England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bicester St Edburg

The Parish

The parish of Bicester lies in eastern Oxfordshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Bicester is located roughly 12 miles northeast of the city of Oxford and stands where the A34 from Oxford meets the A41 from Aylesbury. Bicester is a market town which has expanded markedly as a result of the coming of railways, the companies connecting the town chose Bicester as their maintenance depot and sparked much growth. Further growth arrived as Bicester became a centre for the military with the Graven Hill Ordnance Depot being supported by extensive military housing. At the time of this transcript, however, consisted of a "V" shaped market town with King's End and Market End forming the twin limbs with St Edburg's church forming the notional centre. Bicester claims an early origin in Saxon times and grew in the early medieval times thanks to its Augustinian Abbey which, of course, disappeared following Henry VIII's dissolution. Bicester functioned as the regional market for eastern Oxfordshire, a centre for trade and specialist skills, the wider parish would have been primarily arable in its farming content. Modern developments arrived with the railways two main lines, that from London to Banbury & Warwick being complemented by the line from Bletchley to Oxford giving Bicester 2 stations but not joining. To Bicester's west the modern M40 motorway carves its alternative way from London to Birmingham avoiding M1. All of these developments together with the railway and military functions have grown Bicester into a large town, a truncated circle of 2 miles in diameter full of urban development yet sliced off southwestwards such that St Edburg almost sits on that edge. Bicester sits on rather flat land where small meandering streams drain the land eventually coalescing into the River Ray and draining southwestwards, the Ray meets, in turn, the Cherwell and then the Thames before water turns east to pass through the capital to the North Sea. Bicester is sited at around 70 metres at its centre with the northeastern suburbs some 20 metres higher, land rises gently northwards just crossing the 120 metre contour at nearby Stoke Lyne. For the area of Oxfordshire in which it sits Bicester parish was on the larger end of the scale, covering just under 2,600 acres it would have supported a growing population rising to just over 3,000 parishioners, the volume of marriages reported indicates a figure closer to 2,500 in average during the transcript period. Domesday Bicester was already of sufficient size to be enumerated amongst the largest 20% of settlements by population, held by Robert d'Oilly its assets were impressive too, offering 22 ploughs, extensive meadows and a small wood it also possessed 2 mills, a wealthy holding indeed.

The Church

St Edburg, today, sits on the southwestern edges of the town whereas in early times this was the notional centre, it sits set back on the northern side of Church Street. The church retains a few fragments of its earliest history, 12th century buttresses clasp the chancel whilst the jamb shafts of the southern doorway show the style morphing from 12th century Norman Romanesque motifs into classic Early English Gothic styles of the 13th century. The early church, unlike today's version, was a cruciform church with a central crossing tower, scars remain in the form of 3 round-headed arches which once supported that lost central tower. The simple aisle-less church of the early 13th century was expanded steadily over the years, a southern aisle added in the later 13th century was perhaps matched to the north but that aisle was rebuilt in the 14th century in the Decorated style. Also 14th century is the chancel chapel north of the chancel. The great change came in the late-Perpendicular era when then the central crossing tower was removed and a new western tower of 3 stages and topped with a battlemented parapet was constructed to replace it changing the layout to a more familiar one. Contemporary with the tower's construction a typical Perpendicular feature, the clerestory, was inserted to improve internal lighting. A strange event of the 18th century was the removal of most of the tracery from the many windows leaving only the early 14th century windows of the northern aisle and the larger later windows of the transepts intact. This removal was partially reversed during the typical Victorian restoration of 1863 which returned it as well as refreshing the remainder of the church. Church Street has some parking bays east of the churchyard whilst a few spaces sit within the churchyard, itself, all are obviously coveted and unlikely to be free, a car park may be necessary. The church sits within a quite extensive churchyard which only has obstacles around its edges allowing unfettered views for the photographer.