England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cossington St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Cossington sits in central Somerset about 4 miles northeast of the port & town of Bridgwater. Cossington is a substantial village today, but smaller at the time of this transcript, which sits just a half mile north of the A39 road which connects Bridgwater with Glastonbury. Cossington is one of a string of villages built along the foot of a limestone ridge which separates two portions of the Somerset Levels. The lower slopes, and a spring line, explain these settlements which kept their feet dry whilst being able to exploit both the Levels and the drier slopes for a range of agricultural activities. Pastoral farming would have predominated, along with wildfowling, on the Levels whilst arable crops could be grown on the higher slopes. A number of small streams drain Cossington parish, all headed northwards to join the Huntspill River and thence the Bristol Channel via the River Parrett estuary. Cossington is sited at 30 metres above the sea with the ridge a further 10 metres higher and carries a wide view especially northwards across Huntspill Moor. By the standards of the area Cossington was a relatively small one, it covered just under 1,400 acres and would have supported a population of just under 250 parishioners. In Domesday time Cossington was held by Glastonbury Abbey and was a small place offering just 6 ploughs plus small meadows & woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the heart of Cossington, standing close to the major bend in the main lane running through the village, Manor Road. The earliest origins of the church lie in the 13th century, but mere traces remain of that period notably windows on both northern & southern sides. Much else is of the major church-building era of the Perpendicular period, this style dominated from mid-14th to mid-16th centuries but St Mary is likely to date from the earlier period of that era. The church has been renewed and restored many times to reach its present state. The church is sheltered from the road by an almost palatial wall and grand entrance gates leading to a tarred driveway more reminiscent of a country house than a church. The churchyard is open and with few photographic impediments.