England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Laverstoke St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Laverstoke lies in the northwestern portion of central Hampshire roughly 3 miles east of the small town of Whitchurch. Laverstoke sits on the B3400 road which links Basingstoke with Andover. Laverstoke is an estate parish dominated by the estate of Laverstoke House, an 18th century mansion standing in manicured parkland just north of the course of the infant River Test. Laverstoke is an unusual parish which consists of a narrow strip of land running northwards from the Test almost to Watership Down to the north, yet it is merely a few hundred yards in width and squeezed between the parishes of Whitchurch & Overton. It is the Test's water supply which brought a modicum of fame to Laverstoke, in 1712 Frenchman Henri Portal opened a paper mill which eventually became so successful as to print bank notes for the nation, it is expected most of its work-force came from the two neighbouring towns. Most of Laverstoke parish would have been sheep country grazing on high chalk downland, today much has gone over to the plough. Modern developments have come to the parish, the railway line between Basingstoke and Andover passing through just north of the church without granting a station. The Test drains the parish initially westwards but after Whitchurch turns south to eventually reach the English Channel through Southampton. Laverstoke is sited at around 80 metres above the sea in its valley setting, land rises steadily northwards onto the Downs where heights of 174 metres are met at the ancient Roman Road of Portway. Whilst Laverstoke parish may be thin it is lengthy and eventually covers 1,500 acres, it would, however, only have supported a population of close to 100 parishioners. Domesday Laverstoke with 29 households was probably larger than today's tiny estate village, held by Winchester Abbey its assets of 7 ploughs, some meadows and 2 mills indicate a solid rural agricultural manor.

The Church

The current parish church of St Mary stands west of the estate of Laverstoke House, it is a Victorian replacement for the original parish church which sat within the estate to the southeast of the House, the remains of that St Mary lie concealed within a copse. Today's church was built between 1892 & 1896 in a faux Early English Gothic style utilising both flint and a brown stone. The standard nave and chancel is augmented by a northern aisle and a tower set to the south, the tower has a shingled splay-footed spire. The church is signposted to the north of the B3400 with a white sign, after a hundred yards or so a broad parking area serving Freefolk Manor Cottages allows a leisurely visit, the churchyard is reached around a curving access lane. The western end is a little enclosed by trees but the southern aspects are free for the photographer.