England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Britwell Salome St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Britwell Salome lies in southern Oxfordshire about 8 miles east of the town of Didcot. Britwell Salome lies astride the B4009 road that runs from nearby Watlington towards the Thames valley at Benson (Bensington). The parish is rather peculiarly shaped in that it occurs in two separate portions separated by a detached portion of Newington parish. The present village is small and built largely alongside the B4009 and also a lane which heads southwards from it towards the Chiltern escarpment. Britwell Salome is once of a series of settlements that sits at the base of this prominent ridge of chalk. The parish would have been dominated by cattle pasturing during the period of this transcript as the soils are heavy Oxfordshire Clays, however nowadays there is much arable as modern machinery helps to manage the soil. Britwell Salome sits at around 110 metres above sea level, land rises to the east to the Chiltern Hills at 230 metres and most drainage runs away fro the chalk northwestwards before joining the River Thame, a tributary of the Thames. The parish was very small even for a southern one at only a little over 700 acres, it supported in the region of 200 parishioners. In Domesday times the land was held by one Miles Crispin and supported 3 ploughs as well as small areas of meadow and woodland.

The Church

St Nicholas' church is hidden away from the centre of Britwell Salome down a lane which leads north and then east away from the B4009. The church itself was completely rebuilt in the 1860s and as such did little to excite Pevsner. As befits a small parish population the church building itself is also small with nave, chancel and a western bellcote. There are indications that the original building may have had a very early origin as a Norman doorway has been reused in the rebuilding. That the present building has little other architectural interest is indicated by the very short entry in Pevsner, a mere 6 lines. The narrow lane leads to the site of the church as well as a couple of farms. The graveyard is hidden behind screens of trees on southern and western sides of the site but access is by a short path to wrought iron gates. Once within the graveyard there are adequate views to permit photography.