England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ashford St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Ashford lies in southwestern Middlesex roughly 4 miles northeast of the market town of Chertsey in Surrey, indeed such is Ashford's proximity to Surrey that it was transferred there in a reorganisation of 1965. Ashford sits about 1 mile south of the A30 road which links London with Staines and onwards to Portsmouth. Ashford is a much changed place, early maps show a short main street centred upon St Michael's church with 4 limbs headed to the northwest, southwest, northeast and southeast from either end of this street, today Ashford is a town which is almost contiguous with the spread of Greater London, joined with Staines and Feltham through to Hounslow in a sea of residential properties. At the time of this transcript Ashford was a small arable farming community. Growth began with the coming of the railway and its station in 1848 such that it now occupies the whole land between that railway and the Queen Mary Reservoir to its south. Modern developments abound, the A30 and A308 roads which top-and-tail the parish are both speedy dual-carriageways whilst just 3 miles to the north looms Heathrow Airport. The Thames lies just under 2 miles to the southwest and water drains there largely through sub-surface means, the Thames passes eastwards through the capital to the North Sea. Ashford is sited at around 15 metres above the sea in generally flat terrain, a few spots pass the 20 metres contour hereabouts but not by much. Ashford parish covered just under 1,400 acres making it a typical rural arable parish in the south, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 500 parishioners, the volume of marriages in more indicative of an average across the transcript period of nearer 250, today's population is in excess of 20,000. In Domesday times Ashford was a tiny place held by Count Robert of Mortain it returned just a single plough and a small meadow. 

The Church

As Ashford has changed so has the church, St Michael, the church for the majority of this transcript period was replaced by St Matthew in 1858, thus the church we see today is not only of a differing dedication but also not the venue for these marriages. St Matthew is the 3rd edition of church on this site as St Michael was completely rebuilt in 1796 replacing a medieval predecessor, such is the modern development of Ashford. The church stands on the northern side of Church Road and is a design by the famous architect Butterfield. Its standout feature is the curiously placed tower which stands to the south of the southern aisle, the pyramidal cap which adorns it was not, however, the original design. Just west of the churchyard a shopping parade has a lay-by for parking, short term but probably enough for a brief visit. The photographer will find it a challenge, however, given the preponderance of trees which totally remove all of the favoured aspects.