England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Chillington St James

The Parish

The parish of Chillington lies in southern Somerset not too far from the county's border with neighbouring Dorset. Chillington is located roughly 4 miles west of the small town of Crewkerne and sits just under a mile north of the A30 road which links Crewkerne with Chard. There are actually two settlements within the parish of Chillington, Lower Chillington, in which sits the church, is a small cluster of properties gathered around said church, Upper Chillington sits below the steep escarpment on which runs the A30 and has a run of properties rising up that escarpment on a sloping lane. Both would have primarily been engaged in the raising of dairy cattle for which the area was renowned. Chillington is drained northwards by the Stretford Water which merges with others to form the Dowlish Brook turning west to meet the River Isle, this river heads back north through the Somerset levels joining the Parrett before eventually reaching the outer Bristol Channel. Chillington parish covered a broad range of altitude, the lowest properties in Lower Chillington being at 110 metres above the see whilst the higher properties in Upper Chillington stand 100 metres higher, the escarpment continues rising to reach 238 metres to the east at St Rayn Hill. Chillington parish was one of the smaller in its county covering only 882 acres and supporting a population of close to 300 parishioners. Chillington is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St James' church stands towards the northern edge of Lower Chillington on the eastern side of the main lane through the village and sitting between Sheephouse & Manor Farms. The original main body of the church is in the Perpendicular style and probably dates from the 15th century, it consist simply of a nave with a southern porch and topped by a western bellcote, the chancel,. separated by a 15th century chancel arch, is slightly older and possibly from the very end of the 14th century. The remainder of the fabric comes from a rather late restoration/rebuild which fell in the early 20th century in 1909-10, here the work entailed the addition of the southern transept, a northern vestry and a 2-bay asymmetrical southern arcade. Thus the church is an amalgam of medieval and modern. The lane is narrow but has sufficient verge to the north to permit on-street parking by the flight of 15 steps which rise into the churchyard which stands well above road height, an alternative entrance is from the footpath to the south which rises more gently. Whilst there are no obstacles for the photographer the churchyard is compact with steeply sloping edges needing care when stepping back.