England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
West Tytherley St Peter

The Parish

The parish of West Tytherley lies in the extreme west of Hampshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Wiltshire. West Tytherley is located roughly 9 miles east of the county town of Wiltshire, Salisbury, it sits in an extensive area with no major roads, the closest such being 4 miles to its east, the B3084 connecting Romsey with Broughton. West Tytherley is a small and fairly compact settlement with most properties lying a long a north to south lane, paralleling the county border, from the church at the southern end and for around a quarter mile further north. Whilst the area was intensively wooded, early gazetteers place almost 75% of the parish acreage to woodland, today arable farming dominates the area. West Tytherley is drained southwards by a small tributary of the nearby River Dun, the latter flows east to join the Abon and thence the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour. West Tytherley is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in gentle terrain that rises steadily to around 100 metres to the north. West Tytherley parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering just under 2,300 acres it would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. In Domesday times West Tytherley was a tiny place, a holding of one Wulfric, a rare Saxon survivor, and offering just a single plough as well as that woodland. 

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the southern end of the village at the junction of Church Lane and Red Lane. Sadly this is not some medieval church but one that was built during the latter stages of this transcript period. Built between 1832 and 1833 the church has styling taken from the Perpendicular period. Despite this recent construction a major work of the 1870s saw the chancel added in contrasting flint. The church was clearly of little architectural interest for Pevsner whose account is a mere dozen lines largely describing the church and its funding. Both Church Lane and Red Lane are fairly narrow so parking has to be careful, The churchyard is a largely ivy-clad local stone, within there are a few evergreen dotted about but generally easily avoided by the photographer.