England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Gerrans St Gerent

The Parish

The parish of Gerrans lies in southern Cornwall forming an extensive stretch of the county's southern English Channel coastline. Gerrans is located, as the gull flies, some 4 miles northeast of the port of Falmouth, the journey by road is somewhat longer as it is interrupted by the rather fretted coastline of this art of the county. Gerrans sits just over a mile east of the A3078 road which heads down Cornwall's Roseland Peninsula from Probus to St Mawes. There are two distinct communities within Gerrans parish, Gerrans, itself, sits inland and is a compact farming village whilst Portscatho, as its name suggests, sits on the coast, a port and coastal resort for the tourist trade today. The Roseland Peninsula is a sheltered area which largely supported arable production on its gentle slopes, employment would have been enhanced by the fishing opportunities provided by the port, pilchards being an important fishery for this coastline. Today, like so much of Cornwall, the area is beset by tourism with many of the village properties bought up as second homes and the roads crowded with holidaymakers throughout the summer months. The port features too as part of the county's portion of the South West Coastal National Trail which brings income to Portscatho in particular. A deeply incised valley brings a stream southwestwards to form part of the estuary of the Percuil River which soon meets the nearby English Channel. Gerrans is sited on a ridge-top at around 50 metres above the sea, the highest land around being the equivalent ridge across the Percuil River on which St Just sits at around 80 metres. Gerrans parish was fairly typically sized for its area covering a little under 2,500 acres it would have supported a population of around 800 parishioners. Gerrans is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Gerent's church sits at the heart of the village at the main junction leading downhill toward Portscatho. Whilst the church has early origins it was extensively rebuilt in Victorian times albeit with much of the original fabric reused. A 13th century origin in the early English Gothic period is evidenced by lancet windows in the northern wall and on the eastern wall of the transept, whether these have been reset is unknown. The crowning glory, and a rare sight in Cornwall, is the spire and tower which graces the western end and which is a landmark across this gentle area of the county. The two-storey tower is topped by an octagonal tower with a ring of quatrefoil decoration halfway up its length, all is said by Pevsner to be 14th century. The main body of the church, however, namely nave and chancel is largely a product of the Victorian restorers, in this case a major restoration of the late 1840s which saw almost a complete rebuild of the this area. Parking in the immediate vicinity is prevented by regulation but can be found away from the church. The main entrance is off Jubilee Place where a lychgate, set at right angles to the roadside grants entry. The church is set within close proximity to the churchyard boundary to its south removing that favoured aspect from the options available to the photographer, in addition the western tower sits flush to the road at the western end making for a challenge to adequately capture for the photographer.