England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
North Tamerton St Denis

The Parish

The parish of North Tamerton lies in the extreme northeast of Cornwall, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Devon. North Tamerton is a small settlement standing at a T junction of lanes about 5 miles southwest of the Devon market town of Holsworthy. North Tamerton sits about 2 miles east of the B3254 road which connects Kilkhampton to Launceston. The area is strongly undulating, to the east is cut the deep valley of the River Tamar, with further valleys cut into a broad plateau standing at around 180 metres above the sea. The local area would largely have been used for pastoral farming at the time of this transcript as the local soils are a heavy unworkable clay. The Tamar, which forms the border with Devon is draining southwards to reach the English Channel through Plymouth Sound. North Tamerton stands at around 120 metres above sea level some 40 metres above the river level and occupies a sloping site halfway down a descending ridge. Cornish parishes are fairly large and North Tamerton was no exception, it covered almost 4,800 acres and supported a population of just under 600 parishioners. There is no specific mention of North Tamerton in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Denis' church sits just to the north of the main junction within the parish. The church is probably of the 15th century although Pevsner is a little coy in dating only the nave and southern aisle. This would place the building in the Perpendicular period which was the great church-building era. There is much use of the local granite throughout the building and the prominent western tower makes great use of it and is unbuttressed, a tribute to its resistance and strength. The western tower dominates somewhat the rest of the church. A narrow lane runs northwards to a large parking area, the church sits behind a mid-height granite wall and a pair of wooden gates at the western end of the site grants access to the churchyard. This is a largely treeless landscape due to the impact of prevailing winds and the proximity of the sea and the site has few obstructions to restrict photography.