England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Parracombe St Petrock

The Parish

The parish of Parracombe lies in the extreme north of Devon roughly 12 miles northeast of the market town and port of Barnstaple. Parracombe sits about a half mile west of the A39 road which links Barnstaple with Lynton. Parracombe is an upland community sitting within a deep valley high upon Exmoor, there are two main settlements, Parracombe, itself is a crossroads village sitting within the valley whilst a quarter mile east is the smaller hamlet of Churchtown, which holds the former parish church. Parracombe's economy was totally based upon pastoral farming, sheep in the main, supplemented by exploitation of the resources of the moor for hurdle making and thatch, the river was, however, exploited for its power for milling grain from the lower areas to the south. Given the extreme terrain it is a tribute to the engineers of the Victorian era that modern development of a light railway come through from Barnstaple to Lynton, now closed a short stretch has been re-opened as a heritage line. Parracombe is drained northwards by the steep and fast flowing River Heddon which makes the short journey to the outer Bristol Channel. Parracombe is sited at around 190 metres above the sea at the Heddon with Churchtown some 60 metres higher, eastwards land rises steeply onto Exmoor with the local summit of Woodbarrow Gate topping out at 480 metres. As is typical of upland communities Parracombe parish was quite extensive, covering almost 3,800 acres it would have supported a population of close to 450 parishioners. In Domesday times Parracombe was a holding of William de Falaise offering 6 ploughs, extensive pasture and patches of meadow & woodland.

The Church

St Petrock's church has been replaced as the parish church by Christ Church, built in the village of Parracombe, it is now managed by the Churches Conservation Trust. The church is accessed by footpath from the end of the dead-end Church Lane. It is believed that the first church on this site, of wattle, cob & thatch, was erected as early as th 6th century, of course nothing of that church remains today. The western tower is merely described by Pevsner as "early medieval" but is generally reckoned to have been built towards the end of the 12th century, it is Norman Romanesque in style The main chancel is the earliest portion of the main body church, it is 13th century Early English Gothic in style, its east window being a pair of lancets characteristic of that style. The nave, however, was significantly modified in the late 15th/early 16th century with the style becoming Perpendicular as a consequence, the southern aisle and porch were added at the same period. A lighting strike in 1808 damaged the western tower and restoration was required, however, one of the charms of the church is that the interior remains untouched by restoration being much as it was 2 centuries ago. After the new church was erected St Petrock was threatened with demolition, it took much protesting to save this charming old church for the nation. As with all Devon villages the lanes are very narrow so only careful parking is needed, Church Lane climbs steeply before ending at a humped-beck bridge from where a footpath leads to the churchyard, that is open and uncluttered with no obstacles whatsoever for the photographer.