England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Eastwood St Laurence & All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Eastwood lies in southeastern Essex not too far from its southern Thames Estuarine coastline. Eastwood is located roughly 3 miles northwest of Southend on Sea's iconic pier and sits immediately north of the A127 road which connects Southend with the M25 motorway and with Greater London. This is an area that changed markedly from early times and would not be recognisable to the participants in these marriages. Early maps show a neat & compact small village gathered around the church with a winding country lane running westwards holding a few extra properties, today Eastwood is a suburb of the vast metropolitan area of Greater Southend and sits adjacent to the town's international airport. Prior to the modern developments this would primarily have been an arable farming parish similar to most other parishes in the county. As railways arrived into the area and Southend expanded to accommodate the growth in population and tourism visiting that followed Eastwood has merely become part of the northern edge of a developed area that stretches for over 10 miles from North Benfleet, in the west, to Shoeburyness, in the east. During World War 2 an air-base was set-up on Southend's northern edges as part of the country's defenses, today it is an international airport rivaling Stanstead for the role of London's third airport, parts of Eastwood were demolished to construct this airport and occasional threats still arise to the remainder. Eastwood is drained northwards by a small tributary of the River Roach which is joined at nearby Rochford to meet the nearby North Sea through its estuary. Eastwood is sited at around 15 metres above the sea at its church whilst land rises gently to a local high spot of 46 metres towards nearby Rayleigh. By the standards of its county Eastwood was an extensive parish, covering around 3,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners, today it is many thousands. In Domesday times Eastwood was a holding of a Saxon survivor, Swein of Essex, and could offer 8 ploughs, typical amounts of woodland, pasture & meadow together with a mill.  

The Church

St Laurence & All Saints' church has one of the most unusual sites of any UK church as it sits adjacent to the runways of the international airport, a tiny fragment of tranquility amidst the roar of the jets. Despite its highly modern location the church is an ancient one with the earliest fabric dating to the 12th century and to the Norman Romanesque style. This ancient fabric can be difficult to identify from the exterior which has been the subject of heavy modification during relatively modern times but can be seen well internally. The earliest fabric, of the 12th century, can be found in the northern wall above the arcade where 3 Norman-style windows reside. Moving on a century and into the Early English Gothic period larger parts of the church can be identified. The chancel, showing the characteristic lancet windows of the 13th century together with the slightly curiously placed western tower, it stands not directly on the centre-line of the church but slightly offset, also showing a lancet. From the short Transitional period and dated to c1300 is the 3-bay southern arcade whilst its northern equivalent, piercing through the 12th century wall, is 14th century and purely Decorated. The immediate post-medieval period saw minor changes, the brick porch added in the early 16th century whilst plaster gables were added later in that century or during the 17th. Much of the exterior was altered during the thorough restoration of 1873 to complete today's church. A lay-by of rough ground for parking sits immediately outside the churchyard, that churchyard bordering the airport's apron is open and uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.