CHURCH.
The church of Creech formed part
of the endowment of Montacute priory c. 1102. (fn. 73)
The priory as patron of the rectory was licensed
to appropriate the church by the king in 1336
and by the pope in 1344, but only when the
church became vacant. A new rector was
admitted in or shortly before 1354 on the presentation of the earl of Salisbury, evidently acting
as the priory's patron in time of war with France,
the priory being regarded as alien. The king also
presented a rector in 1354, ten days before
confirming the priory's appropriation of the
church, but in 1359 he ratified the title of the
earl's presentee. A vicarage was ordained in
1362. (fn. 74) The living remained a sole vicarage in
1984. (fn. 75)
The advowson of the vicarage belonged to
Montacute priory until the Dissolution. The
king presented a vicar in 1370, in time of war
with France. (fn. 76) In 1546 Roger Bluet presented by
grant of the former priory, (fn. 77) but from 1557 the
advowson was held with the manor, (fn. 78) although
it was let in 1632. (fn. 79) In 1666 the right of presentation was held by trustees, but afterwards
descended with the rectory. (fn. 80) The bishop collated in 1738 (fn. 81) and thereafter the advowson was
held by the incumbents or their appointees,
possibly under a deed of Sir Francis Warre in
1710. (fn. 82) In 1928 the patronage was sold to Canford School Ltd., Wimborne (Dors.), which is
closely linked with the Martyrs Memorial Trust.
The trust held the advowson in 1984. (fn. 83)
In 1291 the church was valued at £19 13s. 4d. (fn. 84)
and in 1362 it was claimed that the value was
under £20. (fn. 85) The vicarage was worth £18 a year
gross in 1535, (fn. 86)
c. £100 c. 1668, (fn. 87) and £600 a
year net at the end of the 18th century. (fn. 88) Average
income fell to £500 in 1829-31. (fn. 89)
In 1362 the vicar was given tithes of hay, wool,
milk, mills, and fisheries, other small tithes
except those on the priory demesne, and one
third of the corn tithe of the whole parish, but
he had to bear all the burdens which previously
fell on the rector including repair of the chancel. (fn. 90) In 1535 vicarial tithes amounted to £13,
half of which came from personal tithes and
oblations. (fn. 91) In 1596 the tithes were let. (fn. 92) In 1639
the vicar was entitled to tithe on pasture in
North moor, which was commuted for 6s. in
1841. (fn. 93) From the 1780s to the 1830s vicars
insisted on tithe in kind instead of moduses; the
parishioners' legal actions to assert their rights
to pay by modus were unsuccessful, but in the
1830s the vicar, Henry Cresswell, failed to insist
on payment in kind, (fn. 94) and that may be why the
living fell in value. In 1794 the vicar's tithes,
including the value of apples paid in kind, were
worth over £420. (fn. 95) In 1839 they were commuted
for £380 a year, (fn. 96) after a lengthy dispute in which
the vicar tried unsuccessfully to claim tithe from
Court Barton and the overlands. (fn. 97)
In 1362 the glebe lands, except 7 a. of arable,
were assigned to the vicarage, with grazing for
8 oxen on the manorial and common pastures. (fn. 98)
The glebe was valued at £5 in 1535. (fn. 99) In 1571
there were 78 a., and 82½ a. in 1639. (fn. 1) In 1794
the vicar received £135 in rent from 72½ a. of
glebe, (fn. 2) and 68½ a. were recorded in 1839. (fn. 3) The
rectory house was assigned to the vicar in 1362. (fn. 4)
In 1412 it had a hall and kitchen, with a new
chamber by the hall door, which was given to a
retired incumbent. (fn. 5) The vicarage house was
described as fit in 1835 (fn. 6) but was demolished to
make way for the railway c. 1841. (fn. 7) It was
replaced by a cob and brick house closer to the
church. That house was largely demolished and
rebuilt, and extended in 1877. It was replaced
by a new house in 1966. (fn. 8)
Gilbert of Shepton, rector 1327-53, was in the
bishop's household in the 1330s. (fn. 9) Walter
Gregory was vicar for 42 years and on his
resignation in 1412 was given a pension and
accommodation from the living. (fn. 10) George
Sydenham, vicar from 1490 until his death in
1524, had several livings including the wardenship of de Vaux college, Salisbury, and was
archdeacon of Salisbury. (fn. 11) David Marler, vicar
1565-1627, was regularly presented for
preaching without a licence and for not catechizing. (fn. 12) Henry Masters was deprived in 1646
but was restored after the Restoration. (fn. 13) Edmund Archer, vicar 1702-4, was later archdeacon
of Wells and was an antiquary. (fn. 14) Thomas Exon,
vicar 1781-1806, was an absentee and was for
some years a prisoner at Verdun. (fn. 15) Henry Cresswell, vicar 1813-51, was an eccentric who
engaged in cudgel playing, wrote a play which
was performed at Taunton, and was suspended
for bankruptcy and violent behaviour in 1844. (fn. 16)
During his incumbency services were held twice
on Sundays and communion was celebrated
three times a year. (fn. 17) In 1851 attendance on
Census Sunday was 175 in the morning and 201
in the afternoon with 76 Sunday school children
attending each service. (fn. 18) In the 1900s additional
services were held at Adsborough reading
room. (fn. 19)
In the 1530s there was a gilded high cross, (fn. 20)
and before 1548 a lamp was maintained in the
church. (fn. 21) In 1582 half the church house was let
by Henry Shattock to Robert Cuffe with a
proviso that the churchwardens might sell bread,
beer, and victuals in the house and use it for the
church ale. (fn. 22) It had become an inn, probably by
1620, and was later rebuilt. (fn. 23)
The church of ST. MICHAEL, so dedicated
by 1742, but All Saints in 1532, (fn. 24) is built of
rubble with ashlar dressings and has a chancel
with north chapel and a nave with north tower
and aisle and south porch. The nave and chancel
were probably undivided in the early 13th century. The south doorway and the piscina survive
from that period. The tower and a one-bay
chapel on its east side were added later in the
century. That chapel was extended eastward by
one bay and a two-bay aisle was built to the west
of the tower in the 15th century. It was probably
at the same time that new windows were put into
the older parts of the church and that the south
chapel was added and the tower raised by one
stage. The chancel arch is a 15th-century insertion and it is possible that the earlier division,
which is not marked structurally, was one bay
further west. The roofs of the nave and chancel
are late medieval. Fifteenth-century fittings include the base of the rood screen, the font, and
richly carved bench ends now in the chancel. A
reading desk was formed from older fragments
in 1634 and the south chapel has a 17th-century
moulded plaster ceiling. There are traces of
17th-century wall paintings.
The tomb of Robert Cuffe (d. 1593) is in the
north chapel, known as the Cuffe or Court
Barton aisle and in private ownership until 1901
or later. (fn. 25) The south transept was known as the
Cely or Charlton aisle and was originally separated from the church by a stone screen. (fn. 26) The
east window was inserted in 1825 (fn. 27) and the
gallery was probably refronted in 1868. (fn. 28) The
arms of Charles I of 1636 and Queen Anne c.
1710 hang in the church. (fn. 29) There are six bells,
the earliest dated 1590, 1609, and 1614. (fn. 30) The
plate includes a chalice of 1573 inscribed 'I.P.'
and two salvers dated 1762 and 1791. (fn. 31) The
registers begin in 1668 but were very badly kept
before the 19th century and there are several
gaps. (fn. 32)