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

The Parish

The parish of Shepton Montague lies in southeastern Somerset not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Shepton Montague sits just under 4 miles northwest of the small market town of Wincanton and sits a half mile east of the A359 road which links Yeovil through to Frome. Shepton Montague has two distinct groups of properties, a smaller settlement sits close by to the church whilst the main portion of the village is a little over a half mile west of there and closer to the A359. The main lane, carrying the name "Cattle Hill", is indicative of the nature of farming in the area, many pastures abound albeit early gazetteers estimate that pastoral and arable methods were roughly equal in acreage. Modern developments came and went from Shepton Montague, a branch railway line connecting Wincanton to the main London to Yeovil line passed trhough to the east but has since closed. Shepton Montague is drained northwestwards by a small tributary of the River Brue which is soon joined to the west of Bruton, the Brue trends west and northwest to meet the outer Bristol Channel through Highbridge. Shepton Montague is sited on a sloping site, the church at 60 metres whilst the main village is some 20 metres higher, the area is rolling in nature with the local high point of Bratton Hill at 184 metres standing proud above all else. Shepton Montague parish was larger than some lowland parishes at just over 2,400 acres within which would have been supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Shepton Montague was held by the ubiquitous Count Robert of Mortain and was a relatively wealthy holding offering 8 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland but also held 2 mills.

The Church

As already mentioned St Peter sits roughly a half mile away from its village to its east. Sadly much of the dating detail for St Peter was lost during a tragic fire in 1964 which gutted the church and resulted in the necessity to demolish the Early English Gothic 13th century chancel, a significant loss. Counter-intuitively some evidence was found indicating an early church on the site from the 12th century Norman Romanesque era, not previously suspected for the church, these fragments have been re-set in the eastern wall. The church's centrepiece is, however, the unusually place tower which sits to the south above the porch, a Perpendicular piece of 2 stages albeit Pevsner believed the bell-openings to be 17th century additions. Following the fire the interior was entirely reconstructed with a low-pitched roof and western gallery, a welcome resurrection of, at least, part of the church's former glory. A small parking area to the south of the churchyard permits a leisurely visit, the local stone walling has metal gates for entry and the churchyard has few obstacles to worry the photographer.