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

The Parish

The parish of Corscombe lies in northwestern Dorset just a short distance from the border with neighbouring Somerset. Corscombe is located about 3 miles northeast of the small market town of Beaminster. Corscombe is a large and rather straggly village sitting in lanes about a mile north of the A356 road which connects the Somerset market town of Crewkerne through towards Dorchester. Corscombe sits on the northern edge of the Dorset chalk Downs and those would have provided extensive sheep pastures for both wool and meat production, some arable farming would have also diversified the local economy. Corscombe is drained by a small tributary of the River Yeo which is joined just to the south of Yeovil, a long journey across the Somerset levels leads to the Bristol Channel just north of Bridgwater. Corscombe is sited at around 130 metres above the sea, the village following the springline at the foot of the Downs, local heights rise immediately to the south to reach 250 metres on the ridge followed by the A356. By the standards of Dorset, Corscombe parish was rather large, it covered around 5,000 acres and would have supported a population of around 800 parishioners. In Domesday times Corscombe was shared three ways with the largest stake in the hands of the Bishop of Salisbury, collectively the three holdings could offer 14 ploughs, meadows, pastures and woodland and there was also a mill making for a small but prosperous place at that time.

The Church

St Mary's church is rather tucked away at the southeastern-most extremity of the village and hidden behind surrounding properties too. Outwardly St Mary is a typical Perpendicular style church but only small portions are genuinely of that date. Most of the church was rebuilt in the 1870s but, for once, was faithful to the original style of the building. From the Perpendicular period the main surviving piece is the western tower and the northern doorway is also genuine, much else is Victorian rebuild. From the eastern end of the village a narrow lane which quickly becomes rough heads southwards, parking is immediately on the right. The church is accessed by a set of gates next to a prominent "no through road" sign. Once within the churchyard there are few obstacles to photography.