England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wick St James

The Parish

The parish of Wick lies in southern Glamorgan forming a short stretch of the county's outer Bristol Channel coastline. Wick is located roughly 5 miles south of the industrial town of Bridgend and sits on and mostly west of the coastal road, the B4265, which links Bridgend with Barry. Wick is a small and compact village with most properties lining a triangular set of lanes, the B4265 forming the eastern edge of that triangle. The area was noted for its arable farming on soils ranging from rich loam to a rather stiff clay, cereals and root crops were the main produce, despite Wick's proximity to the coast there was no port to vary the economy. Today that coastline is followed by the Wales Coastal National Trail although the 2 miles off to Wick is likely to deter overnight stays. Wick is surprisingly drained eastwards by small brooks which eventually turn north and back west to meet the Afon Ogwr and the sea. Wick is sited at around 100 metres above the sea, a local high spot in what is rather level terrain generally 20 metres or so lower. Wick parish was fairly typically sized for the Vale of Glamorgan, covering around 1,400 acres it would have supported a population of close to 350 parishioners. Like most of Wales Wick is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St James' church sits west of the B4265 on the northern side of Church Street, which forms the southern leg of Wick's triangle of lanes. St James has ancient origins with some fabric dating back to the 12th century, the Norman Romanesque period, the round head light in the southern wall of the chancel and the chancel arch being cited by Pevsner as representative of this early period. Much else of the church is, however, later; the church's stand-out feature, the western tower complete with saddleback topping is medieval and tentatively assigned to the 15th century. The main body, other than the early features already mentioned, largely dates from the Victorian restoration of 1871 when the nave, in particular, was largely rebuilt. Chrurch Street is widely used for street parking allowing an extended visit, entry is through an open lychgate. The churchyard is dominated by a single large tree midway along the southern face of the church which restricts the favoured aspect negating a directly right-angled landscape view but otherwise the churchyard is open and uncluttered.