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

The Parish

The parish of Poulshot lies in western central Wiltshire about 4 miles southwest of the market town of Devizes. Poulshot is a long straggle of a village built along an extensive length of lane leading south from the A361 road which connects Devizes with Trowbridge. The Kennet & Avon canal and its famous Caen Hill lock-flight lies just beyond the northern limits of Poulshot parish. The area would have been largely used for farming at the time of this transcript with pastoral farming predominating, a more mixed regime exists today. Poulshot is drained westwards by the Summerham Brook, a small tributary of the Avon with which it shortly joins before reaching the Bristol Channel through the Avon Gorge. Poulshot is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in an area of gently undulating land local heights reach barely 80 metres or so within striking distance of the village. Poulshot parish was rather small for this area of Wiltshire, covering just over 1,500 acres it would have supported a population of about 360 parishioners. In Domesday times Poulshot was much more significant, held directly by King William it held an impressive 50 ploughs, meadows, pastures & woodland plus 2 mills making for a wealthy and heavily taxed place, indeed.

The Church

St Peter's church sits almost at the southern end of the village and is accessed by a small dead-end lane from a sharp bend in Poulshot Road, a small parking area lies just outside the gates. The building has early origins albeit not much remains of the earliest period. Pevsner identifies the capitals of the aisles as belonging to circular piers and hence dates them to the 12th century. From the 13th century comes windows within the chancel whereas the arcades he dates to the 14th. Much else is in the Perpendicular style and hence 15th century. The exception is the western tower with its pyramidal roof which dates from 1853. The church sits next to a farm behind a low local stone wall and is accessed by a pair of metal gates from its lane. The churchyard is mainly uncluttered and has few restrictions to photography.