England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Washford Pyne St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Washford Pyne lies in the northern portion of central Devon roughly 7 miles north of the market town of Crediton. Washford Pyne sits a little under a mile southeast of the B3042 road which links Witheridge with Chawleigh and Eggesford. Today's Washford Pyne is little more than a hamlet sat upon a hilltop above the deeply incised valley of the infant River Datch. A straggle of farms and cottages along a narrow lane and sitting wither side of St Peter's church. Unusually for its area early gazetteers state that the principal farming method in the parish was arable, this in an area reknowned for its beef herds. Today Washford Pyne receives a steady flow of hikers tackling the Two Moor's Way which passes through Washford Pyne without providing too many facilities. The Datch drains the parish westwards to meet the Taw southeast of Lapford, here water turns northwest to reach the Irish Sea through the port of Barnstaple and the twin estuaries of Taw & Torridge. Washford Pyne is sited at around 180 metres above the sea, land rises still higher eastwards along the ridge on which it sits with a few spots over-topping 200 metres. Covering only a little over 1,100 acres Washford Pyne was a relatively small parish for its county and supported barely 200 parishioners. Domesday Washford Pyne was slightly larger than today's version, shared between 3 Norman landholders it could muster 8 ploughs together with the usual meadows, pastures and woodland.

The Church

St Peter's church sits on the apex of a right-angled bend in the winding lane that passes through Washford Pyne. Sadly the church that now stands here would be largely unrecognisable to the participants of these marriages, the church was almost totally rebuilt between 1882 & 1884 with only the base of the tower remaining from its medieval predecessor. The basic design of nave and chancel is augmented with a southern transept and the attractive tower and mini-spire. The design makes use of what Pevsner terms a "picturesque variety" of windows and an "effective mixture" of building stones. The churchyard sits a little back from the lane with chain link to prevent parking upon its grassy sward, a small gravelled area suffices as both parking area and entrance to a farm. Despite close trees to the north all of the favoured aspects are readily available for the photographer.