England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Drayton Bassett St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Drayton Bassett lies in the extreme southeast of Staffordshire, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Warwickshire (so much so that the parish included within it part of that county). Drayton Bassett is a small compact village lying about 3 miles southwest of the market town of Tamworth. Drayton Bassett lies just west of the A4091 road that connects tamworth to the Warwickshire village of Coleshill. Drayton Bassett sits on the western edge of the floodplain of the River Tame, a situation that gave the parishioners access to both arable land (on higher ground) and pastures in the valley. The Tame drains northwards to join the Trent just to the east of Alrewas and thence to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Drayton Bassett is sited at around 70 metres above sea level and keeps its feet dry by being 10 metres above the river. Drayton Bassett parish was of a fairly typical size for the English Midlands, it covered around 3,200 acres and supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Drayton Bassett was held directly by the King, it boasted just 4 ploughs but had 2 mills as well as small meadows and woodlands.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the heart of the village, it is on the western side of the main lane through the village but set back a little behind properties. The church has three distinct ages, the western tower is the oldest surviving piece being in the Perpendicular style of the great English church building era and probably 15th century. The nave is dateable from documentary sources to a late 18th century rebuild and the chancel is still later dating from the 1850s. A wide plain graces the front of the area and a wooden gate grants access through to the churchyard. The site has many trees requiring care to achieve acceptable photographs from the limited angles available.