England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Timsbury St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Timsbuty lies in western Hampshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Timsbury is located a little over 2 miles north of the market town of Romsey and sits on the A3057 road which connects Romsey with Andover. Timsbury is a tiny place, a real blink-and-miss settlement easily overlooked as one passes along the main road, an estate closed parish with most land held by a single landholder no formal village developed and today's Timsbury consists of little more than a scatter of farms and cottages with a loose aggregation around the A3057's junction with Manor Lane. Timsbury sits on the eastern banks of the River Test a position that would have given it equal access to grazing pastures on the valley floor and arable land on higher ground, the Test, today, is a major trout fishery attracting many in search of their sport. The Test drains the parish southwards, passing through Romsey to meet the English Channel through Southampton Water. Timsbury is sited at around 20 metres above the sea whilst land rises gently to the northeast topping out at close to 70 metres close to Michelmersh. Timsbury parish was fairly typically sized for a lowland English rural parish, covering just under 1,400 acres it would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Timsbury was an equally small and obscure rural settlement, held by Winchester Abbey it could muster just 4 ploughs, a small meadow but did possess a mill on the Test.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits west of the A3057 adjacent to Timsbury Manor. Sadly the church no longer appears as in these images following a disastrous fire in 2014 which destroyed the iconic timber bell-turret, most of the nave's roof and the vestry, a sad loss. A lancet window in the northern face of the nave gives a small clue to the origins in the 13th century Early English Gothic period whilst the chancel is much later Perpendicular in style and either late 14th or early 15th century. A restoration of the early 1880s saw much change but these changes were minor compared to those wrought by that unfortunate fire. Manor Lane performs a sinuous course west then north and again west to reach the churchyard which is devoid of obstacles for the photographer.