England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Littlebourne St Vincent

The Parish

The parish of Littlebourne lies in eastern Kent roughly 4 miles east of the city of Canterbury. Littlebourne sits on and mostly north of the A257 road which links Canterbury with the port of Sandwich. Littlebourne has always existed in two distinct clusters, a presence on the A257 for a few hundred yards west of its crossing of the Nail Bourne and a second cluster gathered around its church and paralleling the course of that small river. Modern developments have  grown the village to the northwest of that latter cluster with typical 20th century suburbia. Whilst farming underpinned the local economy the river provided diversity powering a corn-mill and a brewery and refreshing a small tannery; farming was typically arable but also varied with traditional Kentish hops and orchards too. The Nail Bourne drains the parish northeastwards becoming the River Little Stour before joining the Stour proper and heading east to the North Sea through Sandwich. Littlebourne is sited between 10 & 20 metres above the sea in gentle terrain, away from the river land rises to the south reaching 75 metres close to nearby Aylesham. Littlebourne was above average in size for a rural southern farming parish at close to 2,100 acres it would have supported a population of around 800 parishioners. In Domesday times its 49 households made it large enough by population to be amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded in that book, a contrast to today's less than unusual village; the assets of that manor, held by Canterbury Abbey, were more modest than suggested by the population 9 ploughs backed up the usual meadows & woodland hardly indicates such a large settlement.

The Church

St Vincent (of Saragossa to give it its full dedication) sits on the northeastern edges of the village set behind fronting properties that line Church Road but with a neat lychgate marking the route to the church. Documentary evidence grants us a clearer build date than is present for most churches, 1245 being the sate when a new vicarage was endowed by Canterbury Abbey the local manor holders. The architecture of the church is wholly consistent with such a date being largely from the Early English Gothic era of the 13th century. Lancet style windows abound being especially well shown off in the northern and southern faces of the chancel. Also Early English Gothic, the western tower shows big lancet windows at its top, the recessed spire, however, is of uncertain date either 14th or 15th century as an addition. Victorian restoration appears to have largely passed the church by, Pevsner only mentioning an 18th century "patch-up" as relatively late work. Church Road has ample street parking and outside the lychgate the verge is indented with space for a single car. From the lychgate it is a short walk through trees until the churchyard opens out, those trees inhibit many of the favoured southern aspects but otherwise the church is readily viewed by the photographer.