Crowcombe, Somerset

 

Parties and pieties

It may come as a surprise to those who view the medieval period as an age of piety, but church records of the 13th to 15th centuries are full of complaints about ‘inappropriate’ uses of church property – reports of markets being held in churchyards, of football playing, even of social gatherings in which much alcohol was consumed. Bishops sometimes impose bans on these activities, even mentioning eating and drinking alcohol in the church building itself. A notable example of objection on the part of senior clergy was Archbishop of Canterbury Walter Reynolds, who complained in 1325 that

certain sons of gluttony and drunkenness, whose god is their belly, hastily swallow the Lord’s body at Easter, and then sit down in the Church itself to eat and drink as if they were in a tavern.

Carousing in the churchyard, feasting in the church: what was going on?

Medieval parishes used such celebrations to raise money for the church. Collecting parish dues or soliciting one-off donations was easier, the thought went, if the wheels of donation were oiled with a little food and drink. The custom of holding ‘church ales’ to raise money was well established, but in most villages, the only indoor gathering place was the church itself. If there was a clean, empty barn available, the event could be held there, but if not, the party was sometimes held in the churchyard or in the church itself.

In some places, to avoid what many saw as an improper use of the church, a dedicated hall called a church house was built to accommodation church ales and other gatherings. By no means every village had a church house, and they seem to have been more common in some parts of the country than others – Somerset is a county in which there are records, or physical survivals, of this kind of building. One of the best, most intact church houses is opposite the parish church in Crowcombe. It is a substantial two-floor building, constructed of stone from a nearby quarry in 1515. The lower level was used for brewing beer and for storage; on the upper floor was the hall where gatherings could take place. An exterior staircase allowed those attending the church ale to arrive without going through the service rooms below.

This church house was used for its intended purpose for no more than 150 years. By the mid-17th century, the Puritan influence on English life meant that the custom of ale consumption for religious purposes was dying out. Some church houses passed into private hands in this period and, ironically, were later turned into pubs. Crowcombe’s church house became home to a school and accommodation for the poor. Restored in the early-20th century it eventually reverted to something closer to its original function, becoming a village hall. A further restoration and upgrade in 2007 brought its facilities up to date and the building is now available for hire for events, from wedding receptions to exhibitions – a valued community facility, as it must have been when it was built in 1515.