England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
East Donyland St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of East Donyland lies in southeastern Essex roughly 3 miles southeast of the town of Colchester and sitting on the banks of the River Colne. Whilst the parish bears the name East Donyland, that settlement is marked only by the presence of East Donyland Hall, the main settlement in the parish being the large and much expanded settlement of Rowhedge which sits a little over 2 miles east of the B1025 road linking Colchester with West Mersea. Early maps show Rowhedge as being a riverside settlement with an extensive waterfront bordering the Colne whilst an extension headed westwards passing by St Lawrence's church. Today Rowhedge has been expanded greatly ever westward as a commuter settlement for nearby Colchester with many modern housing developments. Rowhedge's waterside location would have lent it provenance as a small port and fishery, the Colne's oyster beds are renowned, whilst inland it would have been a typical arable parish. Both the Colne and the Roman River drains parts of the parish both combining to form the Colne's Estuary taking water to the nearby North Sea. East Donyland is sited at between sea level and 20 metres above the same in gentle terrain, the highest ground for some distance being at 33 metres on Roman Hill, East Donyland parish was rather small in extent for its are at just under 1,100 acres but would have supported around 800 parishioners. Neither East Donyland nor Rowhedge are mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits in the heart of Rowhedge south of the main east to west running lane and inland from the waterfront, it sits on Church Hill. It is readily apparent that St Lawrence is no medieval church rather it is a creation of the 19th century built in 1838 so not the venue for these marriages. The previous medieval church stood adjacent to the hall but was demolished when the current church, referred in a rather defamatory way as "The Pepper Pot". The church is octagonal and said to have been inspired by the chapter house of York Minster. The themes of lancet styling used hark back to the 13th century Early English Gothic period. Despite the relatively recent build two period of "reordering" as Pevsner terms them are noted in 1939 which created vestries beneath the property with a more general piece of work in 1970. Street parking is available in the western run of Church Hill, the main entrance being a gated entry. The churchyard has a few trees which impact the angles available to the photographer but given the shape of the building most angles give a similar view,