England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ruishton St George

The Parish

The parish of Ruishton lies in southwestern Somerset about 2 miles east of the town of Taunton. Ruishton, much grown in recent times, lies just north of the A358 road which connects Taunton with Ilminster. At the time of this transcript Ruishton was a small, riverside village with fields separating it from its larger neighbour. Today not only has Taunton spread eastwards with only the barrier of the M5 motorway keeping it from joining up but also Ruishton has been enlarged by modern housing developments into a desirable suburb of the nearby town. Ruishton sits on the southern banks of the River Tone, which was navigable at this point, river traffic thus enhanced the farming economy which was largely pastoral exploiting the rich water-meadows of the Tone's floodplain. Modern developments in abundance have come to Ruishton, the Tone was an canalisation quickly followed by the Great Western Railway's line from London to the southwest which passes to Ruishton's north. In more recent times the M5 motorway has carved through between Ruishton & Taunton stimulating urban growth. The Tone drains the parish eastwards joining the Parrett and turning north to reach the sea through the port of Bridgwater and to the outer Bristol Channel. Ruishton is sited at just 10 metres above the sea in its valley setting, outside the valley land rises to local hills reaching close to 100 metres. Somerset parishes are often small in extent and Ruishton was one of those, covering a little over 1,050 acres it would have supported a population of just under 500 parsishioners. Ruishton is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St George's church sits almost on the banks of the Tone at the northern edge of the village. Whilst remnants of a Norman Romanesque southern doorway from the late 12th century still exist the remainder of the church is a construct of 14th and 15th centuries. Curiously the chancel is out of alignment with the nave and this may be indicative of two distinct phases of build. Certainly there are both Decorated style features and also late Perpendicular styles too present. The only certain dates are given by documented bequests for construction of the Perpendicular style western tower which run from 1530 to 1535, rather late for the era. For once Pevsner does not mention a major Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light and sensitive. Church Lane is a short dead-end lane running north from the main street, it turns right at the end into Drake's Close where a small parking bay may be found. The rather compact churchyard is elevated above road level and accessed up a flight of steps through wooden gates. The compact churchyard has many trees making the better views from outside despite the challenge of so much foliage.