England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wilton St George

The Parish

The parish of Wilton lies in southwestern Somerset just a half mile southwest of the county town of Taunton. Wilton sits on the route of the A38 road as it leaves Taunton headed onward to Wellington & Exeter. Wilton is nowadays an integral part of the greater urban area of Taunton, an urban area of three parts divided by the rivers and streams of the area, Wilton & its satellite communities of Galmington & Sherford form the southwestern portion & a major area of Taunton's suburbs. Home to the Council Offices, Hospital and colleges of education Wilton rightly should be seen as just an area of the town. At the time of this transcript Wilton would still have been a farming community, lying close to the northward running stream that partially separates it from Taunton, even today, the water-meadows of that stream would have provided rich grazing to supplement the more mixed farming economy of the wider area. The River Tone forms the northern boundary of the parish and that river drains northeastwards to meet the Parrett and thence to the Bristol Channel through the port of Bridgwater. Wilton is sited at around 20 metres above the sea with land rising only gently to nearby Cotlake Hill topping out at 70 metres. Even by the standards of its county Wilton parish occupied a small acreage, covering just under 750 acres it would nevertheless have supported a population of close to 800 parishioners, a true sign of the over-spill from greater Taunton. Wilton is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book, it presumably being included within the return for its much larger neighbour.

The Church

St George's church sits on the eastern edge of Wilton about a quarter mile south of the A38 and sitting on the unusually name "Fons George". The church has origins belied by its outward appearance which shows the Perpendicular style of the late 14th century. Forensic work by Pevsner, however, finds tiny traces of Saxon long-and-short work in the western wall of the northern aisle, a find which places the church's origins back to the time of the Conquest, if not before. Further traces show within the equivalent southern wall's quoining. The present layout as revealed must have been substantially complete by the 13th century. The rebuild which gave the Perpendicular exterior is one of many to have occurred, further earlier work followed in either the late 15th or early 16th centuries whilst the Victorian involvement happened in 3 distinct waves; firstly the chancel was rebuilt in 1837, the western tower in 1853 and the southern porch in 1870. Fons George is narrow but leads to a paying car park convenient for an extended visit. The churchyard, surrounded by a variable height brick wall has a neat lychgate for entrance at the western end. Whilst the landscape view is open from the southeast, the church sits tight to the western end of the churchyard - the better views of that western tower are from across the lane.