England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Abbotsleigh Holy Trinity

The Parish

The parish of Abbotsleigh (usually rendered as two words Abbots Leigh these days) lies in the extreme north of Somerset forming quite a stretch of the border with neighbouring Gloucestershire. Abbotsleigh is located about 3 miles west of the city of Bristol and sits on the A369 road which connects that city with Portishead. Abbotsleigh is a small and strangely linear village most properties being built on either side of the A369 along lanes extending away from it, Church Road to the north and Manor Road to the south. Modern communications, in the form of the now disused rail line to Portishead also run through the parish whilst the modern M5 is just a few miles west. Abbotsleigh would have largely been a pastoral farming settlement but nowadays is growing as commuters spread out from Bristol. A small stream drains northwards to the nearby Avon reaching it closer to the sea than the iconic Gorge's suspension bridge. Abbotsleigh is sited at around 100 metres above the sea and sits on a prominent ridge of higher ground, local heights reach to barely 40 metres higher within a couple of miles. Abbotsleigh parish was fairly typically sized for this area of North Somerset, it covered around 2,300 acres and would have supported a population of just over 350 parishioners. In Domesday times Abbotsleigh was a tiny place indeed, still held by a Saxon (Thorsten) it couldn't even merit a single plough and held just a few domestic animals.

The Church

Holy Trinity church sits to the northeast of the A369 accessed, appropriately enough, along Church Road. Outwardly the church is a standard Perpendicular designed parish church following the standard layout with western tower. The image, however, holds an unfortunate accident as the church was largely destroyed by a fire of 1847 and today's church represents an almost authentic complete rebuild dating from that fire. Pevsner's account of the building is rather short indicating the lack of stunning architectural interest which result albeit he praises the modern "blue sky" design of the chancel ceiling. The church sits to the north of Church Road just beyond a teardrop shaped village green with adequate parking. The churchyard is enclosed in a chest-high limestone wall with entrance through gates at the southwestern corner. Views of the church are limited by the screening trees with the western angles best for photography.