England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
East Dean St Winfrith

The Parish

The parish of east Dean lies in the extreme west of Hampshire forming part of the border with neighbouring Wiltshire. East Dean is located about 7 miles north west of the market town of Romsey and sits, in an area largely devoid of major roads, almost 3 miles north of the A27 road which connects Romsey with the A36 and onward to Salisbury. There is very little to East Dean, not much  more than a hamlet and a strip of properties lying along a lane betwixt the Dean Hills and the course of the River Dun. Modern developments did temporarily come to East Dean, the Salisbury & Southampton Canal once ran along this valley but has long since ceased to function, the same line being followed by the later railway connecting those two places, East Dean never received a station, however. Man has, however, long inhabited this valley, ancient cultivation terraces are marked upon the Ordnance Survey map to the south of East Dean. A typical farming community, grazing in the main of cattle in the valley and sheep on the Dean Hills, would have dominated the local economy. The River Dun drains the parish eastwards soon joining the Test and reaching the English channel through Southampton Water. East Dean is sited at around 40 metres above the sea but is dominated by the Dean Hills immediately south which top out at over 150 metres. By Hampshire standards East Dean parish was small in extent, covering just under 1,100 acres it would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. In Domesday times East Dean was one of the King's many holdings but equally small as it is today, just a pair of plough, the usual meadows & woodland but remarkably the Dun provided for 2 mills.

The Church

The main lane through East Dean parallells river and railway line, St Winfrith's church sits on the opposite, southern, side of this lane roughly midway through the set of properties strung along it. The church has ancient origins but has been extensively modified over the centuries, a church is mentioned in Domesday Book and portions of the chancel may represent the remains of that 11th century building, Pevsner cites the brown iron-stone quoins as potential evidence. A lancet window, previously concealed was revealed by late 19th century work and indicates modification in the Early English Gothic era whilst the eastern window dates from the latter part of that century. The major Victorian restoration of the 1890s saw many changes despite being relatively sensitive to the medieval styles. The church is set slightly back from the road and a small sign points to the church car park which is a subsection of the churchyard itself. Other than a few trees obscuring the southeastern corder most other aspects are available to the photographer.