England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Skilgate St John

The Parish

The parish of Skilgate lies in the far west of Somerset forming part of the border with neighbouring Devon. Skilgate is located almost 4 miles northeast of the small Devon market town of Bampton and sits just over a mile east of the B3190 road which connects Bampton across the Haddon & Brendon Hills to Watchet on the coast. Skilgate is a small and compact village sitting on the steeply sloping sides of a deeply incised valley within the Haddon Hills with most properties gathered around a triangle of lanes rising from the stream. An upland region with pastoral farming the dominant activity, the parish would have exploited both cattle & sheep on those pastures. Ski;gate is drained southwards by its stream which gathers force as the Ben Brook before reaching the River Bathern at Shillingford, the latter joins the Exe to the south of Bampton and thence to the English Channel through Exeter and the Exe estuary. Skilgate is sited at around 230 metres above the sea with land rising steeply to the crest of the Haddon Hills immediately north, summitting at 355 metres a mile or two to the northwest. Skilgate parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering close to 2,100 acres it would have supported a population of around 250 parishioners. In Domesday times Skilgate was an unequally small place, a holding of one Roger Arundel it could offer just 2 ploughs, the usual meadows, pastures and woodland but there was a mill.

The Church

St John's church sits to the north of most village properties in a steeply sloping site. Whilst the church is undoubtedly medieval in origin only the western tower survives following extensive rebuild of the main body of the church in 1872. The tower is of the medieval period with some uncertainty around its dating, Pevsner is uncommitted as to 13th or 14th century whilst the National Historic Buildings listing goes for the latter century. Everything east of the tower was rebuilt in 1872 albeit reusing some of the original materials, some windows show styles such as lancets which may be indicative of the style of the original medieval church. Further work was necessitated in recent times when in 1972 a further restoration took place.Parking in the narrow lanes around the church is tricky and folk should show courtesy and consideration in doing so. The churchyard has thick hedging to the road and several wooden gates granting entry, the steeply sloping site gives its own issues for the photographer but there are few other obstacles.