The parish church of North Petherton is St Mary the Virgin, situated on Fore Street. It is one of the most important historic buildings in the town and is recognised as a Grade I listed building. Its position in the centre of North Petherton reflects the role it has played for centuries as a focus of religious worship, local identity and community life.

The history of the church reaches back to the early medieval period. North Petherton was once an important royal and ecclesiastical centre, and the church may have developed from an early minster church. This means it was probably more than just a village church; it may have served a wider area and had influence over nearby chapels and dependent churches. By the late Saxon and Norman periods, the church was already significant. In 1066 it was associated with Peter, the king’s clerk, who later became Bishop of Chester. Later, the church was connected with powerful local families and patrons, including the Erleigh family.

The present building is mainly medieval in character, with much of its appearance shaped by the late medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. Although the church has earlier origins, much of the structure seen today belongs to the 15th and early 16th centuries. It was later altered and restored during the 19th century, especially between 1834 and 1839, when Richard Carver carried out work on the building. Further restoration took place later in the century.

The church is built of local stone, including rubble and ashlar masonry, with slate and lead roofs. Its layout includes a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, side chapels, porches, a west tower and a sacristy. The building has the scale and ambition of a major parish church, rather than a small rural chapel.

The most impressive external feature is the west tower. This tower is a major landmark in North Petherton and is often regarded as one of the outstanding church towers in Somerset. It rises in three stages and includes decorative stonework, buttresses, pinnacles, battlements, tracery, large bell openings and a stair turret. The tower gives the church a strong and recognisable skyline and would have been visible across the surrounding parish.

Nineteenth-century directory descriptions show how important the church remained in Victorian North Petherton. Kelly’s Directory of 1897 described St Mary’s as a red sandstone church in the Later English style, with a chancel, nave of six bays, aisles, porches and a western tower. At that time the tower contained a clock and six bells. The bells had been recast and rehung by Mears & Stainbank at a cost of £360, showing the level of investment made in the church. A new organ had been installed in 1888 at a cost of more than £600, which was a substantial amount. The church could seat around 700 people, demonstrating its importance as a large parish church serving a significant population.

The parish registers date from 1558, making them a valuable source for the history of local families. Through baptisms, marriages and burials, the church records preserve the names of generations of people connected with North Petherton and the surrounding hamlets.

Inside the church are many historic features. These include carved stonework, panelled roofs, medieval arcades, a Perpendicular pulpit, a 14th-century font, old galleries, carved bench ends, memorial brasses and later decorative screens. Some of the bench ends date from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, showing how the church was furnished and adapted over time. There is also a figure of Samson above the tower clock and a memorial brass to Katherine Morley, who died in 1652.

St Mary’s was not only a place of Sunday worship. It was also closely linked with education, charity, music and social organisation. The church supported Sunday schools and was connected with the early development of formal education in the town. In the 19th century, clergy such as James Toogood helped revive church music, encouraged daily services and strengthened the role of the church in parish life.

The church also reflects the wider religious changes that affected England. During the Reformation and later centuries, worship, church fittings, music and clergy all changed in response to national religious and political developments. North Petherton Church therefore provides a local example of much larger changes in English religious history.

Today, St Mary the Virgin remains an active Church of England parish church. It continues to stand as a major historic landmark and a living place of worship. Its age, architecture, records, fittings and community associations make it one of the most important buildings in North Petherton.

Year instituted Incumbent as printed/normalised

• 1309 John de Messingham
• 1310 Laurence de Cherleton
• 1313 William de Wychton
• 1332 Thomas de Foxtone
• 1342 Nicholas de Somerton
• 1345 Nicholas de la Mor
• 1348 Gilbert de Ovene[ton]
• 1348 Reginald de Fardynges-ton (as printed with line break)
• 1409 John Colyford
• 1420 John Wootton
• 1421 William Hampsted
• undated in printed list John Pederton
• 1444 Robert Norys, A.M.
• 1473 John Mustard
• 1476 John Harrow, A.M.
• 1523 William Parkhowse, A.M.
• 1531 John Bulcomb
• 1543 Emerius Tuckfield
• 1546 John Wylliam at Rose
• 1554 Richard Edon, S.T.B.; Edw. Cratford
• 1557 John Smyth
• 1558 Andreas Jefferys
• 1576 Andrew Jefferies
• 1598 John Tanner
• 1613 Timothy Rivett, S.T.B.
• 1615 John Morley, S.T.B.
• 1662 William Huish, A.M.
• 1677 Robert Moreman, A.B.
• 1681 Bartholomew Scammell
• 1715 Edmund Archer
• 1750 Abraham Phelps
• 1754 Nicholas Tanner
• 1787 Joseph Aldridge
• 1801 William George, A.M.
• 1835 J. J. Toogood
• 1851 A. H. P. Trewman
• 1858 J. W. Robinson
• 1891 Abraham Mendle Hertzberg
• 1894 Percy Turner Michell
• 1916 John Addy – also noted as temporary chaplain to the Forces, 1917-1919

• Jane Haslam
• Dean Whitaker