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

The Parish

The parish of Avenbury lies in eastern Herefordshire not too far from the county's border with neighbouring Worcestershire. Avenbury is located roughly 1 1/2 miles south of the market town of Bromyard and stands just over a mile east of the A465 road which links Bromyard with Hereford. Avenbury is a distributed parish with no real centre or village to speak of, there is a small concentration on the B4214 at Munderfield Row but little more than a short run of properties. Almost all of the parish is dotted with isolated farms and cottages. The parish is bordered to its east by the course of the River Frome which would have supplied rich pastures alongside, indeed, apart from a small acreage of hop bines, the parish was dominated by pastoral farming of Herefordshire beef cattle. Avenbury is drained southwards and then southwest by the Frome which soon meet in quick order the Lugg and soon after the Wye, the Wye continues southward in a sinuous course to reach the outer Bristol Channel at the port of Chepstow. Avenbury is sited at around 100 metres above the sea at the former parish church rising to 176 metres at the B4214 the highest ground for some distance. Avenbury was quite an extensive parish for this county which has many small parishes, covering just short of 3,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. Domesday Avenbury was held by a doctor, Nigel who held several manors in the Marches, the manor offered 15 ploughs and a mill as assets.

The Church

St Mary's church, or rather its remains, stands in a loop of the River Frome in the northeastern corner of the parish, the church was abandoned in 1931 and now stands as a picturesque ruin almost buried within climbing ivy. Only the chancel, a 12th century Norman relic with original windows remaining on both northern & southern faces, and the western tower, a 13th century Eearly English Gothic piece with lancet windows, remain. The church stands amongst fields and can be reached from either the south, where there is a space for parking, or from the north by a footpath which crosses the intervening loop, due to the circumstances the churchyard may be overgrown during the summer months and/or muddy during the winter.