England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kenton All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Kenton forms a stretch of Devon's coastline, here with the Exe Estuary, it sits roughly 9 miles south of the city of Exeter. Kenton is a large village, at one time it was of sufficient size to operate a market but that has ceased, which sits on the A379 road which links Exeter with Dawlish and Teignmouth. Kenton has a valley site, it sits on the southern banks of the River Kenn a mile and a half inland from the Exe, which gives it a rather linear alignment. The main part of the village clusters around the church whilst downstream South Town lines the A379; in addition the wider parish included the chapelry of Starcross on the Exe Estuary, itself, which was licensed for marriages and has its own page within this project. Unlike many Devon parishes Kenton was primarily arable, early gazetteers estimate 2:2 in favour of arable methods over the typical pastoral farming regime of the county. In addition to farming it also exploited the rich resources of the Exe Estuary for fish, shellfish & wildfowl, Starcross also had a jetty which enabled east shipping of local produce to Exeter & beyond. Modern developments have come to the parish, Brunel's Great Western Railway from London to Devon & Cornwall passing along the foreshore of the Exe and granting Starcross a station. Kenton is drained the short distance to the Exe by the River Kenn, from there water makes its way southeast to the English Channel. Kenton is sited at around 15 metres above the sea but sits within an incised valley with land rising in rolling scenery to local high points of 236 metres within the vast Great Haldon forest to the west. Including the acreage of Starcross chapelry Kenton was rather extensive, covering a little over 5,400 acres the joint population would have been around 2,300 parishioners. Even by Domesday times Kenton was an important settlement with a population large enough to make it amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded in that book, held by King William, himself, it was also highly profitable with assets totalling 19 ploughs, extensive meadows, pastures & especially woodland, it also had a mill and a lucrative salthouse.

The Church

All Saints' church sits at the heart of the main part of Kenton village on the northern side of Church Street which runs westward from the A379 as it passes through the village. Pevsner rightly calls the church "the most ambitious church in this neighbourhood" and the impressively tall western tower at 120 feet in height certainly is a landmark for miles around as well as an important navigational feature for sailors on the Exe Estuary. There is documentary evidence of an earlier church than today's edifice, a reference in 1379 says that an aisle was newly built but there is nothing of that date present in today's church. All Saints is a product of the great church-building era that was the Perpendicular with fabric clearly dating from, mostly, the 15th century. The church utilises the local red sandstone extensively in its construction, a stone that looks exceptionally fine in evening light. The church's dimension are more deserving of a market town that today's modestly large village, in addition to the height of the tower the interior has 140 feet of length and comprises 7 bays. The main exception to the 15th century origin is that tall and stately western tower and also to the southern porch both of which Pevsner assigns to the 16th century. Like most churches All Saints received the attentions of the Victorian restorers, here there were 2 distinct phases of work, the first of 1854 renewed all of the roofing whilst the second of the early 1860s was a more thorough affair. Whilst Church Street is narrow there is permitted street parking towards its eastern end. The churchyard is set well above head height with a pillared gateway rising up a flight of steps to the church. The church, however, sits very close to the churchyard's southern edges and with that drop to the street the safest landscape views are better from outside, trees also restrict the views of that western tower making for a few minor inconveniences for the photographer.