About Us

Many people discover the delightful country church of St Mary’s Charlcombe by accident, but there is a map available for you via this link!  It is not visible from the road but comes into view as you walk up its drive, or wander through the quiet garden in front of it.  Others chance upon St Mary’s whilst on a country ramble as it’s on a country footpath close to Charlcombe Lane.  For some it is simply ‘close to home’ being only 15 minutes walk away from Larkhall, Richmond, Lansdown and Upper Camden.

You are always most welcome.  As in the tradition of monastic hospitality inside you will find shelter and refreshment, silence and space, that has been a thousand years in the making.  The church’s seclusion and great age adds to the wonderful sense of peace and stillness here – there is very often someone visiting either sitting quietly in the church, strumming a guitar in the garden or sunning themselves on a garden bench looking across the combe.

Charlcombe is quite a dispersed parish and yet there is a lot of getting-together during the week and looking out for one another and we support a food bank.  We are generously supported by our ‘Friends’ organisation and the church and its garden is also a centre for the community as a whole.  The facilities may be modest – in keeping with the age of the place but, when we need it, we also have the well equipped hall of our partner church, St Stephen’s, Lansdown, the one with the colourfully illuminated tower at night.

Do feel that you can come and rest for a while and let the peace and kindness of God be in your heart and your home. You can download an illustrated guidebook about the church here, or pick one up when you visit St Mary’s – the oldest ecclesiastical building in Bath.

Our services happen in church and on YouTube.  Presently, the service online is available from 8am on Sundays and the service in church begins at 9am – if you were to miss that then the same clergy will be leading worship at St Stephen’s Church from 10.45! 

Finally very many have found this to be a beautiful setting for a marriage ceremony, christening or funeral.  Enquiries for these can be made online from this web-site. 

Liz Thorne, Neil Latham,
Church Wardens