URPoint Details
Cottages of grey and yellow stone, some thatched set among trees make for a charming town also includes a 15th century, 15th century inn and an Elizabethan manor.
The church has a tower standing at 104ft high, added in the 16th century and in the centre of the chapel is an equestrian statue by Sir Alfred Munnings, in memory of Edward Horner who fell at Cambrai in 1917.
John Horner is said to be the ‘Jack Horner of the nursery rhyme. In the 16th century, when Henry VIII was dissolving the monasteries, the Abbot of Glastonbury is supposed to have sent the king the deeds of Mells Manor hidden in a pie, hoping that the gift would save Glastonbury Abbey from destruction. But the gift-barer, Jack Horner, removed the deeds ‘the plum’ and kept them for himself. There is no evidence in this tale being true as the rhyme did not appear till 1725.
The house was extensively restored in 1900, but retains its Elizabethan style of gabled roofs and mullioned windows.
- Type:
- Landmark