Bicknoller, a little village 2-1/2 m.  S.E. of Williton, nestling under the W. slopes of the Quantocks.  Its name (and that of Bickenhall likewise) is probably connected with beech (cp. the numerous names containing ash-, oak-, elm-, withy-).  The church, which used to be a chapel of Stogumber, has a picturesque parapet N. and S. In the interior the chief features that call for remark are (1) the capitals of the N. arcade, with their bands of “Devonshire” foliage, (2) the fine screen (1726) with beautiful fan tracery, (3) some good seat-ends, (4) monument to John Sweeting of Thornecombe (d. 1688), (5) squint in chancel pier, (6) piscina.  In the churchyard is the shaft of an ancient cross.

A little above the village is Trendle Ring, the site of an encampment; whilst on the road to Crowcombe is an old house called Halsway, said to have been a hunting lodge of Cardinal Beaufort, the son of John of Gaunt, and guardian of Henry VI.

Biddisham, a small parish 4 m.  W. of Axbridge.  The small church is reached by a lane from the Bristol and Bridgwater road.  It retains a square Norm, font, a piscina, and a Jacobean pulpit.  Outside is the shaft of an old cross.

Binegar, a small village on the top of the E. Mendips, with a station on the S. & D. The church, rebuilt 1859, has a plain Perp. tower with a representation of the Trinity on one of its battlements.

Bishop’s Hull (hull is merely hill), a village 1-1/2 m.  W. from Taunton.  The church is a ludicrous example of Philistinism.  A small but interesting Perp. church has been enlarged by the simple expedient of replacing the S. aisle by a spacious chamber furnished with galleries.  On the N. is a slender octagonal E.E. tower (cp.  Somerton).  In the original part of the church note (1) on N. of sanctuary, elaborate Jacobean tomb with effigy, in legal robes, of J. Farewell (1609); (2) effigies of three grandchildren tucked away in a small recess in wall opposite; (3) grotesque corbels on E. wall of N. chapel; (4) good bench-ends (observe representation of the Resurrection in N. chapel, and of a night watchman near font).  By the side of the Taunton road is a fine Elizabethan mansion of the Farewells, date 1586.

Bishop’s Lydeard, a village 5 m.  N.W. of Taunton, with a station on the Minehead line.  It gets its name from the land having been bestowed by Edward the Elder upon Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, in 904.  Its church has an exceptionally fine tower, with double windows in the belfry.  The W. window is good and the tower arch very lofty.  Note (1) the fine screen, with the Apostles’ Creed in Latin; (2) the series of quaintly carved bench-ends, the designs (windmill, ship, stag, etc.) standing out well against the coloured backgrounds; (3) the good, though plain, roof; (4) oak pulpit; (5) brass in S. transept of Nicholas Grobham and wife (d. 1585 and 1594).  In the churchyard is a fine cross (14th cent.), with the figure of St John the Baptist on the shaft, and bas-reliefs on each face of the octagonal base.  There is also the base and broken shaft of what was once the village cross.