England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Much Hadham St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Much Hadham lies in eastern Hertfordshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Essex. Much Hadham is located about 4 miles west of the market town of Bishops' Stortford. Much Hadham is a lengthy and linear village built along the western side of the valley of the River Ash, the B1004 road runs through the village on its way from Bishop's Stortford to Ware. The area was very much an arable farming community at the time of this transcript with extensive large fields of cereals predominating today. The village is locally renowned for its attractive vernacular buildings, "chocolate box" picturesque indeed. The Ash drains the parish to the south joining the Lea at Ware and running into the Thames in East London before reaching the North Sea. Much Hadham is sited at around 60 metres above the sea, the land being gently undulating rises to almost 100 metres just to the west. Much Hadham parish was of a fairly typical size for eastern Hertfordshire, it covered just over 3,200 acres and supported a population of over 1,300 parishioners. In Domesday times Much Hadham was held by the Bishop of London (ruins of his former palace lie within the parish) and could offer 23 ploughs, some meadows & woodland and also a mill.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits a little to the east of the B1004 in a narrow lane which heads down to church and river before returning to the main street. Pevsner indicates that the church was probably Norman in origin and also probably cruciform but it underwent quite a transformation during the 13th centuries to assume its present format. During the 13th century the chancel was rebuilt and the northern aisle became created from the remains of the transept. Much of the nave dates from these early times but much else comes from the 14th century. The tower was added during the late 14th century when extensive renovations were completed at the aegis of Bishop Braybrooke and finally in the 15th century the southern porch, clerestory & the embattlementation were also added. The church sits on a bend in Church Lane surrounded by a low brick wall, a pair of wooden gates grants access to the churchyard, curiously the church sits fairly tight to the southern edge which somewhat restricts photographic angles in particular on sunny days.