England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Avington St Mark & St Luke

The Parish

The parish of Avington lies in the extreme southwest of Berkshire, not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire and also close to, but slightly further away, the border with Hampshire. Avington is located about 2 miles east of the market town of Hungerford and sits a quarter mile south of the A4 road which connects Hungerford with Newbury and thence to London. Avington is little more than a hamlet sitting on the banks of the River Kennet, it undoubtedly functioned as a "closed" parish with most land held by a single landholder who restricted in-migration, hence no defined village developed. Farming would have been the predominant economic activity, the proximity of the water-meadows of the Kennet granting grazing as well the typical arable setup of this area. Modern developments have come to this sleepy rural place, firstly the Kennet & Avon Canal and later Brunel's Great Western Railway both forged their way along the Kennet valley on the journeys from Bristol to London. TVhe Kennet drains the parish eastwards, passing through Newbury and joining the Thames at Reading before passing through the capital to the North Sea. Avington is sited at around 90 metres above the sea, outside its valley setting land rises to almost 150 both to north & south in gently undulating terrain. Avington parish was small by Berkshire standards, covering just over 1,100 acres it would have supported just 100 parishioners. In Domesday times Avington, held by one Richard Poynent, was a typical small rural holding offering 6 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland but did possess a mill on the Kennet.

The Church

St Mark & St Luke's church sits at the southern end of the short lane running south from the A4 to the cluster of farms making up modern day Avington. The church is a rare survival from the Norman Romanesque period of the immediate post-Conquest era. It is highly unusual in both not being rebuilt in the 14th century and also in not receiving a major Victorian restoration. The result is a survival rare in this country which causes Pevsner to wax lyrical about the features which survive. He is full of praise for the chancel arch, despite its sagging nature, which shows scallop capitals, zigzag motifs and is decoration of open-mouthed beasts. A few additions date from the Early English Gothic period, the eastern and northern doorways and a single window are dated to the 13th century nut for once all was left relatively lightly touched since that date. At the end of the lane some parking may be found, a footpath runs eastwards passing the entrance to the churchyard. The church is rather hemmed in by trees, particularly a spectacularly ancient cedar, but they do impede the better angle from the southeast removing that for photographers.