England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Upham Blessed Mary

The Parish

The parish of Upham lies in southern Hampshire roughly 7 miles east of the town of Eastleigh. Upham sits just over a mile northeast of the B2177 road linking Wickham through Bishop's Waltham to Colden Common. Upham is a small and compact village sitting at the southwestern base of a knoll on the southern edges of chalk downland, the village has an oval of lanes enclosing the churchyard and lined with most properties short extensions head north, southeast and more lengthily southwest from this tight central area. Sitting on the B2177 and the lane headed towards Upham is Lower Upham, a more modern development. The parish also included the chapel of ease at Durley, as that chapel was licensed for marriages it will have its own page in this project. At the time of this transcript Upham parish was heavily arable with over 55% of the parish acreage devoted to arable crops, downland & pasture and managed woodland made up the majority of the remainder. Today the balance has swung more intensely towards arable as the downland sheep-runs have been steadily ploughed. Upham is drained southwards by a small tributary of the River Hamble which makes its way to The Solent through the eastern edges of Southampton and thence to the English Channel. Upham is sited on rising ground between 70 & 90 metres above the sea, downland rises to its northeast with most of these low chalk hills peaking between 120 & 130 metres. Upham parish covered just under 2,900 acres with a population supported of close to 600 parishioners. Upham is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

Blessed Mary's church sits enclosed within the central area of the village sitting on the northern side of Church Street. The main body of the church shows fabric from the 13th century, the arch at the eastern end of the Victorian northern aisle being genuine Early English Gothic, it also rests on 12th century Norman Romanesque half-columns, a true relic considering the amount of change the church has received over the more modern periods. Also medieval but later is the southern arcade which shows a mature Perpendicular style and is probably from the late 15th century. Whilst the church undoubtedly once  had a medieval western tower today's version is an 18th century replacement in a blue-and-red chequered brick. More change followed in Victorian times with the southern aisle bearing a date of 1846 whilst a more thorough restoration between 1877 & 1881, that heavy restoration is responsible for most of the exterior we see today. Church Street is a little narrow but well used to parking on its southern side only, the churchyard has a low post & rail fence with wooden gates at the western end. Sadly for the photographer the western end of the church is deeply embedded in dense trees, only views from the east are practical at all with most other angles capable of rendering only glimpses.