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England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Culbone St Culbone

 

The Parish

The parish of Culbone lies in the extreme west of Somerset not too far from its border with neighbouring Devon and forming part of Somerset's coastline with the Bristol Channel. Culbone is located about 8 miles west of the seaside town of Minehead. Culbone can only be approached on foot or by four-wheel drive vehicles by permission, it lies in a steep valley on the north coast of Exmoor, its nearest main road, the A39 (Minehead to Lynton), sits some mile and a half to the south. There is almost nothing to constitute a village at Culbone just some isolated farms and its landmark picturesque church sitting on the South West Coastal Trail and a tourist attraction in itself. Culbone is drained by the steeply rushing beck that flows the short distance down its steep valley to the Bristol Channel. Culbone church, the notional centre of this place, is sited at around 160 metres above the sea, reached in just over a quarter mile, but the landscape is quite dramatic rising steeply to top out at 413 metres above the sea on Culbone Hill. Culbone parish was fairly small even by Somerset standards, it covered 1,500 acres but half those were described as waste, the parish supported a population of barely 30 parishioners. In Domesday times Culbone was held by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, it was equally small offering just a single plough and small pastures and woodland.


The Church

St Culbone's church can only be reached on foot, either by following the Coastal Trail from Porlock or by footpath from Yearner Mill Lane, where a footpath sign indicates the 3/4 mile walk. There are other sources which state the dedication is to St Beuno but I follow Pevsner in calling it St Culbone. The church has claims to be the smallest mediaeval church in England and seats just 33 folk and has a total length of just 35 feet. The church has its origins in the Norman period albeit Pevsner has a question over the authenticity of that Norman masonry, what is more certain is the 13th century porch and 15th century nave. The slate covered spire was added in the late 19th century. The church is one of the most isolated and peaceful in the land and is a challenge to reach for the less fit (the path from Yearner Mill Lane descends some 110 metres). The churchyard sits tightly squeezed into the narrow valley and there is some restriction on photographic angles as a result, but it is probably one of the more photographed churches in Somerset.


The Records

Register No Covering Dates Deposited With Register Style Quality Standard Comments
1 27th April 1755 - 24th April 1764 and 1st January 1789 - 26th March 1808 Somerset Heritage Centre - Reference - D/P/cul/2/1/4 Standard preprinted and self-numbered Marriage register with 4 entries per page Grade 2 Register - not a perfect read but with a low likelihood of misreads None
2 8th April 1765 - 21st May 1785 Somerset Heritage Centre - Reference - D/P/cul/2/1/2 Plain, unruled book, a continuation of the extant composite register in contravention of Hardwicke's segregation & wording requirements Grade 2 Register - not a perfect read but with a low likelihood of misreads The entries are rather chaotically located through this register raising a possibility of an accidental omission
3 26th August 1818 - 26th March 1836 Somerset Heritage Centre - Reference - D/P/cul/2/1/3 Standard Rose style preprinted and prenumbered Marriage register Grade 1 Register - Few issues noted and a low likelihood of misreads None


Oare St Mary
Porlock St Dubritius
Oare St Mary
Porlock St Dubritius
Porlock St Dubritius

1760 1770 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830

Register Reference Date Groom Forename Groom Surname Groom Status Groom Abode Bride Forename Bride Surname Bride Status Bride Abode
27/04/1755 John BUSTIN     Elizabeth RINDLE Single  
05/01/1759 Walter THORN   Brendon, Devon Joan KINGDON Single  
16/04/1759 John GOSS   East Anstey, Devon Elizabeth LEWIS Single  
24/04/1762 Gregory BARNES   Brendon, Devon Christian KINDON Single  
24/04/1764 William BROOMHAM   Brendon, Devon Grace KINDON Single  
08/04/1765 William MOGGRIDGE     Mary PHELPS    
31/05/1766 George POPE     Ann BARICK    
17/09/1768 William KINDON     Alice PHELPS    
05/06/1770 John DUNN     Mary BURGES    
30/05/1772 William KINDON     Susanna FLOYDE    
10/02/1774 John SHOPLAND     Joanna TERRELL    
11/08/1774 William BURGES     Joan BUSTIN    
01/06/1776 John LEWIS     Sarah TAYLOR    
24/05/1779 Nicholas SNOW     Mary LODY    
15/04/1780 John PAUL     Sarah ADDICOTT    
17/12/1782 Thomas BALE     Mary FRY    
26/09/1784 William FARTHING   Porlock Betty BINDON    
24/10/1784 Richard LODY     Grace TERRELL    
06/03/1785 William WARD     Mary RAWLE    
21/05/1785 Edward RAWLE     Mary KINDON    
01/01/1789 David RIDLER   Porlock Elizabeth WEBBER Single  
13/09/1789 John BAKER   Minehead Heaster BUSTIN Single  
02/04/1791 John REED   Luccombe Joan STRADFELL Single  
07/04/1794 John BUSTIN Single   Mary KELLY Single  
14/04/1794 George MAY Single   Charity HARDEN Single  
07/02/1796 Charles PAUL Widower   Mary LEY Single  
16/05/1796 John FLOYDE Widower   Alice BURGESS Single  
16/07/1802 Thomas WHITE Single Cutcombe Jane WEDLAKE Single  
11/03/1804 George POPE Widower   Elizabeth BROMHAM Widow  
26/03/1808 John ELLIS Single   Mary FRY   Porlock
1 26/08/1818 William ELLIS Single   Isabella BREWER Single  
2 24/09/1822 James WESTCOMBE Single   Grace HOWARD Single  
3 13/03/1823 William SIDERFIN Single Selworthy Diana GROVES Single  
4 11/02/1824 Charles POCOCK Single   Elizabeth RED Single  
5 13/11/1827 James PEARSE Single Barnstaple, Devon Joanna WIDGERY Single  
6 31/12/1828 Robert VENN Single Exford Elizabeth HOBBS Single  
7 26/03/1831 John HOBBS Single   Jane TAYLOR Single  
8 15/09/1832 Robert TAYLOR Single   Ann JONES Widow Porlock
9 18/08/1833 William BURNELL Widower   Ann CRICK Single  
10 12/10/1833 Edward RIDGE Single Shirwell, Devon Elizabeth RIDGE Widow  
11 15/11/1834 Abraham SPARK Single Luccombe Grace REDD Single  
12 07/02/1835 John ALLOWAY Single   Joan KINGDON Single  
13 26/03/1836 William RIDLER     Elenor HUNT    

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