The Ham Hill Villages Benefice is a thriving, welcoming, loving Christian family, living and telling Jesus’ story of love and forgiveness in our communities.  We have seven beautiful, ancient churches which are the spiritual centres of the villages of Chiselborough, Middle Chinnock, Montacute, Norton sub Hamdon, Odcombe, Stoke sub Hamdon and West Chinnock surrounding the iconic Ham Hill in South Somerset.  

We give a warm welcome to everyone, Christian or not, sharing Jesus’ teaching from the Bible. We have a strong focus on serving our communities, particularly with children and youth work in our four wonderful primary schools and Stanchester Academy.

We offer a wide range of worship with most of our churches having a traditional 9.30am or 11am Communion or Morning Prayer service every Sunday.   For those who enjoy contemporary worship we have a very relaxed 10.30am Café Church on the 2^nd Sunday of the month starting with refreshments and a time of fellowship before worship, sharing Jesus teaching, song and prayer.   Equally popular is our very informal, fun Family T@4 for young families at 4pm on the 4^th Sunday of the month.   All our churches are popular places for Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals.  

Finally, as part of the Church of England, our churches are open every day for anyone to visit to sit and pray or just enjoy their beauty and spiritual peace. Christian or not, do come and join us and find the love and peace of God which passes all understanding!

Although the Ham Hill Villages Benefice is currently in Vacancy (Meaning we are in the process of finding a new Rector), we have a strong Ministry Team (see Who’s Who) who continue to lead services and carry on the work of the church with the support of the churchwardens, PCCs and other volunteers.

Vacancy Update: The job ad for the position of Rector of the Ham Hill Villages Benefice has now been published in The Church Times and online here. Interviews of any applicants will be held in September with a view to appointing someone to start early in 2026.

Click here to see the Services for July 2025

Have you tried using the Diocese Prayer Calendar?

It is available here to download as a PDF: Prayer Calendar for July

St Catherine’s Church clock has returned.

St Catherine’s Church, Montacute has now had it’s newly restored clock put back into its rightful place. On Tuesday 1st July villagers were delighted to see the clock being re-installed after its recent restoration. It was a very exciting moment for the congregation and the village community.

Originally believed to have been made in the 1600s, around the time of the Reformation, the clock’s historical significance was uncovered during a restoration assessment in 2024. Mark Lidster, the Buildings Adviser for the Diocese of Bath and Wells, who is also the Clocks Adviser to the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches (DAC), concluded that the clock’s mechanism predates many known medieval timepieces.

The clock was removed on Thursday, 20 March under the watchful eye of the Montacute church and village community, A fundraising effort is now underway to support the clock’s restoration and the church’s plans to create a dedicated exhibition space, featuring audio-visual presentations on its history. Find out more about the clock and the day it was taken down for repair.

Racial Justice Audit for the Diocese of Bath and Wells

Thanks to the Church of England National Justice Fund Racial Justice Consultant Anira Khatar has been appointed to lead a Racial Justice Audit for the diocese. The work will focus on identifying and addressing barriers to equity and inclusion. Read more about her work.

See more photographs in the Gallery

For all enquiries about Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals please contact gary.edmunds@hotmail.com – 07485789968

This benefice is a group of seven parishes, located around the famous Ham Hill, just south-west of Yeovil in South Somerset.

The  churches include some 120 regular worshippers who are committed to serve God and their communities.

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We are part of The Church of England
within the Diocese of Bath and Wells

‘I have come that they may have life in all its fullness’  (John 10 )