England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kenn St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Kenn lies in south central Devon roughly 4 miles south of the city of Exeter. Kenn is sited just over a half mile east of the busy A380 road which links Exeter with Torbay. Kenn is a mid-sized and compact village which sits within the valley of its namesake river, the River Kenn, much of the village is south of the river on an area of flatter ground where a tributary meets the min river whilst both church and village inn lie to its north. The parish also includes the separate village of Kennford which formerly sat upon the A380 but is nowadays thankfully bypassed, Kennford is the larger of the two settlements and largely consists of properties lining the former main road. Like most Devon villages farming would have been the mainstay of Kenn's economy, the area is traditionally one for pastoral farming with numerous small fields enclosing pastures for cattle. The tributary valley is well-wooded and this would have provided coppicing and traditional woodland management for the village. Modern developments have arrived at Kenn, the A380/A38 junction lies a mile to its southwest and both roads are almost of motorway standard, indeed the modern M5 motorway begins just 2 miles to the north of Kenn. The River Kenn drains the parish eastwards, the short distance soon reaches the outer Exe Estuary from where matters turn south to the English Channel. Kenn is sited at around 30 metres above the sea but sits in strongly undulating countryside where local heights reach 103 metres a mere half mile to the southeast on Berber Hill. Kenn parish was fairly extensive by Devon standards, covering a little over 5,300 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,100 parishioners. In Domesday times Kenn was sufficiently large as to hold a population sufficient to place it amongst the 20% largest settlements recorded within that book, held by Baldwin the Sheriff the manor could record an impressive 25 ploughs, meadows, pastures & woodland and there was also a mill making for a wealthy holding, indeed.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits north of the River Kenn on the northern side of the narrow lane which links Kenn with the northern end of Kennford. The church is a much-restored church with its origins in the 14th century. This century saw the architectural fashions change from the Decorated into Perpendicular and whilst St Andrew mostly shows the style of the later fashion there are indications that it was begun in the early 14th century. Pevsner points to the eastern window as being of the early 14th century, it is a five-light structure with intersected tracery and pointed quatrefoils. Most other features of the church are from the latter half of the same century and Perpendicular in style. There is much use of the local red sandstone in the church which imparts a warm saturation in early evening sunlight. The incumbent of over 40 years in Victorian times, Reverend Porter, was clearly a man enthused by restoration as for much of that 40 year period he engaged in an ongoing campaign of restoration to the church, mostly to the interior but also impacting the exterior appearance. Within that period the 1860s saw both chancel and nave and accompanying aisles restored whilst the tower was the focus of much of the later campaign in the 1880s. The lane which passes the church is narrow but careful parking allows through traffic, the churchyard sits above road level with a flight of stone steps rising to the lychgate complete with wooden gates. Whilst much of the churchyard is relatively open, a single large tree takes away the favoured southeastern aspect from the photographer's arsenal.