Discover Buckland Dinham

Buckland Dinham’s historical highlights include the parish church of St Michael, a bridge with the adjoining ruin of a Wool Drying Tower, a churchyard tomb, the Orchardleigh Stones chambered tomb and the chimney of a disused coal mine. There is also the Buckland Dinham & Great Elm walking route, approximately 4.5 miles long. When planning a trip, you can consider church architecture, industrial heritage, archaeology and a named walking route as distinct points of interest.

Church and tomb

The Church of St Michael is a parish church with features from several periods. The nave, chancel, south chapel and south porch date from around 1200. The north chapel dates to 1325, and the west tower to 1480; the church was restored in the late 19th century. These dates show that the building cannot be attributed to a single construction phase: the early features, the chapel and tower added later, and the considerably more recent restoration each belong to a separate chapter in its architectural history.

The churchyard also contains the Chest Tomb to Thomas Heale Junior, a 17th-century tomb. It is made of dressed stone and has three shallow, semicircular head recesses. The church and tomb thus represent different forms of stone construction and design: on the one hand, a parish church added to over several centuries; on the other, a 17th-century tomb.

Bridge and Wool Drying Tower

The bridge and the adjoining ruin of the Wool Drying Tower date from the 18th century. The bridge is made of rubble stone and has three semicircular arches and two upstream cutwaters. The tower is a two-storey roofless ruin; parts of its walls have collapsed, particularly on the south side. Their architectural features clearly distinguish the two structures: the bridge is defined by its sequence of arches and cutwaters, while the tower is marked by its missing roof and partially collapsed walls. Together, they represent transport architecture and a historic structure used for drying wool.

Orchardleigh Stones on Murtry Hill

Orchardleigh Stones is a chambered tomb on Murtry Hill in the parish of Buckland Dinham, designated as a Scheduled Monument. It lies at the top of the hill and is associated with a view over Buckland Brook. What survives is an elongated, irregular mound, approximately 38 metres long and 19 metres wide, and up to 1.2 metres high. As well as identifying it as a chambered tomb, these dimensions give an idea of the shape of the surviving mound.

Chambered tombs of this type were built and used during the Late and Middle Neolithic, between 3400 and 2400 BC. This period refers to the tomb type in general. At Orchardleigh Stones, its location on Murtry Hill, its recorded designation as a chambered tomb and the surviving shape of the mound are further specific details that help characterise the monument.

Industrial heritage and walking route

The chimney of the former coal mine stands on the site of a disused colliery. The mine was probably in operation only during the 1880s. This adds an industrial trace to the history of the church and tomb; the dating of the mine’s operation is explicitly approximate.

The Buckland Dinham & Great Elm walking route is approximately 4.5 miles long. If you would like to include a route in your trip planning, this approximate length is a useful starting point. Route details may change, so check the latest information before planning your walk. The historical sites and walking route offer different points of interest: when choosing a destination, you may be more interested in architectural history, the archaeological monument, the industrial past or a walk.

Discover more destinations: Templecombe, Queen Camel, Tolland, Fitzhead, Horsington, Porlock, North Curry, Hornblotton.

For the wider travel overview: Somerset.