Only 35 feet long, the Church of St Beuno at Culbone claims to be the smallest church in Britain.
To the West of Porlock on
the coast is Culbone Woods and well worth exploring. This was once the
site of a major charcoal burning industry.
The original burners were reputed to be a colony of lepers who were forbidden
from crossing to the Porlock side of Culbone Water. Stone ruins marking
the site of burners huts can still be seen and there is a network of
tracks connecting them to the main route through the woods. A large group
of feral goats lived in this coastal area until about 1910 and their
milk, skins and meat were traded at Porlock
Weir along with the charcoal.
Oak-felling was another industry of the woods - some of
the saw pits are still visible. Many tons were exported for ship building.
Culbone Church
Along the cliffs from Porlock to Lynton, there is a coastal walk that runs for about 15 miles. The most delectable stretch - four miles or so - is that from Porlock Weir to Culbone, a tiny hamlet consisting of a church and a couple of cottages in a remote combe that is accessible only by this footpath through the woods. It winds among the trees, with a sheer drop down to the Bristol Channel on one side, snatches of sea glittering between the trunks. At some point in 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge came along here, having walked all the way from the cottage at Nether Stowey, about 20 miles away in the Quantock Hills, where he was living with his wife and child. He often did this trip with his friends William and Dorothy Wordsworth, the three of them thinking nothing of walking 40 or 50 miles within a couple of days. On this particular occasion, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was alone and spent the night at Ash Farm, up the combe from Culbone. And there, that night, he began his great poem "Kubla Khan," "composed in a sort of reverie brought on by two grains of opium. . . ." These, then, could be the woods
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man,
Down to a sunless sea.
Culbone Church
image supplied by kind permission of Somerset Tourism, Somerset County Council
It is impossible not to think of this as one walks the same track today, seeing and hearing everything that Samuel Taylor Coleridge did. So take your "Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge" along with the flower book and the bird book. And when you get to Culbone, sit down in the churchyard to rest and enjoy the peaceful, isolated little 12th-century church, so simple and indigenous that it seems to have grown out of the rock and soil.
The leper window in Culbone Church
The tombstones in the churchyard chart the history of the village, with the same names cropping up again and again, generation after generation. The church itself will probably have been built in the 13th or 14th century; the smallest and remotest churches are often the most emotive. Molland, pink stone against the sharp green of a hillside, with the old box pews still in place within.
Culbone Woods
Culbone Way Cycle
Route
Culbone is
reached from Porlock Weir by a woodland walk of a mile along the coast,
through the Ashley Combe estate. Its little Perp. church is remarkable
more for its unusual and picturesque situation (by the side of a delightful
combe) and its diminutive size (35 ft. x 12 ft.) than for any great architectural
interest, though it contains some Norm. work in its font and a chancel
window of two lights, cut in a single stone. The churchyard contains
the base of a cross. The pathway from the Weir is unfortunately very
much broken by a landslip at one point, and difficult for ladies to traverse.
Culbone Church approx 1940 - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Culbone church, dedicated to St Beuno, is reputed to be the smallest parish church in England. It has Saxon parts and there are many legends surrounding its ancient history. The cottages, formerly part of the Lovelace estate based at Ashley Combe, are in the style of Voysey. Its chief charm is its setting - deep in a shady, wooded combe on the side of the Bristol Channel - and was inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Kubla Khan. There are no public roads to the village and access is via the Coast Path from Porlock Weir or the toll road at Ashley Combe.
Culbone Church
View down the combe in which Culbone Church resides
Culhone Church
In the Assize Rolls of 1280 it is recorded that Thomas, the chaplain of Cattenor (Culbone), was indicted 'for that he had struck Albert of Esshe (Ash) on the head with a hatchet, and so killed him.' This kind of incident does not now take place in our tiny parish. For one thing the population has dwindled to a very small number, and we are generally more friendly towards each other. Gone long ago are the charcoal burners and the vagrants, who may have included lepers, who in past centuries were as numerous as the deer in the woods; the small cluster of cottages and hu around the Church have disappeared; and here and there in Culbone's 1,337 acres several houses have also quietly disappeared.
Culbone Church
Culbone church, which is all of 35 feet long, is reputed to be the smallest church in England still holding regular services and the main structure dates back to the 12th century. It is accessible only on foot and can reached by a two mile walk from Porlock Weir
Culbone Church has been described as "the smallest complete parish church in this country," and has been mentioned in both the Domesday Book and the Guinness Book of Records. It includes Sanctuary, Chancel (together 13ft. 6in. x 10ft.) and Nave (21ft. 6in. x 12ft. 4in.) and the total length is 35 feet, with seating (in some discomfort) for 33 people. It is a remarkable and attractive building in its own right and is grade 1 listed. Its site and position are also noteworthy. It is the next but last parish in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and perches 400 feet up in a wooded combe above the wild north coast of Exmoor.
