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

The Parish

The parish of Addington lies in the extreme east of Surrey forming a lengthy stretch of the border with neighbouring Kent. Addington is located just over 3 miles east of the former market town and now suburb of Croydon and sits on and mostly north of the A2022 road, a linking road which links Purley with the Kent village of West Wickham. At the time of this transcript Addington was a small village sitting on the rising slopes of the North Downs, a simple village street with church and a few houses to both east & west. To its north ranged extensive woodlands and the grounds of Addington Palace, an 18th century Palladian-style mansion now used as an elite wedding venue specialising in Asian food and traditions. As a consequence of the thin soils of the chalk pastoral farming with sheep in the main was the predominant economic activity. Today Addington sits on the southeastern fringe of the great mass of urban development that is Greater London, thankfully its rural tranquility is somewhat retained by much of its woodland being still present albeit much is now a large golf course. The previously sacrosanct Downs were covered in New Addington in the 1930s and expanded by Croydon Council to become an unofficial "new town". Sitting on porous chalk there is little surface drainage with most water running sub-surface northwards until Beckenham is reached, the intermittently surfacing stream eventually reaching the Thames close to the Cutty Sark after passing through Lewisham. Addington sits in a dry valley with the church at 80 metres above the sea but rising to 110 metres with its northern properties, land continues rising southwards to several local high spots touching 170 metres. Being relatively unproductive agricultural-wise Addington was quite extensive, covering a little over 3,600 acres within which some 550 parishioners would have been supported. In Domesday times Addington was shared between Albert de Lorraine and a cook named Tezelin, their combined resources mustered 8 ploughs and the above mentioned extensive woodland.

The Church

The Addington Village Road is set back from the busy A2022 and it is on this more peaceful road that St Mary's church sits on its northern side opposite the main entrance road to the village. Externally one sees only the work of an extensive Victorian restoration but beneath this modern re-facing lies a church from early times. The chancel is the earliest portion identified by Pevsner and dated to the 12th century with Norman Romanesque styling to fit that date, the original windows especially the triplet window at its eastern end remain. The southern arcade is next in dating sequence, it being 13th century and Early English Gothic demonstrating the style with lancet windows and rounded and octagonal piers. Much else is later, the western tower, already an 18th century addition, was rebuilt as part of the 1876 restoration, which saw the majority of the church re-faced, and it acquired its baptistry in 1913. Addington Village Road is well-served with street parking both west and east of the churchyard. The church sits tight to the churchyard's southern edge removing those aspects from within and meaning the better views are from the street, the remaining aspects are, however, clear enough for the photographer.