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

The Parish

The parish of Tarrant Rushton lies in eastern Dorset roughly 4 miles east of the market town of Blandford Forum. Tarrant Rushton sits about 1 mile north of the B3082 road which links Blandford Forum with Wimborne Minster, it is one of 8 villages bearing the prefix Tarrant named for the stream on which they all lie. Tarrant Rushton is little more than a hamlet, its few properties, including the parish church, lies parallel to "The Tarrant" for a little over a quarter of a mile on its eastern banks. The parish holds much chalk downland which, at the time of this transcript, was largely used for the grazing of sheep, today much of the land has been ploughed and turned to arable with cereals dominant. The area shows many signs of early occupation with tumuli frequent and nearby Buzbury Rings, an Iron Age hill-fort in the neighbouring Tarrant Keyneston. Tarrant Rushton is drained southwestwards by The Tarrant which soon meets the River Stour whereupon water turns back southeastwards to meet the sea through Poole Harbour before reaching the English Channel. Tarrant Rushton is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in its valley setting, west of The Tarrant land rises to Buzbury Rings standing at 103 metres. Tarrant Rushton parish was a relatively small parish covering only a little over 1,200 acres which would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. Tarrant Rushton is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book, one assumes it is recorded as part of the large regional entry named simply as "Tarrant".

The Church

St Mary's church is the northernmost building in the parish accessed along a dead-end lane which becomes a footpath headed for Tarrant Rawston beyond the church. Like many small rural churches the centuries have left intact some of the earliest masonry, here the core of the church, which is cruciform, is 12th century Norman Romanesque in style and remains visible in both the chancel arch and in parts of the nave's walling. Pevsner dates the first build to the early 12th century and it wasn't long before change started to occur, in the late 12th century the western end of the church was rebuilt. It was the early 14th century, the Decorated era, that saw the most change when firstly the northern transept was added, followed by today's chancel and then the southern transept, both transepts being rather lengthy. The 14th century also saw the addition of the church's central crossing tower, rectangular in plan rather the normal square. The typical Victorian restoration came in 1875 and for once was sensitive to the age of the church. The dead-end lane ends at the churchyard as a circular parking and turning area, it continues on passing the churchyard as a grassy footpath. The views of the church are somewhat impeded there being close trees engulfing the entire western side, the favoured aspects are clear as are views from the north & east.