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

The Parish

The parish of Longstock lies in western Hampshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Longstock is located roughly 6 miles south of the town of Andover and sits, on the western banks of the River Test, a half mile west of the A3057 road which links Andover with Romsey. Longstock is a rather linear village with properties lining a lane, Longstock Road, which parallels the river for almost 3/4 of a mile from north to south. That position gave the parish access not only to the riverside lush pastures for cattle it also included the extensive gentle slopes west of the Test where the  main income was generated from arable farming. The area has an ancient history, the western border of the parish, adjoining that of Nether Wallop, holds the extensive hill-fort of Danebury Hill. Extensive excavations of the late 20th century have revealed it was built in the 5th or 6th century BC by the pre-Roman settlers in this area as a defensive site. Longstock is drained southwards by the Test which heads through Romsey and the west of Southampton to reach the English Channel through Southampton Water. Longstock is sited at around 40 metres above the sea but occupies a valley setting, land rises steadily westwards to reach that hill-fort, the local high point, which summits at 143 metres with commanding views all around. Longstock parish was fairly typically sized at around 2,000 acres within which it would have supported close to 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Longstock was a rather small place, its mill the major asset for its landholder Winchester Abbey, besides that mill only a single plough and a small meadow were its only assets recorded.

The Church

St Mary's church sits roughly midway through the village in the junction of the main lane, Longstock Road, with Church Lane which heads towards Danesbury Hill Fort. Sadly today's church is not the venue for these marriages, the original 13th century Early English Gothic building having been replaced by the present one in 1880. The builders of today's church, at least, maintained the same styling and floor plan as its lost predecessor, a lancet from the original church is reused within the chancel too. The present nave and chancel is augmented by a tower placed to the northwest, a tower which Pevsner believes emulates a style from the Flemish region of Belgium or Netherlands. The lanes outside the church are rather narrow so any street parking has to be careful and considerate. Entrance is through a large lychgate which stands at the junction. Sadly for the photographer the southern aspects are impaired by close set trees around the southern face leaving only the more challenging aspects and making for a difficult subject on a sunny day.