England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Powderham St Clement

The Parish

The parish of Powderham sits in southern Devon roughly 7 miles south of the city of Exeter and on the banks of the Exe Estuary. Powderham lies a half mile east of the A379 road which links Exeter with Dawlish. There is very little to modern day Powderham, a lane leads southeast from the A379 and bends sharply to head down to the shore, a few properties lie either side of that bend. Much of the parish is dominated by the Castle and grounds of Powderham Castle, the home of the prominent Courtenay family, Earls of Devon. Whilst not strictly a castle more a fortified manor house nevertheless is withstood attacks in both 1455 and in 1645 during the Civil War. Surrounding the castle is an extensive deer park landscaped for its views across to the Exe's Estuary. The income for the parish came largely from farming, pastoral slightly exceeding arable in its proportions, the nearby estuary would have provided largely from its tidal mud flats where shellfish would have been harvested. Modern developments have come to Powderham, the Great Western Railway line from London to the southwest passing through on the edge of the shoreline. The River Kenn passes through the parkland of Powderham Castle's estate taking most of the parish water into the Exe Estuary and thus to the English Channel. The parish has land between sea level and 64 metres where a tower marks the summit of a little knoll, further west and inland Berber Hill just breaks the 100 metre contour at 103 metres in rolling and deeply incised countryside. Powderham parish was typically sized for a southern farming parish, covering around 1,500 acres it would have supported a population of close to 300 parishioners. Domesday Powderham was held by William d'Eu and could muster 11 ploughs, meadows, pastures and woodland and there was also a mill.

The Church

St Clement's church sits almost on the shoreline of the Exe Estuary with just the railway line separating it from the water. St Clement is a church of the later medieval period and entirely in the Perpendicular style of the 15th century. Some authors have pointed to the base of the western tower and suggested a 13th century date for that but it remains unproven despite documentary evidence of a church being dedicated here in 1259. The church has the standard layout of western tower, nave and chancel, the nave augmented by 5-bay arcades to both north and south, there is also a redundant southern porch and a northern vestry, all is built in the characteristic Devonian Old Red Sandstone, Pevsner remarks that it is very red. The church was almost certainly built in a single campaign with the arms of one Sir William Courtenay evidence of a completion around the last 20 years of the 15th century, he died in 1485. There was a major change in 1861 as the chancel was extended and partially rebuilt utilising the Decorated style, the division between nave and chancel was also moved eastwards with that work. A more formal restoration followed as a lengthy phase from 1864 to 1880. Where Church Road bends to follow the railway there are some parking spaces for a few vehicles, often taken by estuary walkers and birders. The northern side which faces Church Road has many trees, indeed the better views are achieved by gaining access to the field to the south, a challenge for the photographer.