The parish covers a rural area below the Brendon Hills, comprising the small hamlets of Beggearn Huish, Torre, Woodford, and Yarde, together with isolated individual farms and homes.

[1] The parish takes its name from Nettlecombe Court, an Elizabethan manor house which was once the manorial centre of the area.

[2] The manor was held before the Norman Conquest by Godwin, son of King Harold, and subsequently was the property of the crown.

Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

It is also part of the Tiverton and Minehead county constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F) with seasonal and diurnal variations, but due to the modifying effect of the sea, the range is less than in most other parts of the United Kingdom.

The south west of England enjoys a favoured location, particularly in summer, when the Azores High extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK.