England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Brightwell St Agatha

The Parish

The parish of Brightwell, nowadays merged with neighbouring Sotwell to become Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, lies in norther Berkshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Oxfordshire, the border here being formed by the River Thames. Brightwell is located about 2 1/2 miles west of the market town of Wallingford and sits on the former route of the A4130 road from Wallingford to Didcot, the A4130 now bypasses both Brightwell and Sotwell to their north. Most properties line the former route of the A4130 nowadays Brightwell Street and the twin villages are not discernibly separated, west of Mackney Lane being notionally Brightwell and east is Sotwell. Brightwell is tucked away into a little side valley off the main Thames floodplain and this would have given it both riverside pastures and drier land in which to farm mainly cereals. Brightwell is drained eastwards by a small broom which also passes through Wallingford to meet the Thames, the latter heads eastwards to pass through the capital before reaching the North Sea. Brightwell is sited at between 50 & 60 metres above the sea on land that slopes upwards to the isolated outliers of the Sinoden Hills, topped by ancient hill-forts these hills, standing to Brightwell's northwest reach to a local high point of just over 120 metres. Brightwell parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering just under 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. In Domesday times Brightwell was a holding of the Bishop of Winchester, a more substantial settlement which had a population sufficient to place it amongst the top 20% of settlements recorded in that book, its assets were, however, fairly modest at 13 ploughs albeit it did merit a mill,

The Church

St Agatha's church sits towards the western end of the village and on its southern edge, accessed from the junction of Brightwell Street with Virtue Lane. Like most churches St Agatha received major restoration and modification in later centuries such that much of its early features are as Pevsner puts it "somewhat mutilated". The earliest portion of the church is the southern doorway of the late 12th century and Norman Romanesque in style, also of this style and date one finds the tower arch and the 3-bay southern arcade. The geometric tracery that is found in the northern aisle places it slightly later into the first few years of the Early English Gothic era, Pevsner assigns an estimated date of c1300. Both chancel and nave show the early 14th century style of the Decorated period and this probably represents something of a rebuild of the early church. Later still, in the 15th century and in Perpendicular style, the clerestory was added as was the unusual wooden tympanum. The western tower is the latest part of the main fabric, again a probable rebuild, it dates from 1797 although its style and proportions reflect tastes of at least 50 years earlier. A major Victorian restoration of the 1850s made significant changes whilst a further change in 1888 refaced the southern aisle wall in Bath stone. Most visiting the church seem to park at the triangular area marking the junction and from which a shady path heads diagonally to the church. The churchyard has many trees, some sitting right in the favoured southeastern aspect so some unusual aspects are required by the photographer to adequately record the church.