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4 miles southwest of Lynton Cottages cling to the sides of the valley leading down to this stone village on the western edge of Exmoor. Other colour-washed cottages butt against the narrow road as it reaches the bottom of the hill, where the village inn stands next to the lively little River Heddon - hardly more than a stream in summer, but a torrent in winter. Parracombe’s proudest treasure lies outside the village - the medieval Church of St Petrock. A national protest movement saved St Petrock’s from demolition in 1878, when a new church was built in the centre of the village. The interior of the old church has plain white walls, tiers of box pews and a 13th-century chancel. According to legend, Parracombe was the first place in Devon to have a Christian church, which St Petrock himself built over 1,400 years ago. No trace of it remains, but Parracombe’s other link with the past is the prehistoric hill-fort of Holwell Castle just above the village. |
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