England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Blagdon St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Blagdon lies in northern Somerset roughly 12 miles east of the coastal resort of Weston Super Mare. Blagdon sits on the A368 road which links Weston Suoer Mare with the spa town of Bath and runs along the northern edges of the Mendip Hills. Blagdon has a substantial presence along the A368 but also along 3 main lanes, two run north towards Blagdon Lake whilst the third climbs the northern slopes of the Mendips, a more modern development mirrors the easternmost northern lane too. Blagdon's position on the northern edges of the largely limestone range of hills, The Mendips, meant that extractive industries were important income generators, building stone and burning for lime were the chief uses of the limestone whilst an obscure zinc ore, calamine, was also mined. Farming across the range of geology also varied, the limestone areas favouring pastures of, mainly, sheep whilst lower clays & sandstone supported cereal production, in all a varied economy. Railway construction was prevalent in the area, mainly serving the quarries but all are nowadays closed and largely dismantled. Drainage off the Mendips is largely sub-surface due to the porous limestone but along the northern edges runs the River Yeo, the main feeder of Blagdon Lake, artificially grown as a reservoir serving the populous of nearby Bristol, the Yeo heads off northwestwards to reach the outer Bristol Channel north of Weston super Mare. Blagdon occupies a steeply rising site, its lowest properties sit at 70 metres above the sea whilst its uppermost ones are a 100 metres higher, continuing the steep slope onto the tops of the Mendips the local high point of Beacon Batch sits at 325 metres dominating the views to Blagdon's south. Blagdon parish, at around 4,000 acres was significantly more extensive than most Somerset parishes, within that acreage a population of close to 1,200 parishioners would have found income and support. In Domesday times Blagdon was a mid-sized settlement held by one Serlo de Burcy, its assets of 9 ploughs, the usual meadows, pastures & woodland and all was supplemented by 2 mils making for a prosperous hut not large community.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits in the lower part of the village, just west of the easternmost lane which runs north from the A368, Church Street. Whilst the Perpendicular styling of St Andrew appears to be medieval most of the church is actually very modern indeed having been largely rebuilt between 1907 & 1909 at the expense of the Bristol tobacco family, Wills. The only remaining piece of genuine medieval architecture is the impressive 4-stage western tower, the tallest in its county at 116 feet 6 inches in height. The western tower is of the 15th century having been built in the local limestone across the first half of that century. The full height is reached by the pinnacled topped stair turret that adorns the northeastern corner. As already mentioned the remainder of the fabric is 20th century and described by Pevsner as the "idealised 15th century church but slightly frigid in its perfection". A mighty construction more suited to a market town than a mid-sized village, the 4-bay nave, high chancel and southeastern vestry is augmented with aisles and completed with a typical Perpendicular feature, the clerestory. Church Street, whilst narrow, is readily used for street parking, a short dead-end lane leads westwards towards the church where one is rewarded with the best views of that impressive western tower. The churchyard has many trees southwards of the church removing those favoured aspects from the photographer's portfolio and making for a challenging subject on a sunny day.