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

The Parish

The parish of Willand lies in the northern portion of eastern Devon quite close to its border with neighbouring Somerset. Willand is located about 3 miles north of the market town of Cullompton and is a large compact village which has been much expanded in recent times. The old village sits astride the B3181 road which connects Cullompton with the Somerset market town of Wellington, this road was formerly the A38 and ran from Bristol to Exeter. With the arrival of the M5 motorway through the parish Willand has grown with much modern housing to the west of the original settlement. With a motorway entrance/exit just 2 miles south it is an attractive location for commuters. The original village was largely a pastoral community, it sits on the western banks of the River Culm and the lush pastures on the floodplain were its main livelihood. The Culm is head southwards to reach the sea through the Exe Estuary. Willand is sited at around 70 metres above the sea and sits on a raised strip of land between the Culm and its tributary, the Spratford Stream. The parish was very small by Devon standards, covering just under 1,000 acres and it supported almost 350 parishioners. In Domesday times Willand was held by one Odo son of Gamalin, it had just 2 ploughs but extensive meadows, pastures and woodland as well as a mill on the Culm.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the heart of the old village and barely 200 metres from the banks of the Culm. The church is largely of 15th century construction although Pevsner places the small western tower to the "early Gothic", as he starts the Gothic in the late 12th century this is clearly much earlier than the rest of the fabric. The nave and chancel are clearly of the 15th century and documentation places the north aisle to the 16th. In common with most churches the building was extensively restored in the Victorian era. The church is slightly tucked away behind the old village buildings but a gateway by the post office gives access to the graveyard. There are few restrictions to photography once inside.