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

The Parish

The parish of Battersea lies in northeastern Surrey forming part of the boundary with neighbouring Middlesex, here formed by the River Thames. Battersea is located about 3 miles south of the City of London and sits on the southern banks of the Thames. Battersea sits on the A3205 road which connects Lambeth through to Wandsworth but many other major thoroughfares cross the parish's area. Prior to the 18th century Battersea was a low-lying and marshy area and largely open countryside, enclosure of the Thames wall enabled the area to become the premier market gardening district for the capital, it is reputed that it was in Battersea that asparagus was first cultivated for human consumption. By the end of this transcript period there was a substantial village, the size of a middling market town, grouped around the area of the church. It was not until the development of Victoria & Waterloo railway stations that Battersea developed into an integral part of the urban area of Greater London, the population in 1831 of 5,500 rose twenty-fold by 1881 to over 107,000 as the former marshes were covered in both domestic and industrial growth. Today Battersea is best remembered for its iconic power station, now an art gallery and also its park, a welcome lung in the crowded urban area that is today's Battersea. As a Thames-side location most drainage is nowadays subsurface and heads for the Thames and the North Sea through its estuary. Battersea is sited at sea level, rising gently to 6 metres above it by the time you reach those rail