This week Gerry Brooke travels a little further afield to visit Priston, near Bath.

The Somerset village of Priston, just off the A39, is an ancient place with its roots in Saxon times.

Spelt “Prisetone” in the Domesday Book it’s said to mean “priest’s enclosure”.

Other historians, however, are convinced it means “village thicket”.

Priston’s history may, in fact, go back another millennium as, almost 100 years ago, a Roman coffin was found nearby.

Throughout late Saxon and medieval times the village belonged to the monks of Bath Abbey.

It stayed this way until the monasteries were closed down by King Henry VIII in Tudor times.

The Jenkins and Vaughan family were lords of the manor here for generations.

For the past decade or so historic Priston mill and its nearby 300 year old tithe barn have been used for things other than their original purpose – weddings, parties, conferences and the like.

But for many years the Hopwood family, who also farmed here, employed a full-time miller to produce stone-ground flour for local shops and bakeries.

The Saxon mill and farm shop, together with wagon rides and educational tours, bought many visitors to the area.

Now, all that is no more.

About 200 years ago that the wooden waterwheel and gears were replaced with iron machinery.

But the mill, I’m told, remains in good working order.

There was probably a simple wooden church in Priston before the Norman conquest, but by the 13th century it had been replaced by a solid stone one.

St Luke’s is a Grade I-listed building and you can immediately see why.

The south door is a gem – massive and strong, with up to 100 studs and big iron hinges.

It could well be the original from the first Norman building and, if so, one of the oldest church doors in the country.

But the seemingly ancient arches that strike you on entering the building are actually Victorian rebuilds.

The tower is not very ancient either – it only dates back to 1751.

The 14th century octagonal font carries the arms of Bath Abbey and of the Long family.

Above the south doorway is a curious inscription – “Priston, repent and believe the Gospel” – written by village rector Thomas Watts in 1589.

Exactly what he was referring to we’ll never know.

As you leave the churchyard take a look up at the weathercock – at six feet long it’s big enough to grace a cathedral.

It’s said that as it was lifted into position the villagers filled it with many gallons of beer.

The village itself, which has unfortunately lost its shop and school, is well known for its pub, the Ring ’O Bells, and its very own morris dancers, who first got together in 1977 for the Queen’s jubilee