England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Freshford St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Freshford lies in the extreme northeast of Somerset forming a stretch of the historical border with Wiltshire, matters have changed since 1974 when Freshford was moved administratively into the latter county. Freshford is located roughly 5 miles south east of Bath and 3 miles west of the Wiltshire town of Bradford on Avon. Freshford sits just under a mile east of the A36 road which links Bath with Warminster on the western banks of the River Frome, a major tributary of the Avon. The village has a rather picturesque site, Pevsner calls it "charming", which climbs the steep slopes of the limestone hills west of the Frome, the earliest portion sitting beside the river but climbing to the site of the church high above. Primarily a farming village dominated by pastoral methods, Freshford also engaged in the local cloth weaving business with the Frome powering several woollen mills in addition there was much exploitation of the local limestone and fuller's earth. Freshford grew in Victorian times as a favoured retreat of wealthy Bath merchants resulting in some fine large houses. Modern developments came firstly with the construction of the Kennet & Avon canal making the notoriously fickle Avon navigable, later the railway line from Bath to Trowbridge followed granting Freshford a station. Freshford sits almost at the confluence of Frome & Avon, the latter passes through Bath & Bristol taking water to the outer Bristol Channel. Freshford's site rises from 30 metres at its crossing of the Frome to over 70 metres in its highest portions, land continues rising northwestwards to reach 152 metres above nearby Hayes Wood. Somerset has many small parishes but at just 563 acres Freshford is one of the smallest, despite that small acreage a population of close to 650 is reported in early gazetteers. Freshford in Domesday times was a rather insignificant small rural settlement held by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances with just 3 ploughs, typical meadows, pastures & woodland but also had a half share in a mill, a foretaste of later times.

The Church

St Peter's church stands high above the Frome on the eastern side of Church Hill, itself a northwestern extension of "The Hill". The church is largely a mixture of the late medieval, funded, no doubt, by the wealth of the woollen & cloth trade with Victorian modifications. Pevsner points to the embattlemented tower with ogee-headed belfry lights as indications of late 15th century origins, of course in the Perpendicular style of that century. It is likely that the much modified nave has its origins too in the 15th century but much is masked by later changes in the 19th. The dating for the low-slung chancel is more available being documented as rebuilt and enlarged totally in the major Victorian work of 1859. The basic body has a northern aisle from 1736 showing very tall windows with mullions typical of that period. All of this work is overlaid by a major overhaul in the middle of the 19th century, the chancel has already been mentioned and other work included the modification of the western doorway into a further window and the addition of today's southern porch. Church Hill is steep & narrow but well-used by locals for parking, often to the detriment of pavement users. The main entrance is where the High Street meets Church Hill where a small wooden gate grants entry. For the photographer the biggest issue with the churchyard is its steep slope dropping away northwest of the church, this has to be used as the southern aspects are removed by trees from the portfolio, a difficult building to adequately photograph.