England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
South Stoke St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of South Stoke lies in the southeast of Oxfordshire, indeed it forms a substantial part of the border with neighbouring Berkshire. South stoke is located about 4 miles south of the Berkshire market town of Wallingford. South Stoke sits on the banks of the Thames on the B4009 which connects wallingford with Goring. Modern communications also pass through the parish, the rail line from London to the West (the former Great Western Railway) runs through the eastern edge of the village. South Stoke is a substantial and compact village running for almost a half mile along the Thames, the Ridgeway Trail also passes through the village. At the time of this transcript South Stoke would have earned its living from farming, a mixed regime being present with pastures Thames side and arable fields on the chalky field rising to the nearby Chiltern Hills. The Thames drains the parish southwards through the Goring Gap and onward to the North Sea through London & the Thames Estuary. South Stoke is sited at around 40 metres above the sea, its valley setting some 50 metres below the local heights to the east. South Stoke parish was quite large but included the chapelry of Woodcote, the parish being elongated on an east to west axis to take in the various land types; the parish (excluding Woodcote) covered around 1,900 acres and would have supported a population of about 900 parishioners. In Domesday times South Stoke was held by the |Bishop of Lincoln, it offered just 10 ploughs and a small meadow but was taxed to 17 geld units indicating much undeclared wealth.

The Church

St Andrew's church lies on the eastern side of The Street towards the northern end of the village. The church has fabric indicating four distinct periods of activity. The origins lie in the 13th century and Early English Gothic style windows decorate the aisles, chancel and northern arcade. The church received a major rebuild in the 14th century when the Decorated style became fashionable, again the windows show this style as well as the doorways. Later by perhaps a century comes the western tower in the Perpendicular style of the 15th century. The whole church received a major restoration in Victorian times, in this case 1857 when the southern arcade was almost totally rebuilt and the aisle widened. St Andrew sits behind a low brick and flint wall with access though a pleasant lychgate, the traditional views from the south are rather impeded by the closeness of the churchyard boundary in that direction and the trees there making for a difficult piece to adequately photograph.