Church of St Michael, North Cadbury

Church of St Michael
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Location	North Cadbury, Somerset, England
Coordinates
Built	1417
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated	24 March 1961
Reference no.	262104
Location of Church of St Michael in Somerset

The Church of St Michael in North Cadbury, Somerset, England dates from 1417, although the tower was built a few years earlier. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

In 1423 Lord and Lady de Botreaux were granted a royal licence to form a college of seven chaplains. As a result the nave and chancel were rebuilt although the earlier three-stage tower was left intact.

Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon granted the patronage of the church to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, leading to a dispute between the college and the owner of the manor of North Cadbury that became famous in the history of mortgage law. From the 17th century until 1979 the church remained under the patronage of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and every rector from the mid-17th century to the mid-20th century was a former fellow of the college.

The church includes elaborately carved bench ends dating from the 1530s. The decoration includes not just religious imagery but also birds and animals along with local people at work.

During the 1980s the interior fittings and decoration of the church were damaged beyond repair. The local sculptor John Robinson designed modern figures to replace them. Some controversy arose about the figures and they were eventually placed on the wall of the adjacent North Cadbury Court which overlooks the churchyard.

The parish is part of the Camelot Parishes benefice within the Bruton and Cary deanery.

See also

• List of Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset
• List of towers in Somerset

Further reading

• Proceedings of Somersetshire Archaeological & Natural History Society, Vol.36, pp. 54 et seq., North Cadbury