England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Swainswick St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Swainswick lies in the extreme northeast of Somerset forming part of the border with neighbouring Gloucestershire and is also not too far from Wiltshire. Swainswick is located about 3 miles north of the city of Bath and consists of two distinct settlements, Upper & Lower Swainswick separated by just over a half mile. Swainswick sits on the slopes of a steep sided valley a few hundred yards west of the A46 road which connects Bath through to the nearby M4 and thence to Stroud. Upper Swainswick still retains its rural setting whilst Lower Swainswick has, as time passes, become absorbed into the suburbs of Bath as that city has spread up the valley through modern development. The economy, at the time of this transcript, was almost totally based upon pastoral farming whilst some quarrying of the local limestone for building and road making offered diversity. Swainswick is drained by the deeply incised Lam Brook which scurries the short distance downhill to the nearby Avon, thence through Bath & Bristol to the Bristol Channel through the Avon Gorge. There is a significant height difference between the two settlements, Lower Swainswick is at around 50 metres whilst on its sloping site Upper Swainswick ranges from 70 to 110 metres above the sea, local heights rise to 210 metres on nearby Charmy Down in strongly undulating near-hill countryside. Parishes in this area of the county are rather small in extent, Swainswick parish covered around 850 acres and would have supported a population of just under 600 parishioners. In Doomsday times Swainswick was a small place shared by Alfred the Steward with a smaller holding in the hands of Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, the collective assets amounted to just 3 ploughs and a small meadow albeit there was a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits within Upper Swainswick on the lower, western edge of the settlement. Whilst there are few ancient pieces these are mere traces, the southern doorway is Norman Romanesque and parts of the tower show features of the 13th century Early English Gothic period. It is clear, however, from the remainder that the church was significantly rebuilt in the 14th & 15th centuries in a process that began in the Decorated style period, southern side only, through into the Perpendicular, most of the remainder of the church. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was minimal. Tadwick Lane runs down to the edge of the village with fine views across the Lam Brook valley, here there is some limited parking and the main entrance to the churchyard through it surrounding limestone block wall. The churchyard is relatively free from photographic obstructions.