England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Staplehurst All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Staplehurst lies in southern Kent within the heart of The Weald and roughly 9 miles south of the county town of Maidstone. Staplehurst sits on the A229 road which links Maidstone through to Hawkhurst and eventually the A21 (London to Hastings) road, the A229 through the village sits upon the ancient Roman road which crossed The Weald. At the time of this transcript Staplehurst was a mid-sized village atop a low limestone ridge, a sizeable settlement sufficiently large enough to hold an annual fair for the local crops of cattle, corn & hops. Sitting within the Weald the soils hereabouts are rather poor, the above produce reflecting the farming economy of the area, in addition the substantial forests within The Weald were extensively managed for both timber and coppice. Staplehurst saw extensive growth following the arrival of the railway line connecting Ashford through Staplehurst to Tonbridge and the main routes to the capital, this connection made Staplehurst an attractive commuter settlement and lead the village to steadily grow northwards to meet the railway line at its station, the result is a largely linear village stretching almost a mile and a half along either side of the A229. Staplehurst is drained northwestwards by the River Boult, this river meets the Medway south of Yalding and the latter passes through Maidstone to reach the outer Thames Estuary through the port of Chatham. Staplehurst is sited at between 20, at the station, and 40 metres, at the church, above the sea, that 41 metre spot height represents the highest ground within The Weald for some distance. Staplehurst parish was one of the most extensive within its county, a feature of Wealden parishes and reflecting the poor quality of the land, it acreage at a little over 5,700 acres being more reminiscent of an upland parish, nevertheless would have supported a population of almost 1,600 parishioners. The Weald is sparsely represented in Domesday Book, an undeveloped area and covered largely by Royal hunting forests, consequently like so many parishes in the area Staplehurst is not mentioned in that book.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the eastern side of the A229, here named simply High Street, as it crests the low limestone ridge on which the earliest properties sit. The church certainly has early origins with the northern walls of both nave and chancel showing the herringbone work characteristic of the 12th century Norman Romanesque period, the southern door is, however, the iconic piece of this period as it is decorated with seemingly random pieces of iron nailed to the door, closer inspection reveals the depictions of sea creatures, somewhat "new-age" in places in their interpretation. The 13th century saw the church much expanded with both a southern aisle and chapel added in the Early English Gothic style of that century. The 14th century saw both widened and the 15th saw the western tower also added, the use of both Decorated & Perpendicular styles reflecting the spread across this medieval period. The 15th century tower once carried a topping spire which, sadly, was destroyed by high winds in 1673, it nevertheless remains a good example of 15th century Kentish style towers. Like most churches the Victorians had their way with a major restoration of 1853 which made many changes, notable was the replacement of arches at the chancel and the western arch of the chapel both of which date from 1853 nowadays. Further work followed in 1876 adding an organ chamber to the northwestern corner of the nave completed the major changes to the church. Parking for the church is difficult, there being no street parking on High Street in the immediate vicinity, nearby housing streets may be the best source. The churchyard sits at waist-height above street level banked by a local limestone wall, the church sits rather uncomfortably close to the street which restricts views of the western tower and some trees are also somewhat restrictive to the southern aspects, a puzzle for the photographer to find the better views.