England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
PItney St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Pitney lies almost centrally within the county of Somerset. Pitney is located roughly 9 miles southwest of the town of Glastonbury and sits a half mile north of the B3153 road which links Somerton with Langport. Pitney was anciently formed of two distinct manors and that legacy remains today with the village still consisting of two separated settlement clusters, the western end of Pitney House carries the church whilst east by a little under a half mile sits a further compact small village, both form Pitney. Like most Somerset parishes in this area pastoral farming formed the mainstay of the local economy, here it was supplemented by quarrying of the local "Lias" stone which was largely used for local building work, including in its church, and also for footpaths and pavements. Modern developments have come to the parish, Isambard Brunel's Great Western railway line from London to the southwest passes through the south of the parish without granting Pitney a station. Pitney sits on a peninsula of higher ground between the courses of both the River Cary and River Parrett with both joining to the west before flowing though, as the Parrett, the town of Bridgwater to the outer Bristol Channel. Pitney is sited at arund 30 metres above the sea, the peninsula reaches a local high spot of almost 100 metres on Sedgemoor Hill to the northwest at High Ham. Pitney parish was fairly typically sized for this area at around 1,300 acres within which it would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. In Domesday times Pitney was a tiny place indeed, held directly by King William it could muster just a single plough together with some meadows & woodland.

The Church

As already mentioned St John's church sits within the western community of Pitney House and is almost the westernmost property in that settlement sitting adjacent to the village hall. Whilst the original church here was medieval, little remains of that early church beyond its western tower which is relatively untouched by Victorian replacement. Only the western tower and southern transept remain as memorials of early work both being Perpendicular in style and probably 14th century. The upper stages of the tower were added later, Pevsner assigns them to the 15th century albeit they are still in that Perpendicular style. The main core of the church was rebuilt in Victorian times in two distinct phases; the chancel came first being replaced in 1853 but that was followed some 20 years later by the replacement of the nave. Pevsner remarks also that the interior is also "thoroughly Victorian" reflecting the large degree of restoration that has occurred. A small parking area is shared with the village hall and leads to the churchyard which is surrounded by a mixture of local Lias stone walls and wrought iron railings. With the single exception of a prominent tree along the south face the church is available from most aspects for the photographer.