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

The Parish

The chapelry of Williton, its mother parish being St Decumans, lies in western Somerset roughly 8 miles southeast of the coastal resort of Minehead. Williton sits on the A39 road which links Minehead with Bridgwater. Whilst Williton is a substantial town its parish church was not licensed for marriages for most of the transcript period only becoming so in 1829, all other marriages for the town being recorded in St Decumans. Williton is a crossroads settlement sitting where the A39 meets the A358 arriving from Taunton, most properties lie either side of these two roads with modern infill between. Williton is the administrative capital for West Somerset and a small market town with the functions expected in such a settlement, a market and specialist trades. Modern developments arrived at the town with the arrival of the railway from Taunton to Minehead, after the line was closed it has reopened as a heritage steam-line, The West Somerset Railway, with a station at Williton's northeastern corner. Williton is drained the short distance to the outer Bristol Channel by the Doniford Stream which reaches the sea just east of Watchet. The acreage assigned to Williton chapelry from the wider St Decumans parish is unclear but appears to cover little more than the town, itself, which would have supported a population of close to 1,300 parishioners. Whilst Williton has a Domesday entry as held by King William it clearly refers to the region rather than the individual manor.

The Church

St Peter's church sits southwest of the town on the lane which leaves the town's Bridge Street and stands amongst pastures and woodland. The core of this building is late medieval but neither Pevsner nor Historic England venture a date as to its origin. Both nave and chancel are in the Perpendicular style of what is probably 15th century. Pevsner is more forthcoming on the western doorway which he places either to the 15th or 16th centuries. Much of the reason for the lack of dating detail is as a result of the extensive enlargement which occurred during Georgian and Victorian times which turned a simple structure into a large 3 gabled building. In 1810 the southern aisle was added re-using 16th century flat-headed windows. This enlargement was followed in 1856 - 1859 by the creation of the northern aisle which also included the creation of the western front to the church. The result of all of this enlargement is a building which superficially appears Victorian. There are ample verges around the church for parking, the churchyard has a low post & rail fence with metal gates for entry. The main obstacle for the photographer is close buildings to the south which removes all of the favoured aspects, all other angles are readily available and unobstructed.