England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Shaw cum Donnington St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Shaw cum Donnington lies in southwestern Berkshire immediately north and contiguous with the town of Newbury. The two villages of Shaw and Donnington sit to east and west respectively of the A34 road which links Winchester through Newbury to Oxford. At the time of this transcript both villages were discrete settlements sitting upon the northern banks of the River Lambourn, Shaw to the east being dominated by its Elizabethan House was the larger of the two. Shaw House estate dominated that village, it was described as the largest and only late 16th century house in the county to survive largely intact, it was built between 1579 & 1581 and was favourite stopping point for Charles I and also the scene of an assassination attempt by a Cromwellian soldier during the Civil War. West of the A34 Donnington was the more workaday settlement. Both villages were intensely arable on good easily worked soils. Modern day Newbury has expanded northwards driven by its excellent communications following the arrival of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western railway, the expanded A34 and the modern M4 motorway, of these modern developments only the A34 lies within Shaw cum Donnington territory. Shaw cum Donnington is drained eastwards by the Lambourn with the confluence with the Kennet lying south of Shaw, the Kennet runs to Reading before meeting the Thames, passing through London to the North Sea. Shaw cum Donnington is sited between 80 and 120 metres above the sea on rising ground, land rises onto the chalk downlands to the north reaching 155 metres at Grimsbury Castle Hill Fort to the northeast. Shaw cum Donnington parish covered almost 2,000 acres and would have supported a population of close to 650 parishioners. Separate entries for the two villages are found in Domesday Book, Shaw, in the hands of Baldric's son Hugh could offer just 4 ploughs, meadows & woodland but possessed a mill, Donnington, separately held by William Lovet, could add 3 more ploughs, more meadows and woodland and a second mill.

The Church

St Mary's church stands to the west of Shaw on the eastern side of Church Road, and on the edge of Shaw House's grounds, it is also perilously and noisily close to the hugely busy A34. Sadly what we see today is not the venue for these marriages, it was constructed in 1842 replacing a medieval predecessor. The new build which Pevsner found to be "shocking" is built in a Neo-Norman style but with a western tower made up of Romanesque elements which bear little relationship to genuine Norman architecture. Despite the relatively late construction date the church was further modified in a build running from 1875 to 1878 in which today's chancel was added in startling contrast to the western end it is built in flint with traditional Early English Gothic styling. Finally in 1995 and to the north a Church Centre in brick was added. Beyond the church to its north Church Road is a bus only route so for most vehicles a fine-imposed dead-end where parking for a single vehicle may be found outside the lychgate. Once through that attractive feature the photographer will meet with some dismay as the whole of the northern, eastern and southeastern quadrants are enclose in thick foliage, more but smaller trees stands beside the lychgate, only a few views are available at all.