A BATH and Wells Diocesan shake-up will see a large Exmoor benefice axed after its rector retires at the end of next month.

The Rev Caroline Ralph will leave after 10 years with the Dunster Benefice, which also includes Timberscombe, Wootton Courtenay, Withycombe, Rodhuish, and Carhampton.

The Dunster Benefice will then cease to exist, while the churches in Wootton Courtenay, Timberscombe, and Dunster will become part of a yet to be named new benefice under the care of the Rev Kenneth Cross.

Church services in Wotton Courtenay and Timberscombe will mostly be taken by the Rev Nicola Butt.

A service of thanksgiving and farewell for the Rev Ralph will be held on Sunday, September 24, in St George’s Church, Dunster, followed by afternoon tea in the village’s Tithe Barn.

Contributions to a benefice-wide collection for the Rev Ralph are being collated through All Saints’ Church, Wootton Courtenay.

Miss Ralph moved to West Somerset in 2013 after three years as the Vicar of St Peter’s Church, in Harborne, near Birmingham, and before being ordained she was a solicitor.

She said in an online profile she kept bees, two dogs, and chickens, and was an amateur potter and enjoyed bellringing.

All of the churches in the Dunster Benefice are Grade I listed buildings and the area covered a population of about 5,000 people.