Somerset towers

The Somerset towers are a collection of distinctive, mostly spireless Gothic church towers in the county of Somerset in south west England.

Where beautiful castles and church spires rise above other parts of England, the crowning glory of many Somerset towns and villages is these medieval church towers. It is largely on the basis of the Somerset towers that 52 of Simon Jenkins' "Thousand Best Churches" in England are in Somerset – trailing only the counties of Norfolk (with 65 entries) and Lincolnshire (54). Jenkins cites the towers as one of England's finest contributions to medieval art. Other authors write:

"They stand apart by reason of their style, their intricate decoration, and their great height, from which they command the low flat plains of Somerset."

"Somerset's wealth of some 90 late medieval towers, 50 of which are great designs by any standard, gives the county a unique place in the history of English art. The prosperity of the wool trade in the 15th century paid for the design and craftsmanship, displayed often in small villages, which still astonish us today."

Often built on the foundations of older Norman churches, the Perpendicular Gothic-style Somerset towers became landmarks for travelers, with their square, corner-buttressed towers typically positioned on the west side of the churches. The towers soar more than 100 feet (30 m) in some cases – 182 feet (55 m) in the case of Wells Cathedral's north tower (1440). Most of the towers house bells, and bell-ringing became a tradition still practiced in some of these English country churches. Most of the churches in this article have been designated, under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, by English Heritage as grade I listed buildings, which is defined as encompassing those "of outstanding or national architectural or historic interest". Those that do not achieve grade I are listed as II*, which means "particularly significant buildings of more than local interest."

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