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

The Parish

The parish of Mangotsfield lies in the extreme southwest of Gloucestershire being part of the metropolitan area of Bristol and therefore close to the border with neighbouring Somerset. Mangotsfield is located about 5 miles northeast of the city of Bristol and sits on the A432 road which connects Bristol with Chipping Sodbury. At the time of this transcript Mangotsfield was still a distinct, and quite large village, separated from Bristol by farmed fields, over time the metropolitan area has spread out massively to engulf the former village and today Mangotsfield is just a suburb of Bristol and contiguous with it. Mangotsfield's notional centre has migrated towards the A432 over the years, previously that location was the subsidiary settlement of Downend with the village of Mangotsfield grouped around the church. The local economy was dominated by both farming, a mixed regime of almost equal parts pastoral and arable, which was supplemented by extraction of the local coal from the Kingswood mining district, furthermore the local stone was excellent for paving and this was also quarried. Today as a major suburb of the conurbation Mangotsfield functions as a local retail and business centre but its principal function is as a dormitory settlement for the city of Bristol. Modern developments skirt the area, a branch rail line came and went and today the modern M4 motorway skirts the northern edge of the parish. Now largely sub-surface most drainage heads westwards into the nearby River Frome which joins the Avon within the city of Bristol and the Bristol Channel through the latter's gorge. Mangotsfield is sited at around 70 metres above the sea with the church being higher than the Downend area, land rises eastward in a small escarpment reaching 114 metres near Pucklechurch. Mangotsfield parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering over 2,400 acres its population would have grown from a large village of around 1,200 to over 3,800 by the end of this transcript period. In Domesday time Mangotsfield was an equally important holding, in this case retained by King William, himself, a hugely impressive 46 ploughs were recorded and with 2 mills it made for a prosperous holding indeed.

The Church

St James' church sits on the main junction of the B4465, a lesser route turning eastwards off the A432 at Fishponds, here it sits on the junction of St James' Place with Cossham Street accompanied by a small retail area. Like many churches the building consists of fabric from many eras, its earliest material showing the 13th century Early English Gothic style albeit restored at a later time. The majority of the fabric is, however, later and largely 14th century showing the Perpendicular style of that period, the best representative of this era being the basal stages of the southern tower, it spire was an addition from 1851. The medieval has, however, been largely hidden beneath Georgian and Victorian restorations, the initial work of 1812 being amended and added to by an extensive restoration between 1849 and 1851 which not only added that spire but also a southern vestry as well as rebuilding the 3-bay arcade. A chargeable short-stay car-park sits opposite Oaklands Road allowing ample visiting time. The site, surrounded by a local stone wall has entrances from many points, the churchyard, however, is compact and is hemmed into the west by its edge and to the east by housing, indeed the better views are from across the busy road rather than within.