Minehead Missal

Richard Fitzjames Missal

Richard Fitzjames was Vicar of St Michael's Church Minehead between 1485 -1497. Few churches in the West Country possess a treasure more beautiful than the Missal of Richard Fitzjames. You will find it, a small volume nine inches high by six inches wide, rebound in brown leather, open at one of the fifteen illuminated pages, in a specially designed wall-safe beneath a brass memorial plate affixed to the west wall of the nave of Minehead Church . Nearby stands Vicar Fitzjames' own carved oak chest.

Richard Fitzjames Missal

The Fitzjames' Missal - a service book not only for the Mass but also for other Sacraments of the Church - is regarded as one the finest in existence.

Richard Fitzjames Missal

St Michael's Church, dating mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries when Minehead was growing in prosperity and population. The church is built in light grey sandstone and its tower is 87ft from base to battlements; within can be seen an early 16th century screen with delicate carving and an exceptionally wide rood loft and the illuminated missal (1485).

Contributed by: Tom Evans