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

The Parish

The parish of Stodmarsh lies in northeastern Kent roughly 4 1/2 miles northeast of the city of Canterbury. Stodmarsh sits just under 2 miles south of the A28 road which links Canterbury with Ramsgate. Stodmarsh is a small and compact village sitting at the northeastern end of a low ridge of land overlooking the extensive flood-plain of the Great Stour. Today that flood-plain is one of the flagship nature reserves in the land as the "Stodmarsh National Wildlife Reserve" reknowned for its ability to attract rare species of birds and also for its inset life. Stodmarsh parish was a mixture of land-forms and consequently a diverse farming regime was in place, almost 3/4s was divided equally into pastures and arable whilst typical Kentish crops such as hops and fruit were also cultivated. Stodmarsh sits on the neck of land between the Great & Little Stour rivers which both drain the parish northeastwards before merging and reaching the North Sea through the port of Sandwich. Stodmarsh is sited at below 10 metres but still marginally above the flood-plain, land rises up the ridge southwestwards to just over 30 metres in Trenleypark Wood. Stodmarsh was one of Kent's smaller parish covering only 690 acres which would have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Stodmarsh is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the northeastern end of the village on the eastern side of Stodmarsh Road. Like many small rural churches St Mary has fabric dating back to the earliest times, the nave is late 12th century Norman Romanesque, a single pointed arch to a window being the clue to the era. To the east the chancel is later and from the 13th century Early English Gothic period, it has the characteristic lancet windows again to confirm the era. At the western end of the roof ridge sits a bell-turret, Pevsner confirms the substructure as medieval but declines to date the feature, the base is brick and probably is contemporary with the 15th century crown-post roofs. Two Victorian restorations barely separated in time were made, the first of 1888 restored the nave including rebuilding the northern wall whilst the second of 1891 targeted the chancel. Whilst the churchyard is unfenced and level with the road, signs and rocks are set to discourage parking on the lawn-like churchyard edges, the road to the southwest is wider and offers some on-street parking. Most aspects of the church are readily available for the photographer, the sole exception being from the southeast where a large mature tree takes away that favoured angle.