Prior Monument in Churchyard, About 13 Metres South of Chancel, and 4 Headstones Immediately to South of Same, Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II listed building in the Somerset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 27 October 1987. Monument.
Prior Monument in Churchyard, About 13 Metres South of Chancel, and 4 Headstones Immediately to South of Same, Church of St Mary the Virgin
- WRENN ID
- lesser-stronghold-barley
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Somerset
- Constituency
- Glastonbury and Somerton MP: Sarah Dyke (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 27 October 1987
- Type
- Monument
- OS grid reference
- ST 483 172
- Coordinates
- 50.95242, -2.73597
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Prior monument and a group of four headstones are located in the churchyard of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, approximately 13 metres south of the chancel. The monument is a chest tomb from the 18th century, made of Ham stone with lias stone panels. Its base is buried, featuring single panels on each end and two panels on each side, adorned with reeded pilasters that have Ionic capitals. The tomb has no frieze and is topped with moulded coping on a hipped top. It commemorates Anne Prior, who died in 1780, among others.
The four headstones include:
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The northernmost is a headstone from the 18th century, made of Ham stone, measuring about 800mm wide and 1 metre high. It has a chamfered back and a segmental-arched top that encloses an angel head, with scroll sides and a scroll frame. It commemorates Thomas Pryor, who died in 1769, and his wife Joan.
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The second headstone, known as the Raesen monument, dates from the 17th century. It is made of Ham stone, measuring about 650mm wide and 450mm high, with a chamfered back and a shouldered segmental-arched head. The panel features imposts, a keystone, and toothing, resembling the panels of many chest tombs from that period. It commemorates John Raesen, who died in 1670, and his wife, and is one of the earliest surviving headstones in this part of Somerset.
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The third headstone is another Pryor monument from the 18th century, made of Ham stone, measuring about 950mm wide and 1 metre high. It has a chamfered back and a virtually flat top, with two semi-circular panels enclosing angels, a skull in the spandril, and scrolls on the sides. The central part features a drop of ornamental frame. It commemorates Thomas Pryor, his wife Elizabeth, who died in the 1770s, and their son Thomas, who died in 1757.
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The fourth headstone is an unidentified monument from the 18th century, made of Ham stone, measuring about 550mm wide and 500mm high. It has a flat top and a plain design with an incised border. The inscription is generally not readable, but the death date is noted as 1711.
Local climate
Prior Monument in Churchyard, About 13 Metres South of Chancel, and 4 Headstones Immediately to South of Same, Church of St Mary the Virgin receives an average of 830 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 53% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 60% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 31 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 63% of listed buildings. Of these, 11 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
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- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
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- 3 Group of Monuments in Line, in Churchyard, About One Metre North of North Chapel, Church of St George
- 4 Group of 3 Monuments in Churchyard, to South-East of Chancel, Church of St John the Evangelist and All Saints
- 5 Three Monuments in Churchyard, South East of South Porch, Church of St Mary
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