England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Compton All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Compton lies in south central Hampshire about 2 miles south of the city of Winchester. Compton is a village of two halves, Compton, itself, and Compton End - the latter holding the church. Both areas are largely linear in nature and both trend westwards from the former route of the A33 road, this road having been downgraded to minor road status following completion of the modern M3, which follows the line of an ancient Roman Road between London and Southampton. Compton sits on the western banks of the River Itchen, slightly elevated above that river's flood-plain. Like many Hampshire villages it would, at the time of this transcript, have been a farming village with the river's rich pastures supplementing the normal arable landscape. Modern developments have come repeatedly to the parish, the Itchen Navigation came first, soon followed by the London to Southampton railway, granting a station, and more recently the M3 motorway, all three carving their way along the Itchen valley. As a result of these improved communications Compton has become something of a desirable commuter settlement for both nearby Winchester and also for the large conurbation of greater Southampton. The Itchen drains the parish southwestwards soon reaching the sea through Southampton Water. Compton is at around 40 metres within its valley setting, outwith the valley land rises onto chalky downland reaching 123 metres on nearby Nan Trodds Hill. Compton parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering just under 2,100 acres it would have supported a population of close to 300 parishioners. In Domesday times Compton was shared by both King William and another William, the archer, together their holdings could muster 10 ploughs, some small meadows and there was a mill, presumably on the Itchen.

The Church

All Saints' church sits within Compton End, the more northerly of the two settlements, on the corner of Compton Street and the unsurfaced Carmans Lane. Once a simple and ancient church of nave & chancel All Saints has been greatly enlarged in the 20th century by the addition of a larger nave & chancel alongside, this has the curious attribute of turning formerly external windows and doorways into internal ones. The original nave & chancel are ancient, Norman Romanesque in style and dateable to around c1150. The external wall of the nave shows 2 early Norman windows and on the now internal former southern wall a further one. All proceeded as a simple two-cell country church, in 1880 the western bell-turret was added as decoration and a general restoration took place. In 1905, however, the Perpendicular-styled extension was added alongside the church to more than double its capacity. Whilst the predominant style used was Perpendicular Pevsner notes the Tudor style transverse arches between the twin chancels as "impressive". Compton Street is widely used for parking but is quite narrow so care required. The churchyard has a low brick wall surrounding with wooden gates for entry. Sadly the churchyard is compact and beset by trees making for a real challenge for the photographer to adequately record the church.