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

The Parish

The parish of Hornblotton lies in southeastern Somerset roughly 4 miles northwest of the small market town of Castle Cary. Hornblotton sits southeast of the A37 road, which follows on a dead straight course the ancient Roman route of Fosse Way. which links Shepton Mallet with Ilchester. Hornblotton is a dispersed settlement scattered across the flat terrain, a notional hub is that of Hornblotton Green where a few properties lie either side of lane leading from the A37 towards Lovington. Even the church stands almost alone with just the rectory for company and closer to the A37 than to Hornblotton Green. The area is criss-crossed by many small streams which create good pasture for the local specialist, dairy cattle, a few arable patches decorate the occasional drier patch. Hornblotton is drained southwards by the River Altham but in  a few short miles it meets the Brue and water turns westwards, once out amongst the Somerset Levels the Brue becomes heavily man-made as part of drainage schemes before reaching the outer Bristol Channel through Highbridge. Hornblotton is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in generally flattish terrain, local high spots only breach the 100 metres contour several miles to the north at Pennard Hill where the summit reaches 126 metres. Somerset has many small parishes and Hornblotton was one of these, covering just over 1,100 acres it would have supported barely 100 parishioners. Whilst Hornblotton has a Domesday Boom entry it is a regional entry and not specific to this tiny settlement.

The Church

St Peter's church is reached by a roughly surfaced track leading northwards from Easton Town Lane, at the churchyard there is a compact parking area to the northeast. The medieval church has been demolished, it was described by Glynne as "small & mean", and today's church built to the east of the original and completed in 1874, thus it was not the venue for these few marriages. Whilst a modern construction the builders certainly did a fine job in creating a neat and picturesque small country church in what Pevsner terms as a "vernacular eclecticism". Pevsner is much taken with the church which he views as more in the Sussex style than that of Somerset. The tile-hung belfry at the western end is reminiscent of many Sussex Wealden churches. The main body is built in the local marl-stone but with limestone dressings. The interior is also markedly different with the newly fashionable "Arts & Crafts" applied to a religious setting. Whilst the churchyard is compact and bordered with a thick belt of trees there is just enough room to encompass the building from all of the favoured aspects.