Selworthy is one of several attractive villages on the Minehead side of Porlock, and a starting point for woodland walks. The village and much of the country round about is in the care of The National Trust
The charming village of Selworthy lies in the heart of the Holnicote Estate in a magnificent setting on the northern fringes of Exmoor.
Thatched lime washed cottages surround
a village green with superb views towards Dunkery
Beacon. The white church on the hillside stands out from afar and
has a good example of a barrel roof. The National
Trust operates a gift shop, information centre and one of the cottages
is an excellent tea room. There are good walks in Selworthy Woods.
The Holnicote Estate of 12,443 acres is the National Trust's main property on Exmoor.
At first glance the cream-washed stone, thatched cottages seem typical of many ancient settlements in this area. However, Selworthy was rebuilt in 1828 by Sir Thomas Acland of Killerton. Sir Thomas was a philanthropist and designed the 'model' village himself to provide housing for the aged and infirm of the Holnicote Estate.
Cottage Selworthy August 1938 - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
He used traditional designs and materials to create a deliberately old-fashioned village. Located on the wooded slopes of Selworthy Combe, the village is laid out loosely round a long green and climbs the hill to the 15th century church of All Saints.
The cottage gardens are sheltered by the trees Sir Thomas planted in the steep valley and on the hill above. The church looks out over the thatched roofs and neat gardens of Selworthy to Dunkery Beacon. At 1,705 feet this heather-and braken-covered area is the highest point on Exmoor.
Sir Thomas Acland was probably influenced by his friend John Harford who commissioned John Nash to build Blaise Hamlet at Hembury in Bristol between 1810 -11 for his aged retainers.
Both villages are examples of the 'Picturesque' style of architecture but whereas the cottages of Blaise Hamlet are deliberately asymmetrical and varied, the buildings at Selworthy are pleasingly homogeneous with deep thatched roofs, eyebrow dormers and tall chimneys.
'All Saints' Church Selworthy dates from the 14th Century
The coloured cottage walls are painted with limewash that has been tinted creamy yellow with ochre
Selworthy Cottage
Selworthy Cottage
The cottages are maintained using wheat straw and hazel spars all sourced from with in the Holnicote Estate
Selworthy Church
Near Bury Castle
View from Selworthy Church
Selworthy Beacon
Selworthy Church
Selworthy Cottage
Selworthy Cottage
Ivy's Coaatge.
This tiny two bedroom cottage was built by by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland in 1825
Selworthy Church
In Selworthy Church is a copy of the Chained Book of 1609 entitled 'Defense of the Apologie of the Church of England' This is a copy of Bishop John Jewell's famous book. Born in 1523 at Buden he became Bishop of Salisbury in 1560 and a year later published this book. His aim was to show the true Catholicity of the Church of England compared to the additions made by the Roman Catholics. A copy of the book was placed in all the churches of England and Wales to inform the people.
Bishop John Jewell died in 1571
Selworthyorthy offers a panoramic view over much of the diverse landscape of the Holnicote Estate which covers some 20 square miles.
The woods behind Selworthy lead up to Selworthy Beacon and a stretch of Heritage Coast. In the distance is the heather moorland around Dunkery Beacon. Across the vale, lie the ancient oak woodlands of Horner, part of one the largest National Nature Reserves in England. Mixed woodland, farmland. and Allerford, Bossington and Luccombe villages complete the landscape.
Selworthy (pop 518) is a village famed for its thatched cottages, mostly in National Trust ownership but privately tenanted. The beautiful whitewashed church overlooks a green where there is a National Trust shop, toilets and a tea shop. There are miles of walks on the wooded hillside behind, with superb views across the Vale of Porlock and along the coast from Selworthy Beacon, where there is a wheelchair trail.
Selworthy has a large and prominent church, with one of the largest wagon roofs in the country. The church offers a fantastic view of the vale to Dunkery Beacon and Exmoor.
OS Grid Reference: SS9146
A visit to Selworthy is a stimulating experience. Picturesque fhatched cottages, built as almshouses in the nineteenth century by Sir Thomas Acland surround the green, and there is a fine fourteenth-century tithe barn nearby. Selworthy is an ideal centre for walking through the woods to Hurlestone Point, with stunning views across the Bristol Channel to South Wales, or up Selworthy Combe, past the Wind and Weather Hut to Selworthy Beacon on North Hill, and then back fot a cream tea at Periwinkle Cottage on the Green.
Some call the Church itself, the Cathedral of Exmoor. Standing in these exquisite surroundings with superb views, the church is a fine example of the Perpendicular style of architecture. It has a nave and two aisles, the southern aisle built in 1538 being described by one authority as 'one of the greatest treasures of English architecture.' The church is full of fascinating furniture and monuments: the Acland balcony pew, built in 1816 when the Aclands were lords of the manor; the classical style west gallery — now the organ loft; the leather reredos created in Porlock in 1909; the Norman font and numerous brasses, one dating to the year of the Spanish Armada.
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