England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
North Huish St Mary

The Parish

The parish of North Huish lies in southern Devon roughly 7 miles southwest of the market town of Totnes and sits about 2 miles southeast of the A38 road which links Exeter with Plymouth. North Huish is a small village, little more than a hamlet, which is formed of a short run of properties along a lane which ascends the slopes of an incised valley holding a tributary of the River Avon. Much of the population is dispersed across the wider parish as dotted farmsteads and cottages. To the north and alongside the Avon sits the larger subsidiary village of Avonwick, a crossroads settlement by that river. Like most parishes in this area of the South Hams North Huish's economy would have been dominated by pastoral farming with cattle the main livestock, the Avon brought a little income from the fishing of salmon & trout for which it had some fame. Modern developments have come and gone from the parish, a branch railway line linking KIngsbridge through the Great Western main line once followed the Avon's valley for much of its route but has closed and left only bridges and cutting to mark its passing. North Huish is drained the short distance southeastwards into the Avon which heads south to reach the English Channel at Bigbury Bay. North Huish is sited on steeply rising ground from 80 to 120 metres above the sea with Avonwick at the lower level, the terrain is strongly rolling with local high points rising to heights of 170 to 185 metres all around. North Huish parish was typically sized for this area covering just under 2,700 acres which would have supported a population of close to 500 parishioners. In Domesday times North Huish was one of the many local holdings of Iudhael of Totnes, it was a small manor offering just 5 ploughs and a small meadow, to its west lay Butterford manor, now just a a farmstead, which offered a further pair of ploughs, more meadow and a small patch of woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church stands on some of the highest ground with the hamlet of North Huish at the junction of its main lane with the narrower one headed for Avonwick. The church was declared redundant in 1993 and 5 years later was taken into the care of Churches Conservation Trust. Documentary evidence indicates the church was first constructed in 1336 having been largely built in the early 14th century style of the Decorated, that early church was built in a mixture of slate & granite and consisted of the nave and chancel augmented by the western tower, complete with spire, and a northern transept. The tower has a design anomaly in that it was built sloping inwards. In the 15th century the church was considerably enlarged with the addition of the southern aisle and porch, both in Perpendicular styling. At least 3 typical Victorian interventions are documented for the church, the first of 1840 added the vestry to the chancel's northern side, further standard restoration followed in 1871 & 1885. The lane on which the church sits is rather narrow so parking is something of an issue, the verge outside the neighbouring cottage may provide if used with consideration. The churchyard sits well above road height with a gated pathway rising to it, the churchyard is a little compact limiting the space to get back to encompass the church in landscape mode and farm buildings hem it in to the north but all other angles are available to the photographer