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The Great Britain Guide

Historic churches · South West England

Culbone Church

Anglo-SaxonFree admission

Culbone Church — church in West Somerset, England, UK.

Culbone Church, historic churches in South West England

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
30 min–1 h
  • Free entry

About

Culbone Church is a historic church in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1050. Heritage designation: Grade I listed building. Affiliated with Anglicanism. Named after Beuno. Wikidata describes it as: "church in West Somerset, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.2213°, -3.6590°.

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Heritage listing

Culbone Church, located in the village of Culbone in Somerset, is said to be the smallest parish church in England. The church, dedicated to the Welsh saint Beuno, has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building and the churchyard cross is Grade II*.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Exmoor Coastal Heaths SSSI

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Culbone Church, located in the village of Culbone in Somerset, is said to be the smallest parish church in England. The church, dedicated to the Welsh saint Beuno, has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building and the churchyard cross is Grade II*.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The church is recorded in the Domesday Book. The church is probably pre-Norman in origin, with a 13th-century porch and a late-15th-century nave. It was refenestrated and re-roofed around 1810 and the spirelet added in 1888. It underwent further restoration in 1928. Joan D'Arcy Cooper, psychologist, Yoga teacher, author of Guided Meditation and the Teaching of Jesus, and wife of the potter Waistel Cooper, was organist at the church and is buried in the graveyard. The graveyard also contains a war grave of a soldier of the Welsh Guards of World War II. Sir David Calcutt QC, a barrister and public servant, is buried in the churchyard. Services are still held despite the lack of access by road.

Architecture

The interior scale and decoration suggest Anglo-Saxon origins. The east end is restored. There is a small window, carved from a single block of sandstone, outside the north wall of the chancel, with a face on top of the pillar dividing the two window lights. This is probably also Saxon. The font sits on a victorian support but the bowl is far older possibly dating back to the Saxon period.

Visiting

The church is passed by the South West Coast Path, but drivers must turn off the A39 opposite the village pub, and park where possible on the narrow track. There is then a walk of 1.5 mi described by Simon Jenkins as "through steep woods of walnut and oak, glorious on a summer's day with the sea glinting through the trees, darkly mysterious and dripping with water in winter".

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.2213, -3.6590
District
Somerset
Parish
Oare
Postcode
TA24 8PQ
Parliamentary constituency
Tiverton and Minehead
Established
1050

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Culbone Church?
Culbone Church is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode TA24 8PQ), in the parish of Oare.
When was Culbone Church built?
Built or established in 1050.
Is Culbone Church a listed building?
Culbone Church is officially recognised as Grade I listed building listed.
Is Culbone Church a protected site?
Yes — Culbone Church is part of the Exmoor Coastal Heaths SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Is Culbone Church free to visit?
Yes, Culbone Church is free to enter.
How do I get to Culbone Church?
Drivers can navigate to postcode TA24 8PQ. It sits within the Tiverton and Minehead parliamentary constituency.