England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Chastleton St Mary the Virgin

The Parish

The parish of Chastleton lies in the extreme west of Oxfordshire, indeed it forms a part of the border with both neighbouring Gloucestershire, Worcestershire & Warwickshire in a confusing meeting of counties. Chastleton is located about 5 miles northwest of the market town of Chipping Norton and sits a mile west of the A44 road which connects Chipping Norton with Moreton in the Marsh. Despite Chastleton's small size today it has a long history, to the southeast of the village lies Chastleton Barrow which is presumed to be Iron Age whilst this obscure small village was the site of a bloody battle in 1016 between English & Danish forces whence the latter, under Canute, suffered a heavy defeat. Today Chastleton is a small and sleepy farming village in rolling countryside. At the time of this transcript a mixed farming regime of both sheep rearing and arable farming would have predominated, today arable has gained the majority of the fields with the help of modern machinery. Chastleton is drained westwards by small tributaries of the nearby River Evenlode, this river heads southeastwards to join the Thames to the northeast of Oxford and thence through the capital to the North Sea. Chastleton is sited on a sloping site, the lower parts close 150 metres above the sea, the upper parts, by the church, closer to 180 metres; the landscape is rolling and rises steadily to the east to local heights of almost 250 metres on Rollright Downs. Chastleton parish was relatively small for its area, covering barely 1,600 acres it would have supported a population of just over 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Chastleton was shared between no fewer than 4 landholders, albeit the holdings of Henry de Ferrers and Winchcombe Abbey were described as "waste", the remainder, shared between a Saxon (Aelfric) and Bishop Odo of Bayeux could offer, collectively, 15 ploughs, extensive meadows, pastures & woodland together with a mill.

The Church

St Mary the Virgin's church sits at the southeastern corner of the village on the northern side of the village lane leading to the A44. There are three distinct ages to the church, the earliest of the late 12th century. The best example of this period is the southern arcade. Much else was changed during a major rebuild of the 14th century in which the arcade was extended by a further two bays, the chancel rebuilt and the aisle widened. Much of the windows also date from the Decorated and early Perpendicular periods. In 1689 the present porch & southwestern tower, dated by inscription, were rebuilt. A further major restoration took place during the Victorian era in this case in the late 1870s to result in today's building. The lane is narrow but there are wide verges in places to park, the church is surrounded by a low local stone wall and largely screened from the road by trees. Wooden gateways grant access to a site where the church is curiously squeezed into the northeastern corner making images acquired from outside more pleasing.