England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Harnhill St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Harnhill lies in southeastern Gloucestershire quite close to its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Harnhill is located about 3 miles east of the market town of Cirencester sitting, in lanes, in a triangle of lane formed between the A417 (Cirencester to Fairford) and A419 (Cirencester to Swindon) roads. Harnhill is small with only a tiny grouping of properties around its set of lanes, not a village as such more of a hamlet. The principal activity at the time of this transcript would have been farming and the area had a mixed farming regime on slightly clayey soils. Small brooks drain the parish into the Ampney Brook which heads southwards to join the early Thames at Cricklade, thence heading for the North Sea through the City of London. Harnhill is sited at around 100 metres above sea level and the land is best described as gently undulating at or about this same height. Harnhill parish was rather small by Gloucestershire standards, it covered barely 700 acres and would have supported a population of just under 100 parishioners. In Domesday book Harnhill is held by one Ralph of Tosny but its assets are not detailed other than its tax was 5 geld units making it fairly wealthy.

The Church

St Michael's church is tucked away from the main lanes through the parish and is accessed along the narrow Church Lane. There are features which suggest a Norman origin for the church, notably the southern porch with its tympanum depicting its saint fighting a dragon. Much else dates from the 13th or 14th centuries with features from the early English, Decorated and Perpendicular eras, much is of the latter period. The church had a fairly late restoration (1909) and was little affected stylishly by those improvements. The church sits close by its Manor House (now a centre for Christian Healing) and is best accessed on foot. The site is fairly open to Church Lane but there are numerous trees which do somewhat restrict the angles for photography.