The Somerset village of Baltonsborough, its Church of St. Dunstan, and war memorial garden.

The Somerset village of Baltonsborough lies in countryside near the River Brue not far west of The Fosse Way (A37).

The fields and meadows which surround Baltonsborough are charmingly described by Paul Newman in his Somerset Villages (Robert Hale Ltd, 1986): “Visual titillation aside, the country is passing fair.  Apple orchards abound, there are many fine stone barns and cobbled together bridges, plus sufficient trees and hedgerows to hold monotony at bay.  Undramatic country, tamed by thousands of years of tree-felling, pasturing and ploughing, its charm becomes apparent in summer when all the grasses, nettle patches and hedgerow life is astir and burgeoning.

Baltonsborough is in the midst of this countryside, south of Kennard Moor.  An intricate network of droves leads into the village which has several centres.  The main part clusters around the old church, which is thrust out into a meadow and beckons from the ragged willowy lanes.”

The village was once one of the 12 hides, or manors, of Glastonbury Abbey so it seems fitting that St. Dunstan, who was made abbot of Glastonbury in the tenth century, was born in Baltonsborough sometime between 909 and 925.  While at Glastonbury Abbey, Dunstan demonstrated his prowess as a drainage engineer.  The River Brue used to spread over the marshy meadows around Baltonsborough until Dunstan instigated the building of a series of weirs and a ditch to drain the area.

The fame and wealth of Glastonbury increased under Dunstan’s efficient and diligent supervision.  Therefore it is no surprise that he eventually became Archbishop of Canterbury where he tried to expand his ideas, both religious and managerial, throughout Anglo-Saxon England.

Understandably, Baltonsborough’s village church is named for St. Dunstan.  Pevsner describes the church as: “Perpendicular and of no special architectural interest.  The most handsome touch is the weather-vane on the w tower, with very scrolly iron-work made by the local blacksmith early in the C19.  It stands on a pyramid roof rising behind the battlements of the tower.”

The Church of St. Dunstan in the Somerset village of Baltonsborough.

The weather-vane on the tower of  St. Dunstan's Church, Baltonsborough, Somerset.

Baltonsborough’s war memorial garden is at the junction of Church Lane and Martin Street at the southern extremity of the village.  A 15inch BL (breech loading) siege howitzer shell casing, of the type originally used by the Royal Navy, but passed to the Army, was given to Baltonsborough by the National War Savings Committee in recognition of the village’s contribution in raising money during Gun Week.

The war memorial garden in the Somerset village of Baltonsborough.

The National War Savings Committee was set up in 1916 to encourage communities to raise money for the war effort.  It was responsible for a series of fund raising initiatives, including War Weapons Week, Tank Week and Feed the Guns Week.

The memorial shell casing is listed Grade 2 as according to Historic England: “It is a highly unusual and broodingly eloquent commemorative monument”.

The shell was unveiled in 1922 at the same time as the traditional stone memorial cross.  The plaque on the shell lists the names of the 68 who served, with a blue Maltese Cross marking the names of the six who did not return.

The plaque on the 15inch shell casing in the war memorial garden at Baltonsborough in Somerset.  Note the number of times the surname Bush appears - all appear to have survived!

The traditional memorial cross bears the names of the six who were killed in World War One and three killed in World War Two.  The name of Second Lieutenant John Richings, Royal Tank Regiment, who died on 28 May 1942 aged 25, was originally not included at the request of his family.  However, his name appears to have been added sometime after the year 2000.   John Somerset Richings is also remembered on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt.  He was the son of the Revd Basil Grafton Richings, and his wife Gwendolen, of Baltonsborough.