England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cudham St Peter & St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Cudham lies in the extreme west of Kent forming a lengthy stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Surrey. Cudham is located roughly 7 miles south of the London suburb of Bromley and sits a little over 2 miles east of the A233 which links  Bromley through to Westerham and the A25. Cudham's early history is of a more important settlement than today, a market was granted here in the reign of Henry III but has long since terminated. Cudham is a rather linear village stretching for over a half mile along a lane running from north to south, in addition scattered hamlets and clusters of farms and cottages dot a heavily wooded landscape on rising ground approaching the top of the North Downs. Cudham village sits atop a steep defile into a dry valley which would have been formed in peri-glacial times. Early gazetteers report poor and flint-rich soils in the area which lead to over 20% of the extensive parish acreage being devoted to woodland management with extensive coppicing and production of hurdles, posts and rails. Farming was largely the usual southern mixture of arable with a rotational element of pasture. In World War II this was a centre for the air-defence of Britain with Biggin Hill located less than 2 miles to Cudham's west. Surface drainage in the area is rare until the valley emerges into Orpington as the River Cray which heads for the outer Thames Estuary reaching that at Crayford Ness to the east of Erith. Cudham sits on high ground between 170 & 180 metres above the sea and some 70 metres above the valley bottom immediately to its west, the North Downs chalk escarpment, followed by the North Downs Way National Trail, tops out at 237 metres to the southeast at nearby Knockholt. As already mentioned Cudham parish was extensive as are many in western Kent, it covered an area of around 5.100 acres and would have supported a population of close to 750 parishioners. In Domesday times Cudham was a settlement held by the prolific Bishop Odo of Bayeux, its assets of 10 ploughs the woodland, that is still present, and 2 mills made it a wealthy mid-sized rural settlement.

The Church

St Peter & St Paul's church sits at the northern end of the main cluster of properties, set back from the main north to south lane and accessed to its east by the out-and-back lane of Church Approach. Whilst the church has its origins in the earliest building of stone churches Pevsner bemoans the insensitive restorations of the 19th century as "spoiling the looks" of this church and masking the dating details of its early origins. Despite these issues Pevsner places the origins of the church's nave into the Saxo-Norman period of 11th or early 12th century, very early indeed and proven by the nave's narrow proportions and Early Norman windows to both north and south walls. The chancel comes later in the 13th century and in the Early English Gothic style with lancet-styled windows as typical elements of that era, the shingled tower is contemporary with the chancel. The church was significantly expanded in the early 14th century in a Decorated style, the nave acquiring a northern aisle and the chancel a southern chapel.  Two phases of extensive restoration are recorded by Pevsner of 1846 & 1892 which in his view did not improve the look of the church even if they preserved it. The northern entrance to Church Approach has limited on-street parking beside the cottages, the churchyard sits immediately ahead at its sudden right turn. Sadly for the photographer this is a church with many trees around limiting the angles available in particular around the western end.