England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Gillingham St Mary the Virgin

The Parish

The parish of Gillingham lies in north central Kent, indeed it forms part of Kent's northern coast, in this case with the Medway Estuary. Gillingham is located about 2 miles north of the port & military centre of Chatham. Gillingham itself was a port in its own right with quays on the Medway and a mixture of trade and naval activity. Gillingham is located on and around the A289 road which loops northwards from the A2 (London to Canterbury) road and accesses the docks. Gillingham has a long and continuing involvement in military affairs, in the Middle Ages it is alleged a massacre of 600 noblemen, the retinue of King Alfred were murdered by the Danes under Earl Godwin. Subsequently it and neighbouring Chatham were attacked by the Dutch fleet in Stuart times. Modern Gillingham has spread dramatically and is now contiguous with both Chatham & Rochester, plus several former villages into the Medway conurbation. At the time of this transcript Gillingham was a separate and large village & port, its economy dominated by the port and a hinterland with a mixed farming economy including arable, pastoral and hop growing. As a coastal settlement Gillingham is drained by just small streams entering the Medway. Gillingham is sited at sea level but rising to 30 metres above the sea around the church, the land is gently rolling inland of the town. Gillingham parish was one of the larger in the area, it covered around 4,500 acres, the population showed fairly rapid growth through the period of this transcript, Gillingham almost trebled in size to a population of around 6,700 parishioners. In Domesday Book Gillingham was largely held by the Archbishop of Canterbury with a small holding for Bishop Odo of Bayeux, it could offer 20 ploughs, small meadows, woodlands and pastures plus 2 mils and 3 fisheries.

The Church

St Mary the Virgin's church lies about 300 metres south of the A289 road as its sweeps around the old town heading for the docks & the Medway tunnel. It is best accessed from Grange Road where it is short walk through parkland. Outwardly St Mary is a Perpendicular church but Pevsner digs out details from the interior which tell an older story. He dates the earliest features, the arches from the chancel into the chapels, as from the early 13th century and suggests a single pillar in the nave for the same period. Much else is Perpendicular in style and thus probably 15th century. The church received a major restoration of 1868 which much modified parts of the building to give its present form. From the right-angled bend of Grange Road a tarred path leads westwards to the church which stands in an open site which does not unduly restrict photography.