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

The Parish

{Parish Description}The parish of Marksbury lies in the north of Somerset not too far from its border with neighbouring Gloucestershire. Marksbury is located about 6 miles southwest of the city of Bath and is a substantial village sitting astride the A39 road which connects Bath with Glastonbury. Marksbury sits in undulating countryside on the northern fringes of the Mendip Hills. Marksbury would have had a mixed economy at the time of this transcript, whilst the majority would have been engaged in pastoral farming, the parish sits on the edges of the North Somerset coalfield and there would have been some mining in the area to employ others. Marksbury is drained to the northwest by small tributaries of the River Chew, this joins the Avon at Keynsham and thence the Bristol Channel through the Avon Gorge. Marksbury is sited at around 120 metres above the sea and local heights on Winsbury & Pendown Hills reach 170 metres within a mile of the village. Parish sizes in this area of Somerset are small and Marksbury was no exception, it covered just over 1,400 acres and would have supported a population of around 330 parishioners. In Domesday times marksbury was held by Glastonbury Abbey and was a relatively small place offering 5 plough as well as small meadows & woodland.

The Church

St Peter's church sits alongside the A39 as its winds through the village. The church's origins lie in the 12th century although little if any of that time remains. Much of the fabric dates from the 15th century and reflects a major rebuild during the main church-building era of the Perpendicular style period. Pevsner is fairly scathing of the building stating that it is "no architectural interest" and describing the pinnacles of the tower as "monstrously big". A somewhat unfair description for what is a fairly standard Perpendicular country church of nave, chancel & western tower. ST Peter's is separated from the busy A39 by a low limestone wall with its main entrance formed by an arched metal gateway. The site is fairly open with few restrictions to photography.