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England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bartestree St James

 

The Parish

The chapelry of Bartestree. its mother parish being Dormington, lies in the southeastern portion of central Herefordshire roughly 4 miles east of the county town of Hereford. Bartestree is located on and mostly west of the A438 road which links Hereford with Ledbury. Old maps show a tiny hamlet gathered along a winding lane through orchards and passing the former church of St James, today there are a number of small commuter developments enlarging the settlement. The orchards are something of a Herefordshire speciality with cider apples the main crop other land was used for dairy cattle another county speciality. Bartestree sits on a neck of higher ground between the rivers Frome and Lugg into which water heads both soon meet and join the Wye for its long journey to the outer Bristol Channel arriving through Chepstow. Bartestree stands at around 90 metres above the sea, the highest ground until isolated hills such as Backbury Hill at 196 metres and Shucknatt Hill at 176 metres are met to south and northeast respectively. Only around 410 acres was set aside for Bartestree chapelry and that tiny acreage supported fewer than 50 parishioners. In Domesday times Bartestree was held by one Nigel, a doctor, and could muster just 6 ploughs as its sole assets.


The Church

St James' church was closed for worship and sold for private use in 2000, it is now used as a holiday let as evidenced during internet searches in 2024. Of the undoubted medieval church there is no trace, this building dates from a rebuild of 1888 thus not the venue for these few marriages. The rebuild used a style characteristic of the 13th century, Early English Gothic, and created a simple chapel of nave and chancel augmented with a southern porch, a northern vestry, an eastern apse and all topped with the typical western bellcote for a single bell. The former church can be found alongside the winding lane running from Lower Bartrestree Farm to Longworth Lane but as it is now private property, unless you are taking a let, there are questions over privacy and access.


The Records

Register No Covering Dates Deposited With Register Style Quality Standard Comments
1
22nd October 1811
Herefordshire Archives & Record Centre - Reference - AF59/1
Standard preprinted and self-numbered combined Banns & Marriage register with 4 entries per page
Grade 2 Register - not a perfect read but with a low likelihood of misreads
Just one entry
2 27th June 1814 - 3rd March 1825 Herefordshire Archives & Record Centre - Reference - AF59/2 Standard Rose style preprinted and prenumbered Marriage register Grade 2 Register - not a perfect read but with a low likelihood of misreads None


Withington St Peter
Withington St Peter
Withington St Peter
Lugwardine St Peter
Weston Beggard St John the Baptist
Lugwardine St Peter
Dormington St Peter
Dormington St Peter

Register Reference Date Groom Forename Groom Surname Groom Status Groom Abode Bride Forename Bride Surname Bride Status Bride Abode
1 22/10/1811 James BISHOP
Clehonger Anne ROWBERRY

1 24/06/1814 John TAYLOR

Mary HILL

2 07/08/1823 John GRIFFITHS

Mary GRIFFITHS

3 03/03/1825 William PREECE

Anne PREECE

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