A 3 Sedgemoor Churches Cycle, 'Inside Sutton Mallet Church', PART V, July 2012
Channel: semw52
Date: 2012-08-05

The village takes its name from William Malet who arrived with William The Conqueror who gave him the task of finding Harold's body after 'The Battle of Hastings' in 1066. ? whether Mallet was uncle to Harold--??The Mallet family still live in Somerset.A church has stood on this site for centuries but  it has suffered with neglect in the past and was almost totally rebuilt in 1826 with various butresses added to the rebuilt tower, a polygonal chancel and very unique woodwork for the Pulpit, Minister's desk and Clerk's desk--a tiered system almost hierarchial--also the high boxes and pews normal before 1833 but often removed in churches in the Victorian era--these box pews are by tradition still allocated to the farms in the area..The BBC liked this church and a film was made here in 1995,'The Monoculed Mutineer'--a bench was donated by the BBC with a plaque and can be found in the churchyard.There is a sense, a feeling that this is a very ancient site of worship.