CHURCH.
The plan of the church and the
record of a chaplain show that it existed in the
12th century. (fn. 13) In the 16th century the living was
described as a chapelry, (fn. 14) but its occupant was
variously called a stipendiary and a vicar. (fn. 15) In the
18th and 19th century it was sometimes called
a vicarage or a donative, but from 1792 it was
legally a perpetual curacy, and from 1968 a
vicarage. (fn. 16) In 1976 the living became part of the
united benefice of Bridgwater St. Mary and
Chilton Trinity and Durleigh. (fn. 17)
The patronage presumably descended with the
rectory (fn. 18) until 1845 when Dr. John Dunning's
trustee conveyed it to John J. Harrison. (fn. 19) In 1857
it was exercised by Capt. H. H. Bingham, R.N., (fn. 20)
and by 1866 by the Revd. G. R. Harding (d.
1884). (fn. 21) William Gooding (d. 1902) had acquired
the patronage by 1891 and was succeeded by his
son William Forbes Gooding. Gooding transferred his interest in 1913 to the Bath and Wells
Diocesan Trust, which in turn passed the patronage to the Diocesan Board of Patronage in 1939. (fn. 22)
The interest of the Board in the united benefice
was extinguished in 1985. (fn. 23)
About 1535 the vicar was paid a pension of 26s.
8d. from the rectory. (fn. 24) By 1539 he had a stipend
of £5, which continued to be paid later in the
century. (fn. 25) By 1772 the lay rector was paying £10, (fn. 26)
and by 1815 £20. (fn. 27) About 1831 the average
income, augmented by lot from the Bounty in
1792, was £22, (fn. 28) and in 1931 it was £20. (fn. 29) There
was no glebe attached to the living and no house.
The chancel was said to be in great ruin in 1554
and its roof and windows were in decay in 1576. (fn. 30)
Quarterly sermons were neglected in the later
16th and the earlier 17th century, (fn. 31) but in 1613
prayers were said both on Sundays and
weekdays. (fn. 32) In the 1730s communion was celebrated four times a year, but by the 1770s only
three times, for six or seven communicants. (fn. 33)
From the mid 18th century neighbouring incumbents either served the cure themselves or employed curates. John Coles (by 1757, until 1788
or later) was vicar of Bridgwater and Henry
Parsons (by 1813, until 1826) held Wembdon and
Goathurst; J. D. Oland Crosse (1845-56) was
vicar of Pawlett. James H. Gregg (1826-42), H.
J. G. Young, M.D., M.R.C.S. (1857-9), and
Henry Trend, D.D., LL.D. (1860-8), the last
formerly the Baptist minister of Bridgwater,
served Durleigh as a sole cure. (fn. 34) From the 1870s
the living was again held by neighbouring incumbents except for 1911-15 when W. G. Deighton
was vicar and lived in Durleigh Road, Bridgwater.
From 1940 the living was held by the vicars of St.
Mary's, Bridgwater. (fn. 35)
The church, of unknown dedication, comprises
a chancel, a nave with south porch, and a small
west tower with saddle roof. The proportions of
the chancel, nave, and tower suggest a 12th-century date, but the chancel was rebuilt in the 13th
century and the nave, refenestrated in the 14th
century, was altered again in the later 15th, when
both chancel and tower arches were inserted,
together with the south door and doorway, the
font, and the upper storey of the tower. A rood
loft was also added, approached by a stair on the
north side lit by a quatrefoil window. The furnishings date from 1870; the pulpit in use up to
that date was probably that made in 1754 from
carved pew ends. (fn. 36)
There are four bells: (i) medieval, from the
Bristol foundry; (ii) 1739, Thomas Wroth of
Bridgwater; (iii) 1530-70, Roger Semson of Ash
Priors; (iv) 1631, George Purdue. (fn. 37) A bell was
delivered in 1526. (fn. 38) The plate includes a cup and
cover made by 'I. P.' in 1573. (fn. 39) The registers date
from 1683. In the 1730s the curate was reported
as 'far from keeping the register regularly'. (fn. 40)
The churchyard, its walls maintained by local
farmers in the 17th century, (fn. 41) includes a yew tree
planted in 1724. (fn. 42)