England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cuxham Holy Rood

The Parish

The parish of Cuxham lies in southern Oxfordshire roughly 8 miles northeast of the Thames-side town of Wallingford. Cuxham sits on the B480 road which links Watlington with the city of Oxford. Cuxham is a rather small village just a short row of properties lining the B480 with a few more sitting off the dead-end lane leading past the church. Cuxham sits within the Oxford Vale on heavy clay-rich soils on top of Jurassic beds, this poorly draining soil gave the parish more of a pastoral farming regime than is common in the southeast of England. Cuxham is drained northwestwards by a small tributary of the River Thame which is met at Stadhampton, the Thame, in turn, eventually joins the Thames, turns eastwards and passes through the capital to the North Sea. Cuxham is sited at around 80 metres above the sea in gently rolling countryside, to the southeast but over 3 miles away rises the escarpment of the Chiltern Hills which top out at 240 metres at Christmas Common and which dominate the southeastern views from Cuxham. Cuxham parish was probably one of the smallest in its county, covering only 497 acres it was only a third the size of a typical southern rural parish, within that tiny acreage would have been supported a population of around 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Cuxham was a holding of one Miles Crispin, its assets of just 5 ploughs and a small meadow were somewhat incongruously augmented by the presence of no fewer than 3 mills.

The Church

Holy Rood church sits just to the south of the B480 on the eastern side of a dead-end lane named simply "Manor Farm" it peters out eventually to a footpath heading towards Britwell Salome. Often small rural churches show the earliest origins being left alone in contrast to more populous places, Holy Rood is one such church being 12th century Norman Romanesque in origin. The two stage western tower, complete with its pyramidal topping, shows the round arched outer doorway (Pevsner believes it to have been rebuilt, however) and similarly round-head lancet windows in its basal stage both characteristic of that style. The aisleless nave is probably of a later date, it shows 14th century windows to its northern face whilst rebuilt 17th century windows can be found on its southern face. The major restoration of 1895 rebuilt the chancel to make it the most recent fabric of the church as well as renewing much else. Manor Farm is of sufficient width to allow for careful and considerate parking, the church being accessed by a gravel pathway to its east. The churchyard has a typical flint & brick wall, whilst relatively open and uncluttered there are several close trees requiring the photographer to pick-and-choose those views best available.