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

The Parish

The parish of Fawley lies in the extreme southwest of Buckinghamshire where it forms not only part of the border with neighbouring Oxfordshire but also, at the junction of 3 counties, with neighbouring Berkshire. Fawley is located roughly 3 miles north of the Oxfordshire Thames-side town of Henley and sits around 2 miles east of the B480 road which links Henley with Watlington. There is very little to Fawley, a scatter of properties along a Chiltern ridge, gathered around Fawley Court, are matched by a few more in a dry valley to its west, Fawley Bottom. A closed parish, where all land was in the hands of a single landholder, the local Freeman family, inbound migration was restricted and no distinct village developed as a consequence. The parish is dominated by the estate of Fawley Court, a late 17th century house & gardens, including some work by Capability Brown, built for the Freemans. The estate also contains an extensive deer-park. The parish economy would have been dominated by the needs of the estate, a mixed farming regime with both arable and pastoral, of mainly sheep on the Chiltern hills. Sitting on porous chalk there is no surface drainage, a series of dry valleys, they flowed during the last ice age, lead down to the Thames which lies less than 3 miles to the southeast. The Thames heads east through the capital to the North Sea. Fawley is sited at around 150 metres above the sea with Fawley Bottom some 60 metres below, the ridge on which the church stands rises more gently northwards to reach close to 190 metres in local high spots. Fawley parish was larger than most typical southern rural parishes, at just over 2,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 300 parishioners. In Domesday times Fawley was held by one Walter Giffard and held an impressive 16 ploughs as well as a small meadow,

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the western side of Dobsons Lane, a narrow lane running northwards from Lower Assendon towards Turville Heath. Like the estate opposite which it sits, the church has been extensively modified by the local Freeman family over the centuries leaving little that dates back to its earliest days. The major piece of medieval fabric that remains is that of the basal stages of the western tower, this rather blocky rectangular tower has basal stages dating from the 13th century, the Early English Gothic, its upper stage is, however, Perpendicular and probably early 15th century, to cap it all its parapet is a 19th century addition. All else has, at some time or other been rebuilt or added, the mortuary chapel is probably the next oldest portion dating from 1633 but it is to 1748 that the bulk of the changes refer. During this 18th century rebuild, the southern porch was removed, a new western entrance created and new windows given to the nave, it chancel was also completely rebuilt replacing its 14th century Perpendicular predecessor. Work was not finished with these changes, however, a thoroughly extensive restoration of the early 1880s saw a new nave roof & windows, the addition of a vestry and a southern transept and a refacing of the Whitelock chapel. Whilst Dobsons Lane is rather narrow a shallow pull-in sits outside the lychgate which grants entry to the churchyard through a typical brick-topped flint wall. The churchyard, itself, presents a few challenges to the photographer, the eastern end of the church being rather enclosed within trees thus removing the favoured southeastern aspect and making for only a limited set of angles remaining to view.