England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Nempnett Thrubwell St Mary

The Parish

The chapelry of Nempnett Thrubwell, its mother parish being Compton Martin from which it is detached, lies in northern Somerset roughly 10 miles southwest of the Gloucestershire city of Bristol. Nempnett Thrubwell sits a little over 2 miles north of the A368 road which runs along the north edge of The Mendip Hills connecting Weston Super Mare with Bath. Nempnett Thrubwell is a curiously dispersed village, the main centre sits as a nucleated settlement on the slopes above Blagdon Lake whilst subsidiary settlements at West Town and by the church are respectively a half mile west and northeast. A little to Nempnett Thrubwell's east is the much larger reservoir of Chew Valley Lake. The area has a long history of settlement, many Roman roads cross and the chambered Neolithic tomb of Fairy's Foot was notable before the activities of Victorian antiquaries destroyed it. Nempnett Thrubwell's economy would have largely been based upon pastoral farming the local limestone producing soils too thin for pre-industrial arable methods, today the ratio has moved more towards the latter. Small streams drain the chapelry down to the dammed Blagdon Lake formed on the course of the River Yeo, the river downstream heads northwestwards to reach the outer Bristol Channel a few miles north of Weston Super Mare. Nempnett Thrubwell is sited at between 90 metres, at the main settlement, to 140 metres at the hilltop church, the latter point being the highest ground until the Mendip range is met some 3 miles south with heights up to 260 metres. The acreage of the chapelry at just under 1,800 acres is comparable with a typical parish of this area, within that acreage a population of just under 300 parishioners would have been supported. Nempnett Thrubwell is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on a hilltop some half mile northeast of the main village accompanied by a couple of farms and accessed by a rather steep and narrow lane. Whilst St Mary has its origins in Norman times little remains of the 12th century, the plain arched southern doorway is of the 12th century Norman Romanesque style but is the only significant remains of that early church. The building was clearly largely rebuilt in the late 14th or early 15th centuries as the Perpendicular style dominates the remainder, the western tower being a particularly good example of the style, its spirelet which tops the tower was renewed in the 19th century during a couple of Victorian restorations, the first in 1865 tackled the nave roof whilst a more thorough version rebuilt the chancel in the late 1890s in the earlier Decorated style. Whilst the lane passing is narrow there is sufficient room outside the metal gates for a car to safely park without causing blockages. The churchyard, framed in a local limestone wall is open and uncluttered with few obstacles for the photographer.