England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llanwarne St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Llanwarne lies in southern Herefordshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Monmouthshire. Llanwarne is located about 7 miles northwest of the market town of Ross on Wye in a sparsely populated area a few miles to the west of the Wye Valley. Llanwarne sits just west of the B4348 road which leads from the A49 northwestwards to eventually reach Hay on Wye. Llanwarne is a compact small village built largely around a crossroads of extremely narrow lanes just west of the B road, it is built in the valley bottom of the River Gamber which heads southwards before eventually joining the Wye at Goodrich. The landscape is rolling and underlain with the rust-coloured rock of the New Red Sandstone which give a characteristic glow to the local stone. The landuse was almost totally pastoral at the time of this transcript but has moved more towards mixed farming with the use of modern machinery. Llanwarne is sited at around 80 metres above sea level at the western edge of a plain, land rises steeply to the west to Orcop Hill which tops out at almost 300 metres above sea level. The parish was quite extensive, at almost 2,500 acres it supported many more folk in those days, almost 400 parishioners. In Domesday times the parish was held by the Canons of Hereford and supported an impressive 25 ploughs as well as meadows and woodland.

The Church

St John the Baptist church is now a picturesque ruin having been abandoned in 1864 after repeatedly being flooded. The old church sits on the banks of the Gamber and this gentle stream could turn into a raging torrent when rain fell on the higher ground to the west. As a result of the flooding the present church of Christ Church was built on higher ground to the west of the village. St John the Baptist lies roofless at the end of a lane which runs through the grounds of Brom-y-court. The church carries dates from 13th to 17th centuries but most is of the Decorated style and from late 13th to early 14th centuries. The site is picturesque and the ruin is quite a local attraction being a peaceful spot by the river.