SIX West Dartmoor parishes are to unite in a new single structure which shows ‘the death of the rural church is much exaggerated’, according to its rector.

The church communities have been working together for some time, but from June 14 the parishes of Meavy, Sheepstor, Walkhampton (which includes Princetown), Yelverton, Sampford Spiney, and Horrabridge will form a single united benefice, the West Dartmoor Mission Community.

Previously, they had been two benefices, one containing Sampford Spiney and Horrabridge and the other the remaining churches.

Rector Prebendary Nick Shutt said: ‘This marks a significant stage in our journey together as parishes.

‘We have been working on this structural change since 2008 and although we will be retaining our separate parish identities it does mean that we now have a coherent legal structure across all the parishes.

‘We have been able to maintain a Sunday service in each of the churches while this has been a work in progress, and that will carry on.’

Mr Shutt said a combination of clergy and lay-led worship teams would continue to maintain Sunday services.

He said one of the practical effects of the new single benefice is a direction which means anyone living in any one of the parishes can choose any of the churches in which to be married.

Mr Shutt said: ‘All our churches are beautiful buildings but anyone who lives in our parishes who has a particular attraction to one church will now have the legal right to ask to be married in that church without having to jump through a number of hoops which previously made such a choice difficult.’

There’s information about the new benefice at www.westdartmoor.church