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

The Parish

The parish of Hardwick (occasionally spelt with the terminal "e" as Hardwicke) lies in southern central Buckinghamshire roughly 4 miles north of the regional hub of Aylesbury. Harwick parish has two distinct villages within its confines, whilst the small village of Hardwick, sitting on the A413 which connects Aylesbury with Buckingham, donates its name, a mile to the southeast is the larger settlement of Weedon. The two settlements are separated by the course of the infant River Thame. This area is underlain by Jurassic clays making for a stiff soil, difficult to work before heavy machinery, this lead to a more mixed farming regime at the time of this transcript than apples today, with the advent of heavy machinery leading to arable dominating. The River Thame drains the parish southwestwards before reaching the Thames in Oxfordshire and turning east, through the capital, to reach the North Sea through the latter's estuary. Hardwick is sited at around 90 metres higher with Weedon some 20 metres a little higher, land rises to the north onto the isolated block of Pitchcott & Holborn Hills reaching almost 160 metres. The wider parish of Hardwick was a bit above typical size, covering close to 3,200 acres it would have supported a population of around 750 parishioners. In Domesday times Gardwick was recorded but Weedon is not mentioned, hence the name of the parish Weedon being the later settlement, shared three ways the parish was largely held by one Turstin the son of Rolf and was a large settlement for the time, offering 20 ploughs, with more possible, and some meadows it was a profitable holding.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the southern edge of Hardwick village, away from every lane and usually accessed by footpaths. A single window of the northern face of the nave is late Anglo-Saxon and probably dates from immediately pre-Conquest in the 11th century. The later facing of the church in neat ashlar blocks serves to hide what may well be other early features. The church's appearance, therefore, owes much to the 14th century when a thorough rebuild undoubtedly occurred, styles ares spread between the early half, in the Decorated style, and the later half, in Perpendicular, of that century. Good examples of the earlier style are the southern aisle and western tower, Decorated in style. Most windows are Perpendicular in style, either reflecting a build-date in that period or replacements for earlier version, the presence of a clerestory is also usually a Perpendicular feature designed to improve internal light. The chancel, however, was rebuilt in the 1870s as part of the usual restoration during Victorian times. The church is best approached on foot after finding parking in Lower Road, either by a footpath with signs at the southeastern corner of the large green or by the route of the Aylesbury Ring local trail to the east. The churchyard has some mature evergreens which impinge upon the southeastern aspect and somewhat limit the angles available for the photographer.