England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Burham St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Burham lies in northwestern Kent roughly 5 miles north of the town of Maidstone. Burham sits about 1 mile west of the A229 road which links Maidstone with the twin towns of Rochester & Chatham. Burham is a rather linear village lying at the foot of the steep escarpment of the North Downs, built largely along either side of a lane which runs from northwest to southeast, paralleling the course of the escarpment for almost 3/4 of a mile. The western boundary of the parish is formed by the course of the Medway which is tidal up beyond this point. The local economy was underpinned by farming, arable on the plain east of the Medway whilst the downland portion of the parish was for sheep, a few acres are reported as set with traditional Kentish hops. Modern developments surround Burham, southwest across the Medway lies the site of a vast brick-works and a cement works, the modern M2 motorway blights the top of Burham Downs and modern power transmission hardware dominates the area. The Medway drains the parish northwards the short distance to the Outer Thames Estuary and thence to the North Sea. Burham parish ranges from sea level by the Medway to 164 metres at Burham Downs with the ridge traversed by many hikers on the North Downs Way National Trail. At just over 1,700 acres Burham parish was fairly typically sized for its area, within that acreage it would have supported a population of around 350 parishioners. Burham's population was much larger in Domesday times, large enough to apparently place Burham amongst the top 20% of settlements recorded in that book, its assets, however, held by the ubiquitous Bishop Odo of Bayeux, were indicative more of a normal rural holding offering 8 ploughs, the usual meadows and woodland with also a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits away from Burham village by over a half mile sitting almost on the banks of a meander of the Medway and accessed along Old Church Road. The reference to "old church" is relevant as St Mary is deconsecrated in 1956 and is no managed by the Friends of Friendless Churches who rescued the church from near dereliction. Externally the church appears entirely as a typical late-medieval version in a mixture of Decorated & Perpendicular styling but a window in the southern face and another, now blocked, are 12th century Norman Romanesque and hint a more lengthy and complex history. It is only internally that the true ages of the parts of the church can be readily seen. The original 12th century nave was expanded in the 13th century by the addition of twin 3-bay aisles with pointed arches typical of the 13th century Early English Gothic period. The remaining features, however, confirm the evidence of the exterior. Early 14th century Decorated styling shown in the remaining windows being complemented by the 2-bay chapels. Perpendicular styling of either the later 14th or 15th centuries is show to good effect in the 3-stage western tower of rag-stone. For once Pevsner fails to mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light & sensitive. Roadside parking alongside the bordering picket fencing is perfectly okay, the churchyard is only marred by a single mature trees nestled alongside the southern face which intrudes on most of the favoured aspects to annoy the photographer.