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

The Parish

The parish of Watlington lies in southeastern Oxfordshire, indeed a detached part of the parish forms a short stretch of the border with neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Watlington is located about 15 miles southeast of the city of Oxford and sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. Watlington is a small market town sitting at the crossroads of the B4009 road (which follows the escarpment base from Wallingford to Tring) with the B481 (on its way from Stadhampton to Reading). The two roads run concurrently along Watlington's High Street for a short stretch and this is where the market place and most properties are located. Watlington has expanded greatly in recent times spreading along both of these roads. Watlington was granted its market by King Richard 1 but has never expanded into a sizable town despite the trade this would have occasioned. The main income of the parish would have been farming and with the parish extending onto the Chiltern Hills it would have been a mixed farming regime in place. Watlington is drained by several small brooks heading northwestwards to join the Thame at Stadhampton wherein it turns south to meet the Thames and thence the North Sea through the Thames Estuary. Watlington is sited at around 100 metres above the sea but the Chilterns rise with a mile of the town to local heights of almost 250 metres, to the northwest the land falls away to the Oxfordshire plains. Watlington parish was of a fairly typical size for the area, it covered just over 3,400 acres and would have supported a population of just under 1,900 parishioners. In Domesday times Watlington was shared three ways, held in various proportions by Robert d'Oilly, the Abbey of Preaux & Earl William. The parish was able to offer 19 ploughs, small meadows & woodlands and 2 mills making it a prosperous place even then.

The Church

St Leonard's church sits at the northwestern end of watlington just to the east of the B481 as it leaves the town heading for Stadhampton. The original church was of the 14th century with some details remaining from a 12th century predecessor. Little remains of this building today just traces reused in the major rebuilding of 1877 when most of the church was rebuilt. The western tower is a survivor of earlier times but it too is 15th century and Perpendicular in style. The church is accessed off Pyrton Lane where a driveable footpath heads to the south of its grounds. A fine lychgate grants access through the low brick wall surrounding the churchyard. The church sits in a rather narrow site (north to south) and views are somewhat restricted by trees to the southeastern side making for a difficult building to adequately photograph.