England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sevenoaks St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Sevenoaks lies in southwestern Kent roughly 17 miles west of the administrative town of Maidstone and some 24 miles southeast of the city of London. Sevenoaks sits on the former route of the A21 road which connects London with Hastings and which now thankfully bypasses to its west, the A225 heading south from Dartford formerly met that road just north of the parish church. The town takes its name from the 7 mature oak trees which once stood atop the hilltop on which the medieval town sat, magnificent specimens were felled during the infamous storm of 1987. Sevenoaks is unusual in being placed atop a hill, a rare location for such a market town. St Nicholas' church stands atop the hill and it is believed had its origins as a wayside shrine for drovers headed into the High Weald, that kernel grew into a small market town as early as the end of the 13th century, the town hosting weekly markets for the farm produce of the wider parish and acting as a centre for specialist trades. Some silk mills were in production for a while but ceased prior to the transcript period. It was the arrival of two railway routes connecting the town to the city of London in the 1860s that sparked Sevenoaks development as a substantial commuter town which also created much expansion to the north engulfing the subsidiary settlements of Riverhead and Dunton Green. Today Sevenoaks spreads for almost 4 miles from north to south and a little over 2 from west to east and containing a population of over 120,000. The wider parish, at the time of this transcript, would have been typical of many areas of the Weald, poor soils left little arable, pigs were an important asset and the extensive woodlands, estimated at 23% of the total acreage would have been exploited for both game and forest products. Modern developments have created two parallel routes for rail from the capital whilst the A21 is nowadays a fast dual-carriageway in addition the modern M26 motorway cuts through the north of the parish. Sevenoaks is drained northwards by the infant River Darent which makes its way to Dartford and thus to the outer Thames Estuary. Sevenoaks is sited between 70 metres at the Darent and 150 metres at its church further south at Hubbard's Hill and River Hill the 210 metre contour is breached as the highest ground hereabouts. Sevenoaks parish was extensive, as are many in The Weald, covering close to 6,000 acres it would have supported a population growing to around 5,050 parishioners, the volume of marriages recorded is, however, more typical of an average population of fewer than 2,500. Sevenoaks is not mentioned in Domesday Book in common with much of The Weald.

The Church

As already mentioned St Nicholas' church stands at the southern end of the High Street on its western side, it is on the highest ground within the older part of town and is a landmark accordingly. Outwardly the church is a typical Perpendicular town church grown large from the wealth of the late Middle Ages, Pevsner finds earlier fabric through his inspection of the interior. The arcades to the nave show octagonal piers with hollow chamfers on the arches, a feature characteristic of the 13th century Earl English Gothic period. The 4 western bays of the nave also show earlier fabric, here it is Decorated in style from the early 14th century. In keeping with its general appearance the later Perpendicular style of the late 14th and early 15th centuries is indeed present in substantial form, the western tower's basal stages, the chancel and its arcades and the vestry are examples of the style. Restoration began in Georgian times, in 1811 the topmost stages to the tower were added, in addition a former 12th century tower which stood within the northern aisles was demolished and removed, between 1813 and 1814 the 13th century arcades were also increased in height. More work followed during Victoria's reign when a timber roof was placed upon the chancel and most dressings were restored throughout. In 1909 the vestry was extended and in the 1950s the nave roof replaced. Visiting the church is best achieved by using the town's car parks, only 20 minute bays are found close by, the churchyard has dense tree cover in the southeast quadrant removing that favoured aspect but most other angles are available to the photographer.