England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Elberton St John

The Parish

The parish of Elberton lies in southwestern Gloucestershire roughly 9 miles north of the city of Bristol. Elberton sits on the B4461 road which links the A38 (Bristol to Gloucester) road with the banks of the River Severn at Aust. Elberton is a small linear village with most properties lying alongside the B4461 or along a southward running lane (Elberton Road) which heads to the church. Elberton sits on the eastern edges of the plain that leads down to the Severn, to the east land rises onto limestone whilst to the west it is largely alluvial silts, the landscape lead to the dominance of pastoral methods over arable, early gazetteers estimating 2:! in favour of pastures. Modern developments have come to the parish, to the south runs what used to be the M4 motorway now renamed as the M48 motorway, following the re-routing of the former to the second Severn bridge, taking traffic across to Chepstow in Monmouthshire. Elberton is drained southwestwards by local man-made drainage channels, known here as "rhines", with Old Splott Rhine taking water to the nearby Severn at Redwick and thus to the Bristol Channel. Elberton is sited at around 30 metres above the sea with land rising steadily eastwards reaching the 100 metre contour close to the A38. For this areas Elberton was a modestly sized parish covering just over 1,500 acres which would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. Whilst Elberton has a Domesday entry it is clearly one describing a region, Elberton would never have supported 197 ploughs and 10 mills, and not specific to the manor.

The Church

St John's church stands south of the village accessed from Elberton Road by a short access track, it sits beside the 17th century Elberton Manor House. Whilst St John was originally a 14th century medieval cruciform church it was largely rebuilt in the 19th cnetury leaving only the central crossing tower from the original church. That central crossing tower is early 14th century in the main with Decorated styled bell-openings, battlements and northeastern stair turret, it is topped by a 15th century Perpendicular recessed spire. The remainder of the church, aisled nave, chancel, northern porch and southern vestry, all date from the 1858 rebuilding. The rebuild has kept faithful to the early 14th century styling maintaining Decorated motifs through the rebuild. A small white sign point to the start of the track leading to the manor & church, a small parking area sits just into that track. Whilst the churchyard is oblong and relatively devoid of obstacles, the church sits close to its southern boundary limiting views to the other angles.