England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ickenham St Giles

The Parish

The parish of Ickenham lies in western Middlesex close to its border with neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Ickenham is located about 2 miles northeast of the London suburb of Uxbridge and just north of the busy A40 London to Oxford road. Ickenham's centre is located around the where the B466 (A40 to Ruislip) and B467 (Ickenham to Uxbridge) roads meet. Whilst nowadays this is all commuter-land and almost absorbed by the growing spread of London, at the time of this transcript this was still a pleasant rural area. The growth of the railways and underground systems brought this rural part of Middlesex within reach of central London and the wealthier middle classes rapidly moved out to new and growing developments in the area. Where there was once meadows and fields there are now thousands of homes with the only green areas left being the golf course and neighbouring Northolt Aerodrome. Ickenham is built on what was a plateau to the east of the valley of the River Colne which runs from north to south to the west of the parish. The village centre stands at about 40 metres above sea level. The parish was small at only 1,500 acres it was fairly typical for a lowland parish and prior to the 19th & 20th century growth it supported around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Ickenham was split between three major tenants with smaller holdings held by "Englishmen", it supported 9 ploughs and both woodland and the pigs that foraged there also warrant mention.

The Church

St Giles' church sits at the very busy junction of Ickenham High Road and Swakeleys Road, the above-mentioned "B" roads, and is surrounded by suburbia. The church is dated by Pevsner to the 14th century, although the western end was added (and quite well matched) in 1958. Prior to that extension the church fitted the standard nave & chancel design although it carries a shingle-covered bell-turret rather than a tower or steeple at what was the western end. The churchyard is accessed by a short pathway diagonally from the junction and opens out behind its screening trees into a pleasant spot at odds with its noisy surroundings. The scene is quite open making for a straightforward photography exercise.