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

The Parish

The parish of Harmondsworth lies in southwestern Middlesex forming a part of the border with neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Harmondsworth is located roughly 4 miles north of the market town of Staines and sits on the A3044 road which connects Staines with the M4 motorway. At the time of this transcript Harmondsworth was a small village on the eastern banks of the River Colne with the local economy dominated by farming, arable & market gardening on higher ground and pastures alongside the Colne. Today nothing could be more different, a wave of modern developments have engulfed the former village, firstly canalisation of the river, branch railway lines and both modern M4 and M25 are nearby. But it is to the south that Harmondsworth is dominated by its noisy neighbour, Heathrow Airport, Harmondsworth being only a mile north of Terminal 5. Despite these challenges, and following extensive sound-proofing of housing, Harmondsworth retains a village feel along its short High Street and if one can ignore the planes taking off and landing a tranquil setting remains. The Colne drains the parish southwards to reach the Thames at Staines from where it turns east to flow through the capital to the North Sea. Harmondsworth is sited at around 20 metres above the sea outside the Colne's valley land rises little with most below 30 metres for some distance. Rural Middlesex parishes are often fairly large in extent and Harmondsworth was one of those, covering just under 3,500 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,300 parishioners. In Domesday times Harmondsworth was largely a holding of Trinity Abbey, Rouen and was a large settlement by the standards of these times offering an impressive 33 ploughs, the usual meadows and woodland and moreover possessed 3 mills.

The Church

St Mary's church sits about 200 metres west of the A3044 at the entrance to a short dead-end lane. The church has its origins in the 12th century with an elaborate Norman Romanesque style southern doorway which Pevsner says is one the finest in its county. This style and aging is also shown by the southern arcade. Much of the main body of nave and chancel dates from the 13th century but has been modified slightly across the following two centuries. The major rebuild being dateable to the last decade of the 14th century when the chancel was largely rebuilt. The unusually placed southwestern tower is built from brick of the early 16th century albeit topped by a cupola of 18th century work. Despite the modern infrastructure around the village a triangular green permits parking to the east of the church, a low wall topped by railings is pierced by metal gates leading into a veritable forest of a churchyard where the photographer has to try very heard indeed to adequately capture this church.