England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Neot St Anietus

The Parish

The parish of St Neot lies in the centre of Cornwall but towards its eastern end, Cornwall being elongated on an east/west axis. St Neot is a substantial village lying about 5 miles northwest of the market town of Liskeard. St Neot sits, in lanes, about 2 miles north of the busy A38 road that connects Liskeard with Bodmin. St Neot sits in a deeply incised valley (some 50 metres descent from the edge of the village to the river crossing) with properties climbing up the sides of the valley both to its east and west, that to the east being the major part of the settled area. The parish would have had a largely mixed employment, the parish incorporates large areas of "waste" on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor which would have been set to sheep, there was a mixed farming regime around the lower areas and mining & quarrying of local stone (mostly granite & slate) would also have employed many. The valley is that of the St Neot River (also known as the River Loveny) which drains steeply down from the moors (upstream of St Neot this river is now dammed to form Colliford Lake) to run southwards from St Neot and reach the English Channel at Fowey as a tributary of the Fowey river. St Neot is sited at between 100 and 150 metres above the sea and the village is surrounded by hills rising locally to 280 metres on Berry Down. St Neot parish was one of the largest in Cornwall by area, it covered over 14,500 acres although 10,000 were part of the moors; the parish supported a substantial population of just over 1,500 parishioners. In Domesday times much of the parish was held by one Count Robert of Mortain with a smaller portion held by the Canons of St Neot, the parish could only offer a single plough as well as a motley array of animals.

The Church

St Anietus' church sits at the heart of St Neot's in a position of dominance overlooking the main north/south route through the village. The church is mostly a Perpendicular offering although the western tower uses the Decorated style and is earlier. The church is a magnificent Perpendicular building, the seven bay chancel reflecting the size of the village congregation. Pevsner dates the main body of the church as being constructed between the 1420s and 1520s. In addition to the basic nave, chancel and western tower design followed by many churches, St Anietus has extensive additions to its southern side notably the porch and the large aisle built from granite. The church stands in a very elevated position, a high stone wall embanking the graveyard. Access is to the east of the London Inn where a steep path climbs to a gate granting access to the graveyard. Given St Anietus' size it is quite difficult to get sufficiently far away to adequately document its dimensions.