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

The Parish

The parish of Hitcham lies in the extreme south of Buckinghamshire, almost but not quite forming part of the border with neighbouring Berkshire, Hitcham is located about 3 miles northeast of the Berkshire town of Maidenhead and sits, in lanes, abut a mile north of the A4 which connects Maidenhead with Slough. Hitcham was an state village, the land held almost entirely by a single landowner and never developed a village as such, a hamlet around a "T" junction plus a scatter of farms and cottages. Today Hitcham has almost been engulfed in the growing spread of development along this part of the Thames valley with modern features including the London to Bristol rail line passing through the parish and just 2 miles to the south the modern M4 motorway. At the time of this transcript Hitcham was a rural community underpinned by the arable economy of Hitcham estate. The Thames passes less than a mile to the west of the parish and this drains through the capital to the North Sea. Hitcham is sited at around 50 metres above the sea with land rising steadily away from the Thames to local heights of close to 70 metres within a mile or two. Hitcham parish was small, and curiously shaped being a thin sliver of land running from north to south yet barely little more than 300 yards wide, it covered around 1,400 acres and would have supported a population of around 250 parishioners. In Domesday times Hitcham was held by one Miles Crispin, an equally small place of 8 ploughs, meadows & woodland but did possess a fishery on the Thames.

The Church

St Mary's church stands on the edge of Hitcham Estate just east of the main junction of the village and on the northern side of the lane running from Taplow to Burnham. The church has early origins, the nave, the oldest part of the church, shows the features of Norman Romanesque styles and Pevsner dates it to the 12th century, The chancel was rebuilt, probably in the 14th century, and is in the later Decorated style whilst the red brick western tower is later still, 16th century and Perpendicular in style. A typical Victorian restoration followed in the 1860s whilst even in the 20th century a brick vestry has been added to arrive at today's building. The church sits well back from Hitcham Lane with a wide pull-in to the front allowing for easy parking. A low brick wall surrounds the churchyard which has few obstructions to photography.