The Henson Journals

[73]

Thursday, July 24th, 1919.

At noon the Archdeacon and I motored to Stoke Lacey, and lunched with Prebendary Morgan, the patron and vicar, an excellent man of the squarson type, very useful in the local government of the district, & generally respected. After lunch he motored us to the adjacent parishes of Avonbury [sic] and Stanford Bishop, where we were received by the vicars, Archer–Shepherd, and Naylor, and discussed with them the question how Avonbury could best be extinguished as a separate parish, & either divided up between the other parishes, or wholly annexed to one of them. The church at Avonbury is situated in a hollow, far from the parishioners. It is not without architectural interest, & has some fine 15th century benches. Stanford Bishop is notable for a mighty yew tree in the churchyard, of immense antiquity, far the largest I have ever seen. The parson, Naylor, gave us tea, & introduced his daughter, and a son who was about to start his course at Wells Theological College with a view to taking Holy Orders. The church at Stanford Bishop is set out by itself on a rising ground with a very noble prospect, but quite remote from the parishioners. What suitableness have buildings thus placed for those new uses, non–religious & semi–religious, to which the Bishops would put them? They are difficult of access, inconvenient in their arrangements, unwarmed, & ill lighted – who would frequent them for comfort or amusement?

---