Church of St Mary

The Church of St Mary stands in the quiet village of Luccombe, Somerset, on the edge of Exmoor. Built largely of roughcast stone, it has a four-bay nave, a south aisle, a chancel, a vestry and a west tower. The tower rises in three stages, is topped with crenellations and carries five bells cast in 1759. A north porch shelters visitors before they step inside. The chancel dates from about 1300, the nave and tower from around 1450, and the aisle was added in about 1530. The church is recognised as a Grade I listed building and was organised by John Maris of Stogursey. In 1840 a major restoration removed an earlier gallery and added the vestry. The interior is whitewashed, with a barrel-vaulted roof and a Perpendicular-style pointed tower arch. A Jacobean pulpit and chair remain in place, and a medieval rood screen divides the nave from the chancel. The parish belongs to the benefice of Porlock and Porlock Weir with Stoke Pero, Selworthy and Luccombe. Inside, the whitewashed walls and slated roofs create a calm space. The tower arch frames the view from nave to chancel. Five bells still ring from the tower’s three stages. The rood screen and Jacobean fittings show how the church has been cared for across the centuries. Outside, the roughcast stone and red sandstone contrast with the green of Exmoor.