England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sowton St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Sowton is located in southeastern Devon about 3 miles east of the city of Exeter. Sowton, once a wholly separate village, is only separated from the sprawling city by the M5 motorway which acts as a screen and temporary limit to industrial and housing development. Sowton is a small and compact village sited just south of the A30 (Exeter to London) road in dead-ended lanes on the banks of the River Clyst. The parish was almost, and still largely is, devoted to pastoral farming on the flood plain of the Clyst. Sowton just about keeps its feet dry being located at 10 metres above sea level and 5 above the Clyst on a little knoll of higher ground. The Clyst is headed south to join the Exe estuary at Topsham. The parish, in common with most of eastern Devon, is a rather small one - at less than 1,100 acres - but it would have supported almost 400 parishioners. In Domesday times the land was held by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances and could only boast 5 ploughs together with meadows and pastures and an array of livestock.

The Church

St Michael's church sits on the northwestern side of Sowton's main lane. What appears to be a mediaeval church is in fact a total Victorian rebuild, albeit an attractive one making use of the rich red local sandstone. For once Pevsner is not scathing of that period describing St Michael as an "important survival of a Victorian Tractarian village church". The church carries a mixture of mediaeval styles, some Decorated style others Perpendicular in influence. The western tower, in the late 14th century style, Pevsner describes as "splendid". St Michael is well screened from the lane by mature trees and lies largely hidden behind a low stone wall of local stone. An arched gateway gives access to the graveyard where the trees do rather limit the angles which are available for photography.