Church of St Bartholomew is a Grade II* listed building in the Exmoor National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 22 May 1969. A C15 Church.

Church of St Bartholomew

WRENN ID
unlit-footing-rush
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Exmoor National Park
Constituency
Tiverton and Minehead MP: Rachel Gilmour (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
22 May 1969
Type
Church
Address
Church of St Bartholomew, Withycombe, Somerset
OS grid reference
ST 012 395
Coordinates
51.14706, -3.41365
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Bartholomew, originally known as Rodhuish Church, is a parish church that dates back to the 15th century. It was refenestrated in the early 16th century and underwent restorations in 1826 and 1924, with further fittings added in the mid-20th century. The church is constructed with roughcast over rubble and features a Treborough slate roof covering the nave and chancel. The nave and chancel are undivided, and there is a west bell tower and a south porch.

The single-stage tower at the west gable end has two-centred lancet bell openings and a pyramid slate roof topped with a weathervane. The west end of the church is unlit, while the south porch is gabled with coped verges and plain semicircular arched openings, featuring a late 20th-century wrought iron gate. To the right of the porch, there is a two-centred lancet window, a 19th-century door in a Tudor arch head opening, and a three-light cinquefoil headed mullioned window in the nave. The chancel has a similar two-light window, and there is a two-light trefoil headed east window set to the right of centre, along with a two-light window in the north wall of the nave. Large full-height raking buttresses are present at the junction of the nave and chancel.

Inside, the church is rendered and lacks a chancel arch. The tower features a pointed arch approximately 1.8 metres high, unchamfered but with chamfered jambs. The chancel has an open arch braced wagon roof, while the nave has a three-bay arch braced roof with two trusses that include tie-beams and kingposts, along with subsidiary rafters. There is an 18th-century panelled gallery at the west end and 19th-century pine pews. Notable interior features include two late 16th to early 17th-century carved chairs depicting religious scenes, possibly the departure of the Prodigal Son and Christ blessing Mary Magdalene, a carved wooden aumbry likely from the early 16th century, and a Norman circular pedestal font that was moved from Carhampton Church in the 19th century. The reredos, featuring carved angel terminals, was created by Rachel Reckett in 1961, while the font cover, sconces, and candelabra were designed by Jim Horrobin in 1971. The 19th-century altar rails are said to have originated from a church in Weston-Super-Mare.

Local climate

Church of St Bartholomew sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 970 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 83% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 19 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 8 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Stiles Farmhouse Grade II 148 m
  2. Combe Farmhouse Grade II 1.1 km
  3. Escott Farmhouse Grade II 1.3 km
  4. Golsoncott House Grade II 1.3 km
  5. Golsoncott Cottage and Detached Privy, One Metre South Grade II 1.6 km
  6. Higher Golsoncott Grade II 1.7 km
  7. Building at Rear of Higher Golsoncott Grade II 1.7 km
  8. Old Post Office Grade II 1.7 km
  9. Sandhill Farmhouse and Walls Enclosing Forecourt on South Front with Mounting Block Attached Grade II 1.7 km
  10. Church of St Nicholas Grade I 1.7 km