England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Timberscombe St Petrock

The Parish

The parish of Timberscombe lies in the northern part of western Somerset quite close to its Bristol Channel coast. Timberscombe is located about 2 miles southwest of the coastal village of Dunster. Timberscombe is a small and compact village situated on the A396 road which connects Dunster onwards to the Devon market town of Tiverton, Timberscombe is largely tucked away from the A road in a side valley off that of the River Avill which the road follows. The landscape is deeply incised hereabouts forming the lower slopes of Exmoor. The area would have largely been employed in a mixture of pastoral farming and quarrying of the local stone. The Avill drains the parish along with its small tributary which rushes steeply down from local hills to join it; the Avill has only a short journey to reach the Bristol Channel at Dunster. Timberscombe is sited at around 80 metres above sea level whilst local heights rise rapidly to top 360 metres to the southeast on Croydon Hill, whilst 4 miles west sits Dunkery Beacon at 519 metres. Parishes in west Somerset, being largely upland, are larger than their counterparts to the east of the county and Timberscombe parish was no exception, it covered just over 1,400 acres and would have supported around 470 parishioners. In Domesday Book Timberscombe was held by one Roger Arundel and could offer just 2 ploughs but extensive meadows and woodlands, a small place indeed.

The Church

St Petrock's church (other sources than Pevsner state it as dedicated to St Michael) sits in the south of the parish on the western side of the steeply rising Church Street. Much of the church is in the Perpendicular style of the 14th to 16th centuries whilst the western tower is later. The tower base is dateable to 1708 but the curious little pyramidal steeple was added in the 19th century. The church merits little comment from Pevsner except to note the "pretty" windows and to praise the rood screen. The site is elevated above the level of the village centre, a flight of steps climbs from there to the churchyard whilst a second gated entrance is at the higher end on Church Street. The site is open and unobstructed for photography.