England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cucklington St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of Cucklington lies in the extreme southeast of Somerset, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Dorset and is also not too far away from Wiltshire. Cucklington is located midway (roughly 3 miles) between the Somerset market town of Wincanton (to Cucklington's west) and the Dorset market town of Gillingham (to its east). Cucklington is a rather linear village built along the crest of a ridge of land formed from the Jurassic oolitic limestone and which runs north to south across this portion of Somerset. Whilst Cucklington formerly held a market, the proximity of its nearby neighbours led to its decline to a village. Cucklington sits in lanes about 2 miles south of the busy A303, Andover to Exeter, road. At the time of this transcript Cucklington would have largely earned its living from pastoral farming albeit, today, the area is much more arable in nature. Cucklington is drained southwards by small feeder streams of the River Cale, this quickly joins the Stour making its way to the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour. Cucklington is sited at around 140 metres above the sea, the land dropping steeply westwards to roughly half that height. Cucklington parish was small as were many in this area of the county, it covered just over 1,700 acres and would have supported a population of just under 350 parishioners. In Domesday Book Cucklington was a much smaller place, held by one Count Robert of Mortain it could offer just 3 ploughs plus some small meadows & woodlands.

The Church

St Lawrence' church sits at the northern end of Cucklington in a site which a commanding view out across the plains towards Wincanton. The church has its earliest parts within the chancel where the early English Gothic style reveals a likely date in the 13th century, later within that century is the aisle arcade. The church has the unusual configuration of a southern tower above the porch with its early 18th century cupola. Much else shows the Perpendicular style of the 15th century or alternatively was refreshed during the restoration of 1880. The church sits at the very northern end of the village with fields to three sides. An elevated pathway leads to the gravelled driveway heading northwards into the churchyard. Once within there are few obstructions to photography.