England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Axbridge St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Axbridge lies in northern Somerset roughly 9 miles southeast of the coastal resort of Weston super Mare. Axbridge sits on and mostly south of the A371 road which links Weston super Mare with Cheddar and Wells. Axbridge is a rather linear settlement constrained beneath the steep rise of the Mendip Hills and the wetter ground of the Somerset Levels it stretches for a mile or so alongside the A371 from the northern shores of Cheddar Reservoir in the east almost to the A38 (Bristol to Bridgwater) road in the west. Despite its relatively small size Axbridge was once a market town, under the Saxons it was home to a mint in 997 whilst a right to hold a market was granted in 1204. At the time of this transcript Axbridge was an important centre for the knitting of stockings, sadly that trade was decimated once the industrialisation of Northern mill towns lowered prices beyond competitiveness. Within the wider parish pastoral farming was important with cattle grazing the rich pastures of the Levels whilst the thinner soils were tolerated by sheep on the Mendips. The Mendip Hills were also metalliferous in places and quarries and adits dot the heights above the small town. Modern developments have come to the parish and left, a branch railway line from Yatton to Cheddar has closed and been re-purposed as a cycleway. With the attractive countryside around tourism is a major business to the town today. Axbridge is drained westwards by the River Axe which makes its way to the nearby outer Bristol Channel arriving to the south of Weston super Mare. Axbridge is sited at between 10 and 30 metres above the sea on rising ground the rise becoming more dramatic northwards as the hills of the Mendip range top out at 235 metres on Fry's Hill just a mile above the town. Axbridge parish was rather small by its county standards covering just 561 acres yet supported a population of just over 1,000 parishioners. Axbridge is not mentioned in Domesday Book despite being in existence at that date.

The Church

St John's church stands on a knoll to the northeast of the market square accessed by a steep climb up steps from the latter. The church has a cruciform layout which normally signifies an early perhaps Norman church, however the church we see today is almost totally from the 14th, 15th or modern eras. It is believed that the wealth from the knitting trade was sufficient to provide mercers with the means to sponsor a complete rebuild during the later medieval period. The chronology of the church begins in the late 14th century from which date the chancel and south transept, the nave being slightly later and perhaps early 15th century. The crossing tower is also early 15th century with its characteristic pierced parapet added towards the end of the same century. Documentary evidence from a will dates the porch to 1429. The intense period of build is completed by the addition of the aisles in the latter stages of the 15th century. Internally one of the wonders of the church is the nave roof which Pevsner describes as a "romantic piece of Jacobean Gothicism by a local plasterer" and dates from 1636. A typical and significant Victorian restoration was ongoing from 1876 through to 1891 with the rebuilding of the wall of the northern aisle its major contribution to the fabric whilst also updating the internal fittings. Once the steep steps have been climbed, the fortunate may find a space for a car on The Square, it becomes apparent that the church lies tight to the southwestern corner of its churchyard. All of the favoured southern aspects are thus impaired leaving only the more tricky aspects to the photographer.