England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Talland St Tallan

The Parish

The parish of Talland lies in the extreme south of eastern Cornwall, indeed it forms an extensive part of the coast with the English Channel. Whilst Talland village is little more than a scatter of farms, the parish included the more sizable communities of West Looe and the eastern portion of Polperro. Talland is located about 8 miles south of the market town of Liskeard and the A387 road (which connects Polperro with Torpoint) passes through the north of the parish albeit Talland itself sits at the end of a long and very narrow lane. With the ports of West Looe and Polperro fishing would have been the mainstay of the economy, land based activities were dominated by pastoral farming but some quarrying of stone also occurred for road building. Today Talland is more of a holiday location, the ports of West Looe and Polperro being justly famous for their attractive "Smuggler's coast" history and picturesque lanes whilst the longest trail in England, The South West Coastal Trail, passes through the parish on its long journey around the southwestern peninsula. As a coastal settlement Talland has numerous streams draining into the nearby English Channel. Talland village is set at between sea-level and almost 60 metres in the deeply incised landscape, land rises steeply from the coast to reach an incised plateau level of around 130 metres above the sea. Talland parish was fairly typically sized for the area, covering almost 1,900 acres it would have supported a population of almost 1,500 parishioners most living within West Looe & Polperro. In Domesday times Talland was held by Count Robert of Mortain, albeit recorded as Porthallow, a poor place, indeed, it failed to offer a plough just a very small pasture.

The Church

St Tallan's church sits within the upper reaches of Talland village on the eastern side of the narrow lane running northeast towards West Looe. The church sits in a very elevated position, the southern part of the church standing over a drop of over 20 feet to the lane below. The church has its origins in the 13th century albeit not too much remains of that date. Pevsner cites the west end of the nave, the main east wall and the lowest storey of the tower as being dateable to that century. The tower is highly unusual in its siting being at the southern end and partially detached from the main bulk of the church, only a porch connects it which Pevsner dates to the late 15th or early 16th century. The remainder of the church he also dates to the same period although there was an extensive Victorian restoration of 1848. The lane rising to the church from the bay is extremely narrow and not recommended for parking, a short but puffing climb leads to the church which sits high above reached either by a set of steps or by the sloping pathway leading to the metal gates. The churchyard is compact and trees crowd the church making for a challenging place to photograph well.