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

The Parish

The parish of Kingston is located in the southwest of the island of the Isle of Wight no too far from its western coastline. Kingston can be found roughly 6 miles south of the island's capital, Newport, and sits on the B3399 road which links Newport with the western coast road at Chale. There is very little to modern day Kingston and it would appear always to have been thus, a few properties line the B3399 southwest of the, now redundant, church. Kingston sits on one of the hillier areas of the island underlain with chalk and would have been largely a pastoral farming community specialising in sheep. Kingston is drained northwards by small tributaries of the island's main river, the Medina, which flows through Newport before reaching the Solent through the twin towns of East & West Cowes. Kingston is sited at around 60 metres above the sea with higher land immediately west at Gun Hill with a spot height of 94 metres. Kingston parish was one of the smaller on the island, covering just under 900 acres it would have barely supported only slightly more than 50 parishioners. In Domesday times Kingston was a direct holding of King William offering just a single plough.

The Church

St James' church sits where a footpath meets the B3399 at the western end of a run of properties. The church has been closed as a place of worship and sold as a private dwelling so access is difficult. With lancet windows at its eastern end the church has its origins in the Early English Gothic period of the 13th century. The church was, however, extensively restored in 1872 and whilst the Early English Gothic themes were maintained it becomes difficult to see what is original and what created during that restoration. A wooden gateway climbs to the former churchyard where locals are permitted to visit their ancestor's graves but the privacy of the residents is paramount.