England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Boxford St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Boxford lies in western Berkshire quite close to its borders with neighbouring Wiltshire & Hampshire. Boxford is a small compact village built either side of a bridge over the River Lambourn and situated about 4 miles northwest of the market town of Newbury. Boxford sits in lane about 2 miles north of the A4 which runs from Newbury to Hungerford and a mile south of the modern M4. There are two distinct settlements within the village, each one side of the river, today the western side is the larger. Boxford would have been an agricultural community with arable on the uplands and pastures along the river valley bottom. The Lambourn drains the parish southeastwards, it joins the Kennet at Newbury and the Thames at Reading and thence to the North Sea. Boxford is sited at around 90 metres above sea level in its valley but local heights rise to around 150 metres in the gently undulating landscape. Boxford parish was of a typical size for its area, it covered almost 2,800 acres and supported a population of around 600 parishioners. In Domesday times Boxford was shared between one Humphrey Visdeloup & the abbey at Abingdon, it offered 12 ploughs some meadows and a mill.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits on the eastern side of the River Lambourn tucked slightly away at the junction of the two main lanes leading away from the river. Sadly the church was largely rebuilt by the Victorians in the 1840s and added to by creation of the arcade in the early 20th century. The western tower is dated to the end of the 17th century so little that is mediaeval remains. The building is clearly of little architectural interest although Pevsner does describe the brick framed flint panels as "handsome". The church sits behind a mid-height flint & brick wall and a handsome lych gate grants access. There are many mature trees, notably the large sycamores by the lych gate, which somewhat restrict the best angles for photography.