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

The Parish

The parish of Podimore (also known as Podimore Milton) lies in south central Somerset quite close to its border with neighbouring Dorset. Podimore is situated about 5 miles north of the market town of Yeovil. Podimore is a small and compact crossroads village which formerly sat on the A303 (Andover to Exeter) road but this busy route now passes on a bypass to the north. Podimore is largely built around the former crossroads with a southward headed lane. Podimore's economy would have largely been dominated by pastoral farming, the village sits on a low ridge between the valley of the Rivers Yeo & Cary and pastures would have predominated except on the highest ground. Small streams drain the parish into the Cary's catchment this river headed northwestwards through the Somerset Levels to reach the Bristol Channel to the north of Bridgwater. Podimore is sited at around 20 metres above sea level but land rises along the route of the A303 to the east of the village. Parishes in southern Somerset are almost all rather small, even so Podimore is one of the smaller, it covered just under 1,000 acres and supported a population of just under 150 parishioners. In Domesday time Podimore was held by Glastonbury Abbey and could offer just 6 ploughs along with meadows and pastures.

The Church

St Peter's church sits on the western side of the southward running lane, Church Street, and it is set back slightly from that lane. The church is largely built in the Decorated style and Pevsner dates the building to the early 14th century. The church follows the traditional arrangement of nave, chancel and western tower, the tower is its most interesting feature in being octagonal in its higher parts. The church is accessed at the southern end of the site by a gravel track with a metal gate leading into the churchyard. The site is reasonably open and there are few restrictions to photography.