St Beuno's Church
South West
P orlock Weir, Minehead

Reputed to be England's smallest church still in use

Spectacularly sited in a wooded glade it was used as the scene of Lorna Doone's dramatic wedding in the TV version of R D Blackmore's novel of the same name (Blackmore himself had the wedding take place in Oare Church, a place he visited frequently as a child, when his grandfather was its Rector).

Throughout this district there are the remains of platforms used for charcoal burning in Coleridge's time. Living in a rough hut, a charcoal burner would remove turf nearby to form a shallow pan. He would pile timber around a central post which he then removed to form a chimney, after covering the lot with soil and turf. He would then set light to the 'clamp' – the wood beneath – which he allowed to smoulder for several days, tending it regularly around the clock. The charcoal was used for smelting and producing tar, and the trees were coppiced to ensure a good supply of wood.