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

The Parish

The parish of Fawley lies in western Berkshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Fawley is a small and compact village lying roughly 5 miles south of the market town of Wantage and sitting a half mile west of the A338 road which connects Wantage with Hungerford. The parish name of Fawley actually refers to two small villages, Fawley, itself, formally Great (or North) Fawley and South Fawley which, of course, lies just under a mile further south. Both villages sit deep within the Berkshire Downs, an area of chalk hills in which sheep rearing would once have been the dominant farming activity. Today the landscape has changed markedly with the advent of modern machines and fertilisers cereal production has claimed these hills. A local trade which still flourishes utilising turf is that of horse race training and the Fawleys are surrounded by gallops retaining something of the former Berkshire Downs landscape. The porous chalk does not permit surface drainage close to the villages but the A338 follows a dry valley southwards and water is reached where this meets the River Lambourn, that river joins the Kennet at Newbury and eventually the Thames to flow though the capital to the North Sea. Fawley is sited at around 180 metres above the sea but chalk downs rise to the escarpment followed by the Ridgeway trail reaching close to 240 metres. Fawley parish was fairly small for this chalk country, covering just under 2,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. In Domesday time both villages were recorded, Fawley as a holding of Amesbury Abbey whilst Little Fawley was held by King William, himself. Collectively their assets totalled 9 ploughs together with some small meadows.

The Church

The church in which these marriages occurred no longer exists, the medieval "rustic-looking" of that era having been demolished and removed from the landscape. Today's St Mary sits on the northern side of a dead-end lane leading onto the downs. Built in the mid-1860s in an unusual French Gothic style, based upon 13th century French examples, St Mary resembles almost a fantasy church from a Disney production. Financed by one Blanche Wroughton as a memorial to her late husband its style is incongruous to the area undoubtedly. The unusually placed southeastern tower and chancel complete with apse are also idiosyncratic. Whilst the lane is narrow sufficient space is left given its tranquility for parking on the verge. The site is surrounded by a low brick wall topped with stone and with wooden gates for entry. The churchyard is open & uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.