England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cuddesdon All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Cuddesdon lies in southern Oxfordshire roughly 6 miles southeast of the city of Oxford. Cuddesdon sits a little over 2 miles south of the A40 road which connects Oxford through High Wycombe to London. Cuddesdon parish also included 2 chapelries that of Denton was not registered for marriages at this time but Wheatley was so registered and will have its own page within this project. Cuddesdon sits on a low hilltop at a 3-way meeting of lanes arriving from north, southeast and southwest, most properties sit within the fork formed between the northern and southeastern lanes but all carry properties, that to the southwest now being contiguous with Denton. Cuddesdon was noted for the 17th century palace of the Bishops of Oxford, the building suffered burning in the Civil War but was rebuilt following the restoration. The religious connection is further enhanced by the presence of the theological college to the north. Cuddesdon parish encompassed both drier ground on its little hill where cereals would be grown whilst below to the east lines the extensive flood-plain of the River Thame providing grazing for mainly cattle. The Thames drains the parish southwards shortly meeting the Thames at Dorchester, the Thames heads eastwards through the capital to reach the North Sea after a lengthy journey. Cuddesdon is sited at around 100 metres above the sea, it little hillock is, however, over-topped to the west by a similar but higher little hill reaching 134 metres. Excluding the chapelry of Wheatley Cuddesdon parish covered roughly 1,700 acres and would have supported a population of close to 500 parishioners. In Domesday time Cuddesdon was a significant settlement of 44 households, large enough to be counted in the largest 20% of settlements by population, it was held by Aylesbury Abbey and its assets made it a wealthy holding, 22 ploughs were backed by meadows and extensive woodland there was also a mill and 2 fisheries.

The Church

All Saints' church sits to the east of the main village centre, it is tucked away behind fronting properties and accessed from the junction of Wheatley Road and The Green by a lengthy footpath. There is documentation in the archives of Aylesbury Abbey which detail the dedication, and thus completion, of the church in c1180. The layout, cruciform with central crossing tower and transepts, and the fabric, from the richly carved western doorway to the spectacular tower arches, indicate the late-Norman date of the first iteration. However, like most churches All Saints has evolved and metamorphosed over the centuries. The 13th century saw aisles and arcades added to the previously aisle-less church, the aisles showing lancets of the Early English Gothic style whilst the arcades are later and probably best described as Transitional. Both the Decorated and Perpendicular eras are well represented by individual windows or more substantial offerings such as the Decorated styled clerestory and the topmost stages of the otherwise 12th century tower which were completed in 1630 during the Tudor period. Even more substantial and Perpendicular is the chancel which was clearly entirely rebuilt the late 14th or 15th centuries.  Two phases of Victorian restoration are recorded, both close together, the first of 1849 replaced many windows in the chancel whilst the second of 1853 secured the central crossing with new vaulting. There is parking on The Green of at the start of the pathway to the churchyard, the 70 metre stroll leads to an open and uncluttered churchyard with no obstacles for the photographer.