England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thorne St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Thorne St Margaret lies in southwestern Somerset forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Devon. Thorne St Margaret is located a little over 3 miles west of the market town of Wellington and sits just under 2 miles north of the A38 road which links Wellington through to Exeter. Thorne St Margaret is a tiny place, sitting atop a little hill overlooking the River Tone, here canalised as part of the Great Western Canal from Taunton to Tiverton, with most properties sitting around a three-way junction holding church and a few farms and cottages. To the north lies a subsidiary settlement at Wellisford closer to the course of the Tone. Like many parishes in this area Thorne St Margaret would have largely earned its living from pastoral farming, a network of small pastures separated by thick hedging giving the landscape a characteristic quality. The canalisation of the Tone brought a trace of modern development to the otherwise quiet and rural parish. The Tone drains the parish eastwards through Taunton, eventually meeting the Parrett and the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Bridgwater. Thorne St Margaret is sited at around 110 metres above the sea with its knoll rising to almost 140 metres a little to the south in rolling countryside. Thorne St Margaret parish was a relatively small one, covering barely 900 acres it would have supported only a population of just under 150 parishioners. In Domesday times Thorne St Margaret was not mentioned but Wellisford was a holding of Count Robert of Mortain offering a pair of ploughs plus meadows, woodland & pastures.

The Church

St Margaret's church sits at the junction that forms the notional centre of Thorne St Margaret, today's church appears to be of two distinct ages but that would be simplistic as Pevsner detects a 12th century Norman Romanesque door-head internally which was re-cut during 14th century work to the ogee design of that period. Also of that 14th century date and Perpendicular in style one finds the western tower of two-stages. The remainder of the church would not be recognised by the participants in this transcript as the main body was rebuilt in 1865 replacing what was presumably a medieval version at the time of this transcript. The lane passing the church has sufficient width and verge for careful parking, the churchyard is thickly hedged to the east and walled in local stone from the south with arched metal gates for entry. The church sits well above road height in a churchyard which has few obstacles for the photographer.