Laverton: Church Architecture, Historic Houses and the Radstock Ring

In Laverton, historic architectural styles and a walking route that passes through the village offer different starting points for planning your trip. The Church of St Mary, Laverton House and several older residential and agricultural buildings represent specific building periods and architectural details. The Radstock Ring adds a route through open fields and grazing land to this focus. You can decide whether you would rather explore church and house architecture or spend your time following the route.

Church and Tomb

The Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed parish church. Its oldest parts date from Saxon times. The Norman entrance has a round arch with zigzag decoration and sculpted columns with scallop-shell ornamentation. Two distinct historical reference points can therefore be identified in the same church: the Saxon date of its oldest parts and the Norman design of its entrance. If you are interested in architectural elements rather than just dates, the arch’s shape, pattern and column ornament offer specific details to focus on.

The Baul chest tomb makes a different design statement: it has shaped corner pilasters and reliefs depicting skulls and angels. Unlike the articulation of a church building, the focus here is on a single tomb, with its sculptural forms and imagery. Laverton’s architecture thus ranges from the dating and design of a church building to the finer details of a tomb.

Manor House and Residential Buildings

Laverton House is a manor house dating from the mid-18th century, altered and extended in the early 19th century. Its interior also includes elements from different periods: the staircase dates from the mid-18th century, and the door and window shutters from the early 19th century. The house’s history can therefore be traced both through its later alterations and additions and through the dates of individual interior features.

In this area, Brookside Farm is considered a rare, intact mid-18th-century house. Comparing it with Laverton House brings two different aspects of historic homes into focus: at Laverton House, later alterations and additions form part of its history; at Brookside Farm, the emphasis is on its rare state of completeness. When comparing buildings, you can therefore consider not only their age but also whether their history is shaped by alterations or by preservation as a whole.

Barn, House and Lime Kiln

The Barn 40 Metres West of Manor Farm House is a 17th-century grain barn that was rebuilt in the late 19th century. The Old Farm House is an early 19th-century house that previously consisted of two houses. Their histories differ: for the barn, rebuilding is an essential part of its history; for the Old Farm House, it is the former two-house configuration. Together, they offer insight into different developments in agricultural and residential buildings.

The Lime Kiln at NGR ST 7743 5295 is 3 metres high and 4 metres wide at its broadest point. These measurements give a concrete sense of its external size: its greatest width exceeds its height by one metre. Alongside dated building periods and changes to houses, the lime kiln offers a different way of exploring local building history: through the dimensions of a single structure.

Walking the Radstock Ring

The Radstock Ring passes through Laverton via open fields and continues over grazing land after crossing the churchyard of St Mary’s. The route thus alternates between open field sections and grazing land, with the churchyard between them on the route described. If you would like to explore Laverton on foot, this section offers a different perspective from focusing on individual buildings: rather than building periods and architectural details, the sequence of landscape sections takes centre stage. Trail conditions can change; check them before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Bishops Lydeard, Norton St Philip, Williton, Castle Cary, Holford, Lympsham, Beckington, Stowell

For the main travel guide: Somerset.