A place of worship has stood on this site for many centuries although we have no records of the earliest buildings. The present church was built in 1889-90 and this uses much of the building stone of the earlier church and incorporates a 13th century lancet window in the north wall of the chancel. The list of Rectors starts from 1293. The building was described as a chapel in a will of 1519 and wa
s attached to the living of Chiselborough. Edmund Rack’s survey (1) provides a detailed description of the old church : “The church is a gothic building, 60 feet long and 32 feet wide, consisting of a nave, chancel and porch, tiled and a north aisle, leaded. At the west end is a mean low tower 28 feet high with three bells. The nave roof is 22 feet high, chancel roof 20 feet high, aisle roof 16 feet high, all unceiled. The pulpit very ordinary and without a sounding board. The singers’ gallery is in the north aisle and has a panelled wainscot painted blue. Here are three doors, ten windows and thirteen pews. The whole of this church, except the chancel and alleys, is paved with common road stone broken small and rough as a stable. An old open work partition divides the chancel from the nave. This church was formerly a chapel of ease to Chiselborough.”
In 1889 the church was demolished and a larger building was erected. The tower was rebuilt a few yards to the west and a belfry added under a 60 feet high saddleback tower. The interior of the new church was designed in imitation of 13th century church architecture. Many of the memorials in the church refer to members of the Hayward and Ford families. Richard Hayward, sailcloth manufacturer and Mrs Sarah Woodcock (nee Ford) were the principal donors towards the cost of rebuilding. The new church was opened at a service conducted by the Bishop of Bath & Wells on Thursday 24th July 1890. The architect of the church was Charles Kirk of Lincolnshire and the builder was Charles Trask of Norton sub Hamdon, who used stone from his quarry on Ham Hill. In 1960 West Chinnock was in a group of the three Chinnock parishes (East, Middle and West) and then in 1977 became part of a group of four parishes with Middle Chinnock, Chiselborough and Norton sub Hamdon. In 2016, this grouping will be formally expanded into the Ham Hill Villages benefice comprising Chiselborough, Middle Chinnock, Montacute, Norton sub Hamdon, Odcombe, Stoke sub Hamdon & West Chinnock.
