England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Gennys

The Parish

The parish of St Gennys lies in northern Cornwall forming a lengthy stretch of some of the wildest of Cornwall's Atlantic coastline. St Gennys is located roughly 8 miles southwest of the coastal resort of Bude and sits some 3miles west of the A39 road which links Bideford through to Camelford. Whilst the hamlet of St Gennys grants its name to the parish and holds the church it is by far the smallest settlement in the parish, the coastal development of Crackington Haven is a major attraction on this wild coastline whilst Coxford, Middle & Higher Crackington are all small villages or large hamlets. The parish economy has 2 main drivers at the time of this transcript, pastoral farming of mainly sheep and the extraction industries, a copper mine supported many whilst slate from this area was extensively used for both local walling and more widely exported from Crackington Haven for roofing across the nation. Today St Gennys relies on its stunning scenery to draw in tourists, the South West Way National Trails passes through the parish in a tumultuous roller-coaster, one of its toughest stretches, whilst Crackington Haven is a draw for its industrial heritage and beach. The deeply incised stream that reaches the sea at Crackington Haven is the main drainage for the parish. St Gennys is sited between sea level and 170 metres south of Higher Crackington in a remarkably diverse and hilly landscape of steep slopes. Parishes in this area of Cornwall needed to be extensive to support their populations and St Gennys was no exception covering some 4,000 acres but supporting a population of close to 700 parishioners, early gazetteers describe over half of that acreage as "waste-land or common". St Gennys' Domesday entry shows a settlement large enough to be amongst the largest 20% of settlements in the land, a far cry from today's scattered community, with Count Robert of Mortain its landholder benefitting from no fewer than 25 ploughs together with meadows, pastures and woodland making for a wealthy manor.

The Church

St Gennys' church has a picturesque setting high above the coastline and sitting within the hamlet that carries its name, Pevsner terms it a "remote and romantic setting". Like many remote churches it is also ancient with much fabric dating from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period. Both northern & southern walls of the chancel are excellent examples of the period whilst the basal stages of the western tower, too, are from the 12th century even if the 20th century added the topmost stage complete with pinnacles, the windows of the lower stages and un-moulded tower arch are clues to its true dating. During the 15th century a period of rebuild saw aisles and a porch added to the basic structure in a Perpendicular style. Two phases of restoration are documented by Pevsner, the first of 1871 he describes as "extensive" and which also replaced much of the roofing, the later restoration of 1910 added that uncharacteristic topping to the tower. The narrow lane which connects St Gennys hamlet with the main access route to Crackington Haven ends at a circular turning area outside the church site and with a few cottages present. This forms a small parking area without blocking access for residents. The top of the tower peeks atmospherically into view from here, the churchyard is reached by a short but steep descent, given the church is slightly embedded into the hillside only a few angles are available to the photographer and the steeply sloping churchyard presents it own issues to the less mobile.