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

The Parish

The parish of Clevedon lies on the west coast of northern Somerset roughly 12 miles west of the Gloucestershire city of Bristol. Clevedon sits where the B3124, running from Portishead, and the B3133, northwards from Congresbury, meet at the coast. Clevedon is a place much grown in Victorian times as a coastal resort, prior to that era it was a sleepy port gathered around the headland where the church resides, its population rose from fewer than 500 to well over 1,700 by the middle of the 19th century. At the start of this transcription period Clevedon would have earned its income from a mixture of land & sea, fishing and coastal transport provided a living whilst the marshy land provided rich pastures for dairy cattle. With the coming of the railway, long since dismantled, in 1845 Clevedon assumed a new role as a bathing resort for nearby Bristol, a role it still performs today as well as being a centre for commuting to the nearby metropolis, arole enhanced by the close proximity of the modern M5 motorway. The River Kenn, which forms the southern boundary of Clevedon, drains not only the village but also most of the surrounding largely reclaimed land. Clevedon is sited at between sea level and 25 metres whilst the northern suburbs rise to 90 metres on isolated Dial Hill. Clevedon parish was fairly large in extent for its area, covering almost 3,000 acres it grew, as stated to a population in excess of 1,700 albeit for most of this transcript period its was much lower. In Domesday times Clevedon was a relatively minor place, held by one Matthew de Mortagne it could offer just 6 ploughs together with the usual meadows, pastures & woodland.

The Church

St Andrew's church occupies a delightful position on the headland formed by the twin hills of Wain's & Church Hills with a fine prospect across the Bristol Channel below. The presence of a central crossing tower is indicative of a church with origins in the Norman period and St Andrew doesn't disappoint. Pevsner dates that tower to the late-Norman Romanesque period of the 12th century albeit the top stage is a modern replacement. Norman evidence is also present within the wall of the nave but here the church was remodelled in the 13th century too. The presence of lancet windows gives the hint of the Early English Gothic period which followed in the 13th century. The arcade clearly shows evidence of cutting through the earlier Norman wall. Further changes show the Perpendicular style of the late 14th century and a frequent addition to churches at that time was the creation of a clerestory to improve internal lighting, St Andrew being a beneficiary of such a feature. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light and sensitive. The church is accessed by a side branch of Old Church Road which ends in a substantial car park making visiting easy. A rising pathway climbs to the churchyard entering through a stepped lychgate, the churchyard is open, uncluttered and with no obstacles to photography.