England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Drayton St Leonard

The Parish

The parish of Drayton St Leonard lies on the western side of the southern extension of the county of Oxfordshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Berkshire. Drayton St Leonard is also often known as Drayton by Newington to distinguish it from Oxfordshire's other Drayton. Drayton St Leonard is located about 5 miles north of the Berkshire market town of Wallingford. Drayton St Leonard is a mid-sized and compact village which sits on the western banks of the River Thame close to its meeting with the Thames and a half mile west of the A329 which connects Wallingford with Thame, albeit that road is across the Thame. As a riverside settlement built on the water meadows of the Thame Drayton St Leonard would have had a mixed farming economy with rich grazing on the floodplain augmented by arable on higher ground. The Thame meets the Thames at Dorchester just 3 miles southwest of Drayton St Leonard and that river takes the drainage through the capital to the North Sea. Drayton St Leonard is sited at around 50 metres above the sea on a level plain, land rises gently to the east into the foothills of the Chiltern range to reach heights of around 75 metres within a couple of miles. Drayton St Leonard parish was fairly typically sized for the area covering just under 1,300 acres it would have supported a population of around 300 parishioners. There is, however, no specific mention of Drayton St Leonard in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Leonard's church or to give it its full dedication, St Leonard & St Catherine, lies at the northern edge of the village on the northern side of Church Lane. The church has its origins in the Norman era albeit there has been much rebuilding and change since that date. The nave is the earliest portion of the church and Norman Romanesque (possibly 12th century) in style, also Norman but probably early 13th century are the northern transept and the southern doorway. The low western tower with its timber framed top complete with a pyramidal roof is 15th century and of the Perpendicular period. Whilst the chancel arch is comparably aged to the nave the remainder of the chancel was rebuilt in 1859, a further thorough restoration took place in 1884 to reach today's building. Church Lane is narrow so parking should be courteous and careful, the church sits behind a low local stone wall with gated entry and a fringe of shading trees, those trees take away the best angles for photography as the church is rather close by them, but some other angles allow acceptable photography if sunlight conditions allow.