Cotford St Luke

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Cotford St Luke is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies about 2 miles northwest of Norton Fitzwarren and 1.5 miles south of Bishops Lydeard. The population at the 2021 census was 2,642.

The village grew after Tone Vale Hospital and Cotford Asylum closed in the 1990s, with the old buildings demolished or turned into housing in the late 1990s. In 2011 Cotford St Luke became its own civil parish, separated from Bishop's Lydeard. Seven parish councillors were elected unopposed that year. In 2024 the parish council had no members or a clerk due to resignations.

In the centre is the former hospital chapel dedicated to Saint Luke. It is a Grade II listed building and is now a pub/restaurant called The Chapel, which opened on 13 July 2008 after being derelict for 18 years. There is a Southern Co-operative store near the centre, plus a community centre and village hall next to the primary school in the south, with a village green and sports facilities.

Cotford St Luke Primary School is on the southern edge of the village. It opened in September 2003 on former asylum playing fields and has 10 classes for children aged 4–11, with a on-site pre-school for 3-year-olds. The catchment secondary is Kingsmead School in Wiveliscombe, which provides a free bus service for eligible pupils. Dene Barton Community Hospital lies on the eastern side of the village with 40 beds for elderly care and rehabilitation; it is run by the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and houses the Somerset Neurological Rehabilitation Centre. St Luke's Centre near St Luke's chapel opened in 2019 as a parish centre and community hub.

The village is part of the ecclesiastical parish Heathfield with Cotford St Luke; the parish church is St John the Baptist in Heathfield. In 2021, 43.9% of residents described themselves as Christian.

Cotford St Luke is served by bus routes 25 and 28A (Taunton–Wiveliscombe–Dulverton and Taunton–Watchet–Minehead) run by The Buses of Somerset. The nearest railway station is Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway (a heritage line), and the nearest mainline station is Taunton.