England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cheriton Bishop St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Cheriton Bishop lies in central Devon roughly 8 miles southwest of the market town of Crediton. Cheriton Bishop sits on the former route of the A30 road, now thankfully bypassing to its north, which connects Exeter with Bodmin and onward to Penzance in Cornwall as a fast dual-carriageway highway. Cheriton Bishop is a crossroads settlement with most properties lying around the junction of the former A30 with north to south running lanes, that running northwards to the church, Church Hill, having an extra tail of properties. The southern edges of the village lie within the bounds of Dartmoor National Park with much hill countryside to both north and south the differential is not marked except by the highway. Early gazetteers give the parish economy as largely arable, over 80% of available land, but with the remainder set to forest management, traces of this remain today to the southeast of the village. Cheriton Bishop is drained northeastwards by the infant headwaters of the River Culvery which meets the Yeo at Crediton before the latter turns east and then south to meet the Exe and pass through Exeter to its estuary and the English Channel. Cheriton Bishop is sited at 180 metres above the sea with its church to the north some 20 metres lower, land rises still higher to both north and south, the fore-hills of Dartmoor reaching 351 metres on Butterdon Hill whilst those to the north rarely exceed 230 metres. This strongly undulating countryside is crossed by the National Two Moors' Way trail which crosses through the western limits of Cheriton Bishop parish. That parish is extensive, as are many on Dartmoor's fringes, covering 4,800 acres and supporting a population of around 850 parishioners. Domesday Cheriton Bishop was an altogether much smaller settlement, held by Godwin of Chittlehampton it could only muster a pair of ploughs and a small wood; within the parish bounds Medland manor also with Godwin had a further 4 ploughs and yet more woodland whilst Crockernwell manor to the west had a further 7 ploughs and meadows and pastures together with its woodland. A further 4 ploughs were held by the combined manors of Higher & Lower Eggbeer, these held by Godwin the Sheriff.

The Church

St Mary's church sits about a quarter mile north of the village's main crossroads on the eastern side of Church Hill. The earliest part of this church is its chancel which has lancet windows in both its southern and northern faces indicating its origins in the 13th century and in the Early English Gothic style. It is likely the entire church was once of this era but the western end was entirely rebuilt in the Perpendicular style of the late 14th or early 15th century. Both the aisled nave and western tower are in this style with ashlar granite prominent in the nave whilst the tower is more of a roughcast material. The main Victorian restoration came here in 1884 whence the southern face was rebuilt and a porch added amongst a general refurbishment. Church Hill is rather narrow but is used for parking in its wider sections by the locals, a notable widening sits to the north of both churchyard and village school. The churchyard is above road height with steps rising into it, views of the church from the favoured aspects are readily available, views of the tower are more impacted by the close proximity to the road and may be better achieved from there.