England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Babington St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Babington lies in eastern Somerset about 5 miles northwest of the market town of Frome. There is not a village as such at Babington, the centre of the parish is Babington House and its surrounds, any mediaeval settlement having been removed. Babington is located about 2 miles south of the A362 road which links Frome to Radstock. Whilst the main employer of the area would have been House & estate, mainly in pastoral farming, there would also have been some employment in quarrying the local limestone and also the underlying coal in the small Somerset coalfield. The local drainage, too, was impacted by the estate; the local stream being impounded to form an attractive lake, it flows northwards to join the Wellow Brook at Radstock before eventually joining the Avon just east of Bath. Babington is sited at around 130 metres above sea level but land rises steadily to the west to form the beginnings of the Mendip Hills. By the standards of Somerset Babington parish was rather small, it covered just 800 acres and supported around 160 parishioners. In Domesday time babington was held by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances and could boast just 5 ploughs, however there were meadows, woodland and a mill.

The Church

St Margaret's church is found right in front of the House, indeed it sits in the lawns. The house is now a spa hotel with fine dining and the church is almost reminiscent of an ornamental folly. The present building was erected in 1750 roughly coincident with the dates for the house. The building clearly lacks great architectural interest as Pevsner describes it in a mere handful of lines. The church is approached via the access road of the House, signs greet you on the north/south running lane which is the main road of the parish. Given its parkland and open setting there are no restrictions to photography.