The walls are probably twelfth century - about the same time as Wells cathedral was being built - and are original. They are of rubble, and were built, like many Somerset churches, to be rendered and lime washed, not exposed to the wildness of the elements.
The nave is lofty for its size, as were Saxon naves, and it is possible that parts of the building are of Saxon origin, before 1066 A. D. Late in the 15th century the nave was re-roofed and a south window inserted. A little later another two light, square-headed window was placed in the north wall. In this window the tracery is of oak rather than stone. At some stage a tiny trefoil-headed window was inserted in the north wall to give light under the rood loft. The nave was last re-roofed in 1928.
The screen was built in the late 14th century, with a rood loft above it, now long gone, and the seats were put in place: they are of a type common in the district, and were probably more comfortable than the straw covered floor which they replaced. One near the front of the north side has been repaired with a good piece of linen fold paneling which may have come from the rood loft. Later still the large box pew with open balustrade around it was erected, and was used by the Lovelace family from Ashley Combe House - now also demolished.
The Font behind the door is of very early date, possibly Norman, but the pedestal on which it stands is much later and may be Victorian.
The porch is probably 13th century. It has a plain pointed arch of rough red sandstone. At some time in the 14th century the south (and only) doorway was reconstructed.
The Chancel has been much altered; the plain pointed chancel arch is probably a 13th century enlargement of an older round-headed one. One of the most interesting features of the Chancel and of the Church is the two light window on the north side of the sanctuary. It is best seen from outside. It is formed from a single slab of sandstone, and the lights are separated by a broad, flat mullion. At the top of this there is a low-relief carving of a face, and the bolster marks of the masons who made the window more than a thousand years ago can still be seen. The window is at least of Norman date, and may well be Saxon. Beneath the window inside is a recess which may have been used in connection with the Easter Sepulchre. The east wall of the Chancel was rebuilt in 1888 with a new wagon roof. The Reredos (behind the altar) was designed by C. F. Annesley Voisey and made by Mr. Huish of Porlock. It was installed in 1928 to replace a clumsy, marble Victorian one.
The Spire, built of deal and slate, is thought to have been added about 1810; it was certainly in place before Savage wrote his history of West Somerset in 1830. There is a local story to the effect that the top of Porlock Church spire was blown off in a storm and was carried to Culbone. - A scientific mind may find the story unlikely, but belief takes strange forms.
The Churchyard Cross has a 15th century base; the new Cross, designed by H. M. Drury, Surveyor of Exeter Cathedral, was erected in 1966.
There are two bells, both very small. One dates from the 14th century, and is the oldest bell in West Somerset, and the other dates from the 17th century.
The ancient name of the place was Kitnor, said to be from the Anglo Saxon words "cyta" - a cave, and "ore" - sea shore. The name Culbone is thought to indicate a Celtic religious site, and is a corruption of Kil Beun, or Church of St. Beuno, pronounced 'Bayno.' He was a famous Welsh saint, born in the late 6th century. He rescued St. Winifred from King Caradog, and died in 642. Many Welsh and Celtic missionaries visited the West of England, and are common in local Church dedications - Dubricius at Porlock, Decuman at Watchet, Petroc at Parracombe, and Brendon, the Irish saint also left his mark and name. Beuno is, perhaps, the most important of the Welsh saints next to David.
Culbone Church approx 1938 - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Nowadays the parish of Culbone is combined with that of Oare into one benefice. The two parishes work very closely together and share the services of a non-stipendiary Rector who lives in Oare. It is very much a living church, and the worship of God continues here regularly, as it has for over a thousand years. Services are held fortnightly, and many visitors are attracted here to acknowledge and give thanks for the Love of our creator God, the grace of the Saviour Jesus Christ, and the gift of the life-giving Holy Spirit.
Culbone church, dedicated to St Beuno, is reputed to be the smallest parish church in England. It has Saxon parts and there are many legends surrounding its ancient history. The cottages, formerly part of the Lovelace estate based at Ashley Combe, are in the style of Voysey. Its chief charm is its setting - deep in a shady, wooded combe on the side of the Bristol Channel - and was inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Kubla Khan. There are no public roads to the village and access is via the Coast Path from Porlock Weir or the toll road at Ashley Combe.
In this area, are the remains of a WW11 anti-aircraft battery. It was used to defend a listening installation on Stent Hill - this monitored aircraft activity over the Bristol Channel. If you go towards Culbone Inn, the platform of Nissen huts, which provided troop accommodation, are seen on the right hand side of the road.
OS Grid Reference: SS8448 |
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