England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sandford on Thames St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Sandford on Thames lies in southern Oxfordshire about 3 miles south of the city of Oxford and forming part of the ancient border with Berkshire. As its name suggests Sandford on Thames sits on the eastern banks of that river and on the A4074 road which connects Oxford through to Wallingford & Reading. Sandford on Thames just retains a degree of separation from the city, which has nowadays expanded greatly in this direction with a small "airspace" of green belt between the two. Sitting on the floodplain of the Thames graced the parish with both rich pastures and also the motive power and water supply of a paper mill which employed many of the villagers not engaged in agriculture. The Thames drains the parish southwards and then east through the capital to reach the North Sea. Sandford in Thames is sited at around 60 metres above the sea and land is at and close to that height for at least 2 miles surrounding the village. There are quite a few parishes squeezed into this area making each rather small by Oxfordshire standards, Sandford on Thames parish covered just over 1,000 acres and would have supported a population of close to 300 parishioners. In Domesday times Sandford on Thames was a holding of Abingdon Abbey, a relatively small place offering just 7 ploughs, small meadows and woodland but did possess 2 fisheries.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits on the northern side of Church Road which runs from the A4074 down to the banks of the Thames and a former ferry crossing. The church has ancient origins having been founded here at the end of the 11th century. Pevsner does, however, lament the extensive Victorian restoration and "improvement" which, in his eyes, have detracted severely from the pure Norman church that once existed. The eastern and southern walls of nave & chancel are all that remain of the original fabric that has not been, at least, reused in rebuild. The whole of the remainder of the northern and western sides were completely rebuilt in 1865 along with the Norman-ised western tower which replaced the original timber structure and which is described as "aggressive" by Pevsner. Church Road is sufficiently broad to enable easy parking, the church sits within a local stone wall at waist height with metal gates granting entry. There are a few trees enclosing the western end rather tightly which do substantially restrict the angles available for photography.