England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sarratt Holy Cross

The Parish

The parish of Sarratt lies in southwestern Hertfordshire forming s stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Sarratt is located roughly 3 1/2 miles northwest of the town of Rickmansworth and sits just over 2 miles north of the A404 road which links Rickmansworth with Amersham. Sarratt has a single main lane running from northwest to southeast with Great Sarratt Hall at the northwestern end, most properties lie along this lane. In addition there are a series of "Ends" such as Church End wherein sits the parish church and standing just over a half mile to the south. This landscape is typical of an origin as enclosures carved from a firmer fully wooded landscape. The area is largely farmed by arable means although most fields are still rather small, there are many patches of woodland remaining too which would have been managed for woodland products and charcoal by coppicing. Sarratt is drained southeast by the River Chess which soon reached the Colne at Rickmansworth, the Colne heads southwards to meet the Thames, the latter turning back east through the capital to the North Sea. Both Church End and the main village are sited at around 120 metres above the sea on the foothills of the Chiltern Range, land rises steadily northwestwards reaching 160 metres in nearby Bovingdon. Covering just over 1,200 acres Sarratt parish was small by its county standards, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 550 parishioners. Sarratt is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

Holy Cross church stands at Church End on the New Road leading south from the main village towards the River Chess and across to Chorleywood. The cruciform layout is a clue to the church's origins in the 12th century, it has, however, a western tower rather than a central crossing tower. The core of the nave, the transepts and the western part of the chancel all date from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period. There is evidence of 2 extensions to the chancel, in the 13th century leaving an Early English Gothic double-piscina and in the 14th century when the east window was created. The short western tower was added in the 15th century in the Perpendicular style and finally given its top-most stages in brick including the distinctive saddleback roof in the 16th. A thorough Victorian restoration was made in 1864 - 1866 which added both aisles, the southern porch and the southeastern vestry as well as exposing the roof in the nave. Parking is straightforward at the church where a dead-end lane leads off New Road with a broad enough entrance to allow parking. A neat lychgate grants entry to a churchyard which has few obstacles to concern the photographer.