England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wittersham St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Wittersham lies in the extreme south of Kent forming an extensive stretch of the border with neighbouring Sussex. Wittersham is located roughly 5 miles north of the picturesque Sussex town of Rye and sits on and southwest of the B2082 road which connects Rye with Tenterden. Wittersham is the largest settlement on the former Isle of Oxney, man-made drainage having turned this former island into dry land through drainage of both the Rother Levels and Shirley Moor which once isolated the island. Wittersham consists of two main pieces, a substantial presence on either side of B2082 whilst leading southwestwards The Street passing the church has a line of further properties. With a mixture of grazing pastures on the reclaimed land Wittersham also possessed arable farming land on the former isle and a surprising amount was also set to woodland, some 1/6th of the parish acreage being in woodland maintenance. The River Rother and its associated man-influenced channels drain the parish eastwards turning south to pass through Rye and meet the English Channel through the latter's harbour. Wittersham is sited at around 40 metres above the sea whilst a local high spot on the former isle reaches just over 60 metres immediately east of the village. Wittersham parish was an extensive one, as are so many which include reclaimed land, covering close to 3,600 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,000 parishioners. In Domesday times Wittersham was not specifically mentioned but the manor of Paltre Court, a holding of Bisop Odo of Bayeux sat within the parish acreage, its assets offered a single plough, some meadow and woodland but the manor had 5 profitable fisheries.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits on the southern side of The Street roughly 400 metres south of the junction with the B2083. Outwardly the church appears to be a mixture of the Perpendicular style of the late 14th or 15th centuries but modified by later Victorian restoration. Pevsner's forensic view, however, finds several features of an earlier 13th century origin, oiers in the northern arcade and the respond showing stiff-leaf motifs are early English Gothic in style whilst the southern arcade shows the slightly later Decorated style of the early 14th century. That there was a major rebuild in the 15th century is evidenced by documentary evidence indicative of a completion of the western tower in 1501. Two significant Victorian restorations were made to the church, the first of 1847 virtually rebuilt the chancel and renewed many of the windows whilst the second, in the 1890s completed the restorations. Outside the churchyard there is an extensive parking area, as the church is set back from the roadside permitting an extended visit, an arched lychgate grants entry into the churchyard. A few sturdy trees dot around the churchyard but they are easily avoided by the photographer.