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

The Parish

The parish of Payhembury lies in southeastern Devon about 4 miles west of the market town of Honiton. Payhembury is a small and compact village sitting about a mile west of the A373 road which connects Honiton with Cullompton. Much of Payhembury is built either side of a small tributary of the river Tale in a network of narrow lanes through rolling pastoral countryside. At the time of this transcript Payhembury would have earned its living primarily from cattle grazing augmented by small cider apple orchards. Little has changed today and a landscape of small, hedged pastures can still be found. Payhembury's stream heads southwest to join the nearby Tale and thence south to join the Otter north of Ottery St Mary and thence to the English Channel at Budleigh Salterton. Payhembury is sited at around 90 metres above the sea sitting on gentle rolling countryside dominated by the limestone escarpment of North Hill which rises to almost 300 metres some 3 miles northeast of the village. Payhembury parish was fairly typically sized for this area of Devon, covering around 2,700 acres it would have supported a population in the region of 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Payhembury was a fairly small place, shared between Bishop Odo and Baldwin the Sheriff, it could offer just 8 ploughs together with small meadows & pastures but did possess a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits in the northeastern corner of the village at the top of the triangular village green and opposite the Six Bells Inn. The church is mainly 15th and 16th century in origin and utilises the Perpendicular style throughout. Pevsner hints that the unbuttressed western tower is earlier but neglects to give a date. Only the western doorway in the Decorated style varies the architectural themes. There is much use of the local stone from nearby Beer, in particular within the northern aisle. The church was extensively restored, as are so many, during the late Victorian period, in this case between 1895 & 1897 at which time the outer walls were substantially rebuilt and the furnishings enriched. The church has ample parking around the village green and sits in an elevated position above the inn. A flight of 6 steps leads up to churchyard level and arched metal gates granting access. Views from north and east are restricted by trees but otherwise it is a straightforward photographic exercise.