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

The Parish

The parish of Edwardstone lies in southwestern Suffolk not too far from its border with neighbouring Essex. Edwardstone is located a little over 5 miles east of the market town of Sudbury and sits just under 2 miles north of the A1071 road which links Sudbury with Hadleigh. Edwardstone is a dispersed village with no real centre to it, most properties lie on a broad oval of lanes for which the southwestern corner is formed by church & hall. The estate of Edwardstone Hall would have dominated life in this parish, the seat of the Brands & Dawson families it was demolished in 1962 but prior to that its affairs would have largely dictated the parish economy. Like most Suffolk parishes Edwardstone would have been largely arable, its position close to the valley of the infant River Box would have also granted it some grazing meadows to add a little diversity. Edwardstone is drained southeastwards by the Box which merges with the Stour at the Essex border near Stratford St Mary, the Stour meets the North Sea through its estuary and the twin ports of Harwich & Felixstowe. Edwardstone is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where the local high points just reach above 80 metres at nearby Milden. Edwardstone pariah was fairly typically sized for its area, covering close to 1,800 acres it would have supported a population of close to 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Edwardstone was a holding on one Rober Malet its assets of 5 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland were supplemented by a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits close to the River Box at the southwestern corner of the villages oval of lanes and cheek-by-jowl with the former site of the hall. The church is one which has been extensively restored so much so that Pevsner is tentative regarding some of the dating details. The windows of the chancel, despite restoration betray an origin for that as the earliest part and a date of c1300 is given for its Early English Gothic style. From the typical 14th & 15th centuries both Decorated & Perpendicular styles are found and bequests in wills give a more accurate set of dates which are indicative of the church being rebuilt during that great church-building era. A bequest of 1462 date the northern aisle and its Perpendicular styling whilst a second bequest of 1506 confirms the vestry as a 16th century addition. A substantial restoration of the late 1870s results in much of what we can see today overlain on the underlying medieval. The church sits away from the lane, its driveway marked by the remaining and imposing gate-house, nicknamed the Temple Bar by locals. A small white sign points into te track leading to the churchyard, a portion os worn away for parking. A band of trees close to the southeastern end makes that view a little restricted but all other angles are available to the photographer.