England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Merriott All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Merriott lies in the extreme south of Somerset roughly 2 miles north of the market town of Crewkerne. Merriott sits just under a half mile west of the A356 road which links Crewkerne through the A303 (London to Exeter) road. Merriott is a large village curiously built around a set of lanes that form the shape of a "D", many properties line each lane and also infill the centre of the village; the shape of the village is determined by that of the little hillock on which it stands above the infant River Parrett, the outer lanes being on a contour with the middle raised and below slopes to the stream. Merriott sits within an area of the county where pastoral farming was pre-eminent, cattle were the main livestock and both dairy and beef herds were found. Traditional Somerset cider orchards are also found within the area and undoubtedly were more prolific during the transcript period. The Parrett rises a little to the south and Merriott had its own brook feeding into that river, the Parrett crossing the extensive Somerset Levels to reach the outer Bristol Channel to the north of Bridgwater. Merriott's parish church stands on the little summit of its hillock at 60 metres above the sea, to the southwest hills rise steeply to the west of Crewkerne topping out at 238 metres at the summit of St Rayn's Hill. Merriott parish covered just under 1,700 acres thus was fairly typically sized for its area, the population of close to 1,450 reflected the richness of this relatively small area. Even in Domesday time Merriott was just sufficiently large enough to be placed in the largest 20% of settlements by population, it was shared between Count Robert of Mortain and one Alnoth's son Harding, its assets of 10 ploughs, substantial meadows & pasture and no fewer then 4 mills reflected its status at that time.

The Church

As mentioned All Saints' church occupies the highest ground within the village and sits on the northern side of Church Street. All Saints' is a product of the late medieval style of Perpendicular but with modifications created during Victorian restorations. The church's stand-out feature is its highly unusual western tower, narrow but broad with in-curving sides and completed by an octagonal stair-turret and topped with a parapet its design is almost certainly unique for the medieval period. Based upon the double-chamfered tower arch Pevsner dates its construction to the late 14th century. Virtually everything of the main body is also contemporaneous with Perpendicular styled windows for the aisles and the same reflected in the piers of the arcades. Much of the eastern end of the church dates from the substantial Victorian restoration of 1862, the 4th bay of the arcades being a Victorian copy of the genuine medieval versions. The triple roofed eastern end is the main product of the restoration. Opposite the church is a substantial car park for church use allowing a leisurely visit, a neat lychgate grants entry to the churchyard which is above road height and reached up a rising flagged path. A few trees line the road and as the church is placed close to that southern edge they do restrict the available angles slightly.