England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hereford St Martin

The Parish

The city of Hereford site in the southern portion of central Herefordshire roughly 135 miles northwest of the city of London and about 26 miles southwest of the city of Worcester. Hereford sits on the A49 road from Shrewsbury to Ross on Wye at the point where that road crosses the River Wye. Given the suffix "ford" in the place name it is likely that the first settlement grew up where a ford enabled the Wye to be crossed perhaps as early as the 6th century. Following Saxon defeat of the Welsh Hereford became a planned Saxon town restricted to the north of the river where a cathedral was begun. By the 10th century stone walls enclosed a half-moon shaped town but they failed to prevent destruction again by the Welsh in 1055. Following the Norman conquest Hereford was identified as the most important of a string of sites along the Welsh border and the castle created and a market area north of the cathedral which was also considerably enlarged. Hereford was granted its market charter in 1189 and became the accepted county town and market centre for this strongly rural area. Whilst the market functions and specialist skills provided some income there was little by way of industry except some limited glove making. Through the later medieval period Hereford was a moderately prosperous, if small, market town entirely enclosed still within its walls, the castle a mere ruin following the depredations of the Civil War. Herefordshire has for a long time suffered from poor communications with the remainder of England and this inhibited growth in its county town which by the end of the 18th century still only possessed around 6,000 residents. Attempts were made to improve the situation by improving the navigability of the meandering Wye and by 1845 a canal, now disused, finally connected the town to Gloucester. Railways arrived soon after from Shrewsbury, Newport & Gloucester and finally sparked some growth into the town and growing the population to around 21,000 by 1901. Hereford's meagre industries included those involving cider and hops as well as traditional rural trades such as tanning, the wooded nature of the county supplied bark and timber shipped to Chepstow for the ship-building trades. Today Hereford remains just an overgrown rural market town it covers not only the original centre but has expanded north of the Wye for over a mile in all directions whilst south of the Wye is a smaller version of the same. Hereford suffers badly with only the single crossing of the river and whilst upgraded to dual-carriageway the city has a chronic traffic problem. Hereford is drained by the Wye which meanders its way east and then south to meet the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Hereford is sited at 50 metres above the sea at the Wye bridge, away from the river land rises gently to the outer edges of the city which reach 80 metres in places. There are 5 parishes forming the northern portion whilst St Martin parish is a true suburb sitting south of the Wye and supporting that community as well as extending into formerly rural areas to the southwest, the parish would have supported around 1,100 parishioners. Hereford is recorded in Domesday Book as a holding of the Bishop of Hereford but its assets are not fully detailed as is common for larger settlements.

The Church

St Martin's church sits south of the Wye on the eastern side of the A49 (Ross Road) as it leaves the city, it stands amongst mid-20th century residential developments. The original medieval church was destroyed during the depredations of the Civil War in 1645, the parishioners would have used other churches until today's church was completed in 1845 so this church is not that in which these marriages would have been celebrated. The church is a large if slightly austere building utilising Early English Gothic elements such as lancet windows, it is dominated by the slim western tower which looms above the A49. Despite the relatively modern completion date there has been time for change with the chancel enlarged eastwards in 1895. As this is the main artery southwards from the city it not suitable for parking, side streets opposite are a safer bet. The church stands within an extensive churchyard with no significant obstacles for the photographer.