England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
South Hinksey St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of South Hinksey lies in the extreme north of western Berkshire, indeed it formed part of the ancient counties' border with neighbouring Oxfordshire. In 1974 this part of Berkshire was transferred to Oxfordshire during that year's Local Government Reorganisation. South Hinksey is a small and compact village which sits butted up against the extremely busy Oxford bypass (A34) which makes the western portion of the village noisy indeed. The village does retain an air of the village despite new housing and the proximity of both major road and the nearby city of oxford itself which lies just over a mile to the north. South Hinksey sits on the western banks of the Hinksey Stream, a small tributary of the nearby Thames which separates it from Oxfordshire and the city. The river pastures would have provided the living for the village at the time of this transcript. The Hinksey Stream drains southeastwards to join the Thames a couple of miles further on and this of course drains through London to the North Sea. South Hinksey is sited at around 60 metres above sea level but land rises to twice that height once out of the valleys to the west. By Berkshire standard South Hinksey was a rather small parish, it covered barely 600 acres yet supported a population of around 150 parishioners. There is no specific mention of South Hinksey in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Lawrence's church is almost enclosed within a triangle of roads which form the southern end of the village. The church is largely a study in the Early English style and most of the fabric is datable to the 13th century. The church follows the standard model of nave, chancel and western tower, the latter being quite stubby. The only exception to the 13th century work is that of the chancel which was restored and rebuilt as part of a Georgian period restoration. The main access is off the western side of the site from Parker Road where a pair of wooden gates grants access, there are other footways in from St Lawrence Road. The churchyard has numerous trees and these largely prevent adequate photographic angles making for a difficult church to adequately photograph.