Ronald Knox. Historically, there are links to the Horner Family also — most children will know of the nursery rhyme ‘Little Jack Horner’ about the boy who stuck his thumb in a pie and pulled out a plum. allegorically this is believed to refer to the Dissolution of the Monasteries back in the 1530’s. At that time, the Manor of Mells was given as a ‘prize’ the to Horner family by Henry VIII(a ‘plum prize’). There is even a legend that the deeds were delivered hidden inside a pie. Artistically, the work of Sir Edward Lutyens can be seen in several places, including a statue plinth, the gravestones of Sir John and Lady Horner, and an avenue of clipped yews designed by Lutyens. Lovely and fascinating old church, with a wealth of history to be seen.
