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

The Parish

The parish of West Malling lies in the western portion of central Kent roughly 6 miles west of the administrative centre of Maidstone. West Malling formerly sat on the route of the A228 road linking Rochester with Tonbridge, thankfully that road now passes by to the east as a bypass leaving the small town quieter. West Malling is a declined market town and monastic centre, the Abbey came first being founded in 1090 for the Benedictine order, soon after in 1105 West Malling was granted the right o hold a market. Whilst that status has fallen into disuse due to competition from others nearby, the broad High Street is a legacy of that function. The heart of old West Malling is the former route of the A228 from its crossroads with the A20 southwards to the parish church, a side branch led eastwards to the Abbey. In recent times the town has expanded westwards the area being know simply as "New Town". The Abbey, of course, fell fowl of Henry VIII and was dissolved leaving an attractive ruin, in 1916 the nuns returned to West Malling and a new Abbey church has been created within those grounds. It takes only a glance at modern Ordnance Survey mapping to see the spotted light-green shapes of orchards, West Malling sits in the heart of the Kentish fruit growing area and apples, pears, cherries and a host of other fruit abounded. Whilst not as prevalent today as further west the wider parish contained substantial woodland with early gazetteers estimating over 40% of the parish acreage as set to managed woodland. Whilst West Malling may have lost its market function its status has been boosted in more modern times due to the arrival, firstly, of the railway line connecting its station directly to London making West Malling attractive for commuters. In addition the new dual-carriageway of the A228 connects West Malling to the modern M20 motorway giving the town excellent communications. West Malling is drained northwards by a small stream which makes its way through a maze of flooded gravel pits to join the Medway for its last few miles through Rochester & Chatham to the outer Thames Estuary and the North Sea. West Malling is sited at around 50 metres above the sea, land rises steadily southwestwards exceeding the 140 metres contour between West Malling and Tonbridge whilst to the northwest looms the escarpment of the North Downs. West Malling parish was quite small for its importance, covering just under 1,400 acres it would nevertheless have supported a population of close to 1,800 parishioners. In Domesday times West Malling was recorded in combination with its smaller eastern neighbour, their combined households taking the joint settlement into the largest 20% by population. There are two landholders, the Archbishop of Canterbury & the Bishop of Rochester, it is tempting to associate the latter with West Malling as he was responsible for the foundation of the Abbey, that manor's assets being smaller do raise a question-mark, however. Combined there were 11 ploughs, meadows & extensive pig-filled woodland and 3 mills.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the southern edge of West Malling opposite to the Manor Park Country Park and on the western side of St Leonards Road. Given the Norman presence in the early town it is not surprising to find 12th century elements in the parish church as well as the former Abbey. The chancel has fabric from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period as does the western tower where herringbone walling is found in both western and southern walls. Together with the Norman fabric the chancel shows lancet styled windows where it was extended in the 13th century in the Early English Gothic period. The current needle-like spire of the western tower is a 19th century replacement for the first disaster to hit the church, the original spire was blown down in 1712. The second disaster came as result of neglect rather than act of god, the nave's roof supports had become so rotten that the roof collapsed into the main body in 1778. A consequence of these two events is that the majority of the nave and tower are relatively modern having been rebuilt following their mishaps. The Victorian's did relatively little to St Mary, merely replacing the spire with today's splendid example in 1837. By 1900 the rebuilt nave was showing signs of decay once more and was in consequence rebuilt once again and followed shortly thereafter by the addition of the northern porch in 1903. Whilst there is some on-street parking on St Leonards Road north of the site, it is possible to drive and park within the churchyard itself on a narrow tarred track, best kept for brief visits only. The church sits within an extensive churchyard complete unimpeded from the south, a joy for the photographer.