England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bickleigh by Tiverton St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Bickleigh, given the suffix "by Tiverton" to distinguish it from the other parish of the same name close to Plymouth, lies in eastern central Devon, as its suffix suggests it is located 4 miles south of the market town of Tiverton. Bickleigh is a small village situated on the A396 road which connects Tiverton through to Exeter. Much of the village is built on the eastern side of the road on a steeply rising hillside above the Exe river, whilst there are also some properties grouped around the A396's crossing of that river. Bickleigh's economy would have been dominated by pastoral farming, rich meadows alongside the Exe would have provided for the dairy herds, the agricultural incomes would also have been supplemented by local quarrying for building stone. The Exe drains the parish southwards, through Exeter, to reach the English Channel through the Exe's Estuary. Bickleigh is sited between 40 and 90 metres above the sea in steeply incised landscapes, the Exe at roughly 40 metres above the sea having cut a deep valley into a landscape where local heights soon reach over 250 metres. Bickleigh parish was fairly typically sized for its area, it covered almost 2,500 acres and would have supported a population of around 350 parishioners. In Domesday times Bickleigh was held by Count Robert of Mortain, a mid-sized sort of place offering 8 ploughs, small pastures, meadows & woodland and also possessed a mill, presumably on the Exe.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the upper end of the village in an elevated site and some 50 metres above the level of the nearby Exe. Whilst much of the church dates from a major rebuild in Victorian times, the western tower and southern arcade are original and indicative of what must have been a church commenced in 13th century. These two pieces show the Early English Gothic & Decorated styles of that century. The remainder of the church was wholly rebuilt in the late 1840s, at least the rebuild was using the Decorated style of the original and Pevsner describes the work as "competent and robust". The main street of the village rises steeply to the church, at its entrance Cleaveside turns right and provides space for one or two vehicles. Steps rise to the churchyard level, which has been leveled to create a platform for the building. The churchyard is free of obstructions limiting photography.