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

The Parish

The parish of Marystowe, usually rendered without the terminal "e" today, lies in the extreme west of Devon not too far from its border with neighbouring Cornwall. Marystowe is located roughly 8 miles east of the Cornish market town of Launceston and within an area devoid of major roads, indeed the closest numbered road lies , the B3362 connecting Launceston with Tavistock,  more than 3 miles to Marystowe's south. There is not much to modern day Marystowe, little more than a hamlet perched upon a knoll above the valley of the River Lyd.  Unlike much of Devon Marystowe's farming economy has a greater arable feel than is common as the richer soils enabled growing of cereals and root crops, in addition their were, for a time, a mine for manganese and the local limestone was quarried for local building use. Marystowe is drained westwards by the Lyd which soon reached the Tamar, the border with Cornwall, turning south the latter reaches the English Channel to the west of Plymouth. Marystowe is sited at around 130 metres above the sea in strongly rolling countryside, the Lyd being some 60 metres lower yet only a quarter mile to the north, local heights rise to the southeast, the fringes of nearby Dartmoor, topping out at almost 250 metres on nearby Quither Common. Marystowe parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering close to 2,500 acres it would have supported a population of around 550 parishioners, far fewer in today's tiny place. Marystowe is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the main junction of lanes within the hamlet, on almost the highest ground around. Whilst the church undoubtedly has early origins, Pevsner notes the remains of a Norman Romanesque arch within the southern doorway most of the church is of later medieval times. From the Decorated era comes the early 14th century chancel evidenced by the window tracery therein. Both the western tower and northern arcade, by contrast, show the later 14th or early 15th century style of the Perpendicular, the tower of strong granite ashlar blocks typically grey following weathering. The arcade of 6 bays is impressively large given the small congregation of today's parish. Two restorations are noted by Pevsner, the first in Georgian times of 1824 saw the tower partially rebuilt whilst the more general restoration of 1866 is said to have been "over restored" by Pevsner. The lanes surrounding the church are narrow and parking must be careful and considerate. The church sits elevated above head height to the road with a steep set of steps rising to an arched stone gateway, once within the favoured aspects are clear of obstacles for the photographer albeit the church is enclosed from northern angles.