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

The Parish

The parish of Lynton is located in the north of Devon, indeed it forms not only part of Devon's northern Bristol Channel coast but also, as it sits in a spur which juts into neighbouring Somerset, part of the border with that county. Lynton is located roughly midway along the coast of Exmoor between Ilfracombe which lies about 14 miles to the west and Minehead which lies 16 miles to the east. Lynton sits just to the west of the main A39 coastal road and consists of two distinct settlements, Lynton itself is built on a hillside overlooking the West Lyn River and Lynmouth its port and seaside resort below at the twin mouths of the East & West Lyn Rivers. The area has great scenic beauty, the moors contrasting with the sea and the South West Way, England's longest National Trail cuts through the parish and the twin villages are an important stop for hikers as well as regular tourists. Lynmouth's position, however, a sea level and the mouth of the twin rivers led to disaster in 1952 when a flash flood raged down the valley destroying many properties and leading to great loss of life, thankfully everything is more peaceful now. In the period of this transcript Lynton would have been a pastoral community supplemented by the fishing from Lynmouth. The properties of the parish span a wide range of altitudes from sea level to the highest portions at almost 200 metres above the sea. Lynton parish was a large one by Devon standards, at over 7,000 acres it would have supported around 1,000 parishioners. In Domesday times Lynton was held by the strangely named "William the Goat" (he is presumed to have a nickname rather than be livestock). The parish boasted 12 ploughs as well as woodland and meadow and returned a long list of its animals.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the heart of Lynton alongside, appropriately enough, Church Hill which rises from the Lyn valley to form Lynton's main street once it levels out above the church. St Mary's church is not an ancient mediaeval building, most of the structure was built from the mid 18th century onwards. The church is clearly of little architectural interest as Pevsner dismisses it in a mere 10 lines. St Mary's sits in a rather tight setting with a raised site retained by a slate wall, entrance is from Church Hill via a stone lychgate. As the building is rather hemmed in by the closeness of other buildings there are few satisfactory angles for photography.