England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Buckland Dinham St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Buckland Dinham lies in eastern Somerset not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Buckland Dinham is a small and compact village, formerly a small market town this status was lost long ago, situated about 2 miles northwest of the large market town of Frome. Buckland Dinham sits on a ridge of land and astride the A362 which connects Frome with Radstock. In the past Buckland Dinham was a market and manufacturing site for woollen cloth, nowadays this is a small country village, a decline of some significance. Overshadowed by neighbouring Frome the parish has elapsed to a sleeyp county location. Buckland Dinham is drained eastwards by small tributaries of the River Frome which is soon joined, turning northwards the Frome reaches the Avon to the west of Bradford on Avon and thence to the Bristol Channel through the Avon Gorge. Buckland Dinham is sited at around 110 metres above the sea and sits on the eastern end of a ridge of land standing some 30 - 40 metres above the river valleys in rolling hilly countryside, local heights rise to the west along the ridge of Buckland Down to over 180 metres. parishes in this area of Somerset are fairly small and Buckland Dinham parish was mis-sixed amongst them, it covered around 1,400 acres and would have supported a population of around 500 parishioners. In Domesday time Buckland Dinham was unusual in still being held by its Saxon prior owner, one of the King's thegns Dunna; the parish could offer 5 ploughs, small meadows and pastures as well as a mill.

The Church

St Michael's church sits just off the A362 accessed by "The Cross", a narrow lane leading north with church on its eastern side. The church is a very early example showing many features of the Norman Romanesue style of the 12th century. Pevsner notes a pair of windows in the nave, both northern & southern doorways and the chancel arch as being of this period. The chancel itself is dated slightly later, to the 13th century and shows features of the Early English Gothic period notably a lancet window. The northern transept is 14th century whilst the western tower is Perpendicular and probably 15th century. Later restorations were made as is usual but Pevsner neglects to give a date for this work. Whilst mostly narrow, The Cross widens to allow parking outside the church's attractive lychgate which grants access to the churchyard, tall trees mean the tower is best viwed from outside but within the churchyard other angles for photography are not impeded.