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

The Parish

The parish of Lydeard St Lawrence lies in western Somerset about 8 miles northwest of the county town of Taunton. Lydeard St Lawrence is a small and compact village which sits, in lanes, about 2 miles west of the A358 road which connects taunton with the A39 at Williton. Much of Lydeard St Lawrence is built along an "L" shape of lanes across a pair of shallow valleys. At the time of this transcript the economy of the parish would have largely been underpinned by pastoral farming, with some orchards for variety, little has changed today except for an increase in arable farming with the advent of heavy machinery on the land. Lydeard St Lawrence is drained southeastwards by the Back Stream which joins the Tone to the west of Taunton, the latter joins the Parrett within the Levels and reaches the Bristol Channel through the port of Bridgwater. Lydeard St Lawrence is sited at around 110 metres above the sea and sits on rising ground, the earliest outliers of nearby Exmoor, land rises steadily westwards to reach almost 280 metres on nearby Willett Hill. Lydeard St Lawrence parish was fairly typically sized for its area, it covered almost 2,700 acres and would have supported a population of almost 650 parishioners. In Domesday times Lydeard St Lawrence was held by the Bishop of Winchester, a small place of just 5 ploughs together with meadows, woodland & pastures.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits at the heart of the village on the western side of the main north to south running lane. The church is an example of those buildings which began in the late Decorated style and evolved through the building phase into the later Perpendicular style. The earliest portion of most churches is the chancel arch and here it marks the divide between the two fashions. The chancel is typically Decorated in style with reticulated & flowing tracery; the remainder of the building is later and Perpendicular . The presence of these two styles would indicate a building period covering most of the 14th century. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if one did occur it must have been light & sympathetic. The church is set back from the road behind thick hedging with a gated entrance granting entry to what is an uncluttered churchyard with no obstacles for photography.