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

The Parish

The parish of Eastwell lies in eastern central Kent about 3 miles north of the industrial town of Ashford. There is no distinct village to Eastwell, the parish is dominated by the grounds of Eastwell Park, the residency of the Earls of Winchilsea, and as clearly a "closed parish" in which a village was not allowed to develop. Eastwell sits about a mile west of the A251 road which connects Ashford with Faversham. The economy of the parish would, of course, have been at the behest of the Earls and was probably dominated by pastoral farming in the parkland-like setting of the estate. Eastwell is drained by a small tributary of the River Great Stour which heads off southwards, much modified by man, before turning northeastward to reach the North Sea through the port of Sandwich. Eastwell is sited at around 70 metres above the sea, the northern part of the parish, sitting on chalk, being somewhat higher; the landscape is undulating reaching heights of over 180 metres with a couple of miles. Eastwell parish was one of the smaller in its area, covering just under 900 acres it would have supported a population of around 100 parishioners. In Domesday times Eastwell was equally small, held by Hugh de Montfort it could offer just 3 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Mary's church is a picturesque partial ruin sitting about a half mile north of the road from Westwell to Ashford in a parkland setting. The church sits amongst dense trees on the banks of Eastwell Park's ornamental lake. Other than the tower, which is Perpendicular in style, little remains of the building besides some intriguing walls. The church is no longer used regularly for worship and is maintained by the Friends of Friendless Churches Trust. The access is good as the church is passed by both the North Downs Way and also the Pilgrim's way trails. The dense foliage does, however, somewhat determine the only angles to obtain photographs.