St. Mary's Church, Yatton, in North Somerset. Known long ago as "The Cathedral of the Moors".

In this Boxing Day blogpost I write of St. Mary’s Church in Yatton which in more ancient times was known as the Cathedral of the Moors, due to its prominent position on the North Somerset Levels.

The village of Yatton is described, rather unkindly, by Simon Jenkins in his England’s Thousand Best Churches (Penguin Books, 1999) as: “dreary”, but of St. Mary’s he writes: “. . . but the Perpendicular church detaches itself and its churchyard from the eastern suburbs and lends majesty to Yatton Moor.”

St. Mary’s lost most of its spire in 1595 leaving it with an odd, truncated appearance, but the south porch and west front have been chronicled in glowing terms by Simon Jenkins, Arthur Mee and Edward Hutton.

Jenkins and Hutton recount the inscription on the grave of gypsy Merily Joules which reads: “Here lies Merily Joules / A beauty bright / Who loved Isaac Joules / Her heart’s delight.”  She died in 1827 and Isaac is said to have been so overcome that he pitched camp by her grave for fourteen years until he joined her in death.

Yatton sprawls alongside the B3133 between Congresbury and Clevedon with St. Mary’s handily situated near a free car park.  I have often used it when paying my respects to a great aunt who died in 1977 and is buried in the extensive churchyard.  In fact so extensive that I have yet to come across the grave of Merily Joules!        

St. Mary's Church in Yatton, North Somerset.  Most of the spire was lost in 1595.