England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Loughton All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Loughton lies in northern Buckinghamshire roughly 3 miles north of the former market town of Bletchley. Loughton sits immediately east of the former A5 road which followed the ancient Roman Watling Street as part of its journey from London to Holyhead, nowadays rerouted to the east as a fast dual-carriageway, . Loughton is a place that has changed beyond all recognition, at the time of this transcript Loughton was a small and compact village, Great Loughton, grouped around the church and on the banks of the small brook to its southwest, and the lesser settlement of Little Loughton which lost its church in the 15th century, nowadays Loughton is an integral part of central Milton Keynes with the former village sitting surrounded by the paraphernalia of the modern new towns central district. Loughton was primarily an arable farming parish with incomes from farming supplemented by small scale quarrying of the local limestone for local building whilst a substantial lace industry was largely carried out by the women and girls. Modern developments abound near Loughton today, the London to Birmingham railway line passes through granting Milton Keynes New Town its station, the improved modern A5 is a high speed dual-carriageway highway and facilities of the New Town abound, The National Badminton Centre, Hockey Centre and Ice rink all lie nearby. Loughton is drained northwards by its small brook, meeting the Great Ouse at New Bradwell after a short journey, a much longer one follows as the Great Ouse makes its way to the North Sea arriving through the port of King's Lynn. Loughton is sited at around 80 metres above the sea in gentle terrain which is largely obscured by the acres of modern developments of the New Town, it gradually rises away from Loughton to around 100 metres at local high spots. Loughton parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering around 1,500 acres it would have supported a population of close to 350 parishioners, many thousands today. In Domesday times Loughton was a substantial arable and rural holding, shared three ways, which offered assets of 15 ploughs supported by various meadows.

The Church

All Saints' church sits within the ancient schema of Loughton former village at the junction of Church Lane and School Lane, around it the former village centre lies still recognisable despite the New Town growth. Major rebuild and restoration has left a church in which there is uncertainty as to the dating and dispute amongst the leading authorities, Pevsner & the Royal Commision for Historic Monuments, as to those dates. The main core of the church Pevsner believes to be from the 13th or early 14th century whilst the latter places it the work of rebuild in the 17th or 18th century such is the disparity of views. What us safely dateable is the Perpendicular style western tower which is undoubted medieval and from the 15th century. Also from that century & style is the southern aisle and the chancel chapel. There was undoubtedly major work in the early modern period which is undocumented as to dating, also work in Victorian times, in both 1877 & 1886, but which was largely restorative. Both lanes surrounding the churchyard are fairly quiet allowing careful on-street parking. From the junction a curving pathway leads to the church from a small metal gate. The churchyard, itself, is open and uncluttered from all of the favoured southern aspects allowing free rein to the photographer.