England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Compton St Mary & St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Compton sits in west central Berkshire about 7 miles northeast of the large market town of Newbury. Compton is a large village spread across the chalk downlands sitting in lanes about 2 miles east of the busy A34 dual carriageway road which connects Newbury with Oxford. At the time of this transcript Compton would have largely earned its living from sheep rearing on the extensive chalk pastures of the Berkshire Downs; today Compton is an important centre for horse racing stables, those pastures making for excellent gallops, and also is home to the Agricultural Research Council Field Station where testing of new varieties of agricultural plants is taking place. The arrival of the Field Station has led to many new developments to Compton which is a growing village. Compton is drained southwards by the infant River Pang, albeit near the village the valley is dry on the porous soils, which heads south and then east to join the Thames at Pangbourne thence through the capital to the North Sea through the Thames Estuary. Compton is sited at around 100 metres above the sea and sits within a dry valley surrounded by rolling downs, local heights rise to over 180 metres a couple of miles east. Compton parish was a larger parish than many in the county but fairly typically sized for the Berkshire Downs, it covered around 3,600 acres and would have supported a population of around 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Compton was shared by King William with one Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, the parish could offer 15 ploughs, small meadows and no fewer than 13 swine render.

The Church

St Mary & St Nicholas' church sits to the east of the village on the northern side of the lane leading to Aldworth. Whilst the church has its origins in the 13th century only the western tower survives from that period. Pevsner points out the southern window and staircase projection as being of that date but also states that other details are Perpendicular in style and probably 15th century. The remainder of the church was largely rebuilt in Victorian times (1850) and most of the fabric dates from that period. A northern aisle was added in the early 20th century to complete today's church. The church sits behind a low brick wall with entry gained through a lychgate, the eastern end is rather crowded with trees but other angles are available for photography without impediment.