England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
West Camel All Saints

The Parish

The parish of West Camel lies in southeastern Somerset roughly 6 miles north of the market town of Yeovil. West Camel sits around a quarter of a mile south of the busy A303 road which runs from London to Exeter. West Camel is a small and compact village largely built around a crossroads of lanes from which a short western extension runs. Like most parishes in this area the dominant economic force was pastoral farming, dairy cattle were the regional speciality. In addition to farming the local stone was extensively quarried for building work and road repair. Modern developments have turned the A303, in patches, into a modern fast dual-carriageway which carries much heavy traffic to and from the West Country. West Camel is drained westwards by the River Cam which soon joins the Yeo to the southeast of Ilchester, the Yeo heads northwestwards into the Levels, joins the Parrett at Langport and the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Bridgwater. West Camel is sited at around 30 metres above the sea in fairly gentle terrain where the northern views are taken by the low ridge of Camel Hill which tops out at 80 metres. West Camel parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering a bit over 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 350 parishioners. In Domesday times West Camel was a substantial rural holding of the Abbey of Muchelney offering 12 ploughs, extensive meadows and pastures and there was also a mill.

The Church

All Saints' church lies on the eastern edge of the village adjacent to a footpath headed for nearby Queen Camel and nowadays followed by the local Leland hiking trail, The church is almost totally a product of the 14th century, Pevsner raises speculation that the basal stages of the distinctive and oddly placed southern tower could be from the very end of the 13th century but this us a minor exception if correct. It's bell-stage shows the Decorated style of the early 14th century, a date which is followed by both northern & southern doorways to the nave and also in the same faces of the chancel. Also 14th century and a mixture of both Decorated & Perpendicular styling one finds the northern transept. The latest fabric within the core is that of the nave which Pevsner places into the 15th century and the period in which Perpendicular styling flourished with a particularly fine example shown in the nave's roof. The usual Victorian restoration largely attacked the chancel and fell in the 1860s. From Parsonage Road, where the is ample street parking, the track, marked by a small yellow sign indicating the church, heads eastwards to the churchyard. The churchyard is compact and rather sadly for the photographer the southern aspects are impeded by a substantial row of trees leaving only the unfavoured northern aspects available and making for a challenging subject on a sunny day.