England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wolverton St Catherine

The Parish

The parish of Wolverton lies in northern Hampshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Berkshire. Wolverton is located roughly 2 miles east of the small town of Kingsclere and sits on and mostly north of the A339 road which links Newbury in Berkshire, through Kingsclere to Basingstoke. Wolverton is an estate village with the parish dominated by the estate of Wolverton Park and its Georgian Country House, most properties lie along the estate's southern edge between the A339 and the village's inn with a few gathered close to the church. Like most estate parishes the economy was largely driven by the needs of the estate, here it emphasised arable farming by roughly 3:1 over pastoral.  Much of the northern edges of the parish sat on poor quality sands and gravels and are largely wooded, they undoubtedly would have been coppiced for woodland products. A small stream passes through the estate and heads off northeastwards to become the infant River Enborne, the Enborne flows into the Kennet to the west of Aldermaston and that heads into the Thames near Reading, the Thames continues eastwards through the capital to the North Sea. Wolverton is sited at around 120 metres above the sea, land rises southwestwards to the twin knolls of Plantation Hill (186 metres) and Cottington's Hill (225 metres) the highest ground hereabouts. The area is a curious mix of large parishes and many more of smaller size, Wolverton is one of the latter covering just over 1,400 acres and supporting a population of around 200 parishioners. Domesday Wolverton was shared by 3 landholders with assets totalling 8 ploughs, a small meadow and a mill.

The Church

St Catherine's church sits on the northwestern edge of the estate on the southern side of Crabs Hill and just under a quarter mile from the A339. As can readily be seen this is not a medieval church rather it is Georgian rebuild dating from 1717. The work was curious in that the main body of the church was simply re-cased in in red brick with contrasting blue brick dressings, sitting inside is the original medieval nave roof. The church's main standout feature is its impressive western tower, here the dressings are the more conventional stone, to Pevsner's critical eye it is perhaps a little too tall and over dominating when compared with the nave. It is the internal fittings which make St Catherine's church worth a visit with the pulpit and reading desk singled out for special praise by Pevsner. A substantial car park sits just west of the site allowing a relaxed visit, the churchyard is accessed by a short path and is open and uncluttered with no obstacles whatsoever for the photographer.