England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Raddington St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Raddington lies in the extreme west of Somerset, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Devon. Raddington is located about 10 miles northwest of the market town of Wellington. There is not much to modern day Raddington, and it seems to have always been so, just a scatter of farms and cottages along the sides of a deeply incised small valley. Raddington sits in lanes about 2 miles north of the B3227 road which connects Wiveliscombe with the large Devon village of Bampton. Today, as in the past, pastoral farming dominates the landscape for the few parishioners. Raddington is drained, along its small valley, by a small tributary of the River Batherm heading southwestwards; the Batherm joins the Exe to the south of Bampton and reaches the English Channel through the port of Exeter. Raddington at around 180 metres above the sea with local heights rising to over 320 metres on the nearby Haddon Hills, the landscape is deeply incised with swift flowing brooks running off upland pastures. Raddington parish, despite its upland setting was fairly typically sized for the area, it covered just over 1,300 acres and supported a population of just over 100 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Raddington in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Michael's church sits alone in fields some 30 metres above the village on a hillside accessible only on foot by footpaths. A plain and simple Perpendicular church consisting of nave, chancel and western tower in the familiar design. There is little externally to merit a long description from Pevsner whose sole interest is in the intact, if damaged, rood screen which has been dated to the 14th century, being slightly earlier than much of the external fabric. This probably indicates an earlier church which was extensively rebuilt in the Perpendicular era. Perhaps its remoteness and small congregation also prevented much of the Victorian restorations leaving the building in its present form. Two tracks lead to the church, rising from the main lane along the valley or descending from Churchill Lane, the latter being shorter, the former having small parking areas. The churchyard is reasonably open albeit the tower is rather crowded in by trees at the western end.