A stroll around the Somerset village of Muchelney, its abbey ruins and Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Edward Hutton in his Highways and Byways in Somerset first published in 1912 writes of Muchelney: “But the ruins of Muchelney Abbey, lovely as they are, are by no means all there is to be seen in the beautiful island of Muchelney.  The church is interesting, though its double windowed tower is not very splendid.  Perhaps more interesting is the dear little vicarage house upon the north side of it across the road, dating perhaps from the fourteenth century; and there is a good though restored village cross.”

 I visited Muchelney in the Somerset Levels on a fine afternoon in late May.  I drove from Curry Rivel south along narrow twisting lanes, frequently lined with the delicate white flowers of cow parsley, through the picturesque village of Drayton, over the River Parrett at Westover Bridge and into the village.

Leaving the car by the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, avoiding the no parking signs, I explored the church and its graveyard.  Inside, the five panel stained glass east window and the Jacobean painted ceiling were impressive.  The churchyard gave a good view of the remains of the abbey.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Somerset village of Muchelney.

The east window of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset.

The ceiling of the nave in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset.

The early nineteenth century organ in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Muchelney, Somerset. 

I took some photos of the village cross and then peeped through the gate of the Priest’s House which is now a private residence in the care of The National Trust, and open only at certain times.

The village cross at Muchelney in Somerset

The Priest's House (National Trust) at Muchelney in Somerset.

A couple of hundred yards further south is the entrance to the car park for Muchelney Abbey.  I left the car by the church and set off on foot.  The Abbey is looked after by English Heritage, and there is an entrance fee.  I opted to take some photos of the ruins from the car park, and perhaps pay for a closer look another day.  The foundations we see today were revealed largely by the exertions of the Rev. S.O. Baker in 1873.

The foundations of Muchelney Abbey in Somerset.  The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is in the background.

Monks first came to Muchelney in the seventh century, but the abbey was abandoned in the ninth century probably because of the depredations caused by Viking raids.  It is said that King Athelstan re-founded the abbey in 939 as a thank offering for his great victory over the Celtic-Norse army at Brunanburgh in 937.  It then grew in size and status until Henry the Eighth’s Suppression of the Monasteries.  In 1538, two years after the Act of Suppression was passed in 1536, the abbey was torn down leaving only the abbot’s lodging and the monks’ latrine to survive as farm buildings.  Hutton devotes four pages to Muchelney, and they are very well worth reading.