St Lukes Church Simonsbath

In 1818, as a condition of his purchase of the forest, John Knight reserved 12 acres for a church, parsonage, and burial ground. He did nothing more, possibly to be free of tithes and rates, and the site was used for pony sales. The residents of Exmoor petitioned for a church in 1845, citing the distance to Exford church over 5 miles away, and the poor road. By 1851 the population was 275, and it continued to rise. Eventually in 1856 St Luke’s church opened. The first incumbent, W. H. Thornton, was instrumental in bringing the murderer William Burgess to justice.  He wrote a memoir of his days on Exmoor called Reminiscences of An Old West Country Clergyman. In 1857 Exmoor became a separate ecclesiastical parish and the following year it was made a civil parish.

The church of St Luke, on a hill above the road, was built in Early English style with lancet windows. It is constructed of dressed lias stone, partly rendered and grooved to resemble ashlar and hung with slate at the west end, presumably to protect the wall from the driving Exmoor rain. It is a simple building with a 3-bay nave, south porch, chancel, and north-east vestry. There is no tower but a slate-hung, gabled bell-cote houses a single bell. It is furnished in plain mid-Victorian style with varnished pine fittings and harmonium.

Contributed by: Henry How