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

The Parish

The parish of Presteigne lies in the extreme east of Radnorshire, indeed the town has more in common with adjacent Herefordshire than the mountainous tracts of Radnorshire. Presteigne is a market town, the market being granted in the 14th Century, and the principal place in the county. Its population during the period of the transcript was just above 3000 parishioners. The town is rather off the modern highway systems being located at the meeting of three "B" class roads; it sits close to the River Lugg which becomes one of the major rivers of Herefordshire and empties into the River Wye just below Hereford. The area around Presteigne is dominated by small fields and a majority of pastoral farming. Presteigne lies at 158 metres above sea level but higher ground lies close by, Harley's Hill rises to over 300 metres around a mile west of the town centre. Presteigne was not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book as this was largely restricted to English counties.

The Church

St Andrews church sits close by the River Lugg a few yards north of the main high street of Presteigne. Pevsner is warm in his praise for the building describing it as architecturally the best in Radnorshire. Most of the fabric dates from the 14th & 15th Centuries but there is much evidence for a very early Saxon origin probably 10th or 11th Century. The church was, however, much extended by the Normans and the Perpendicular nave and chancel are clearly of an age. The tower appears rather squat but is rather solid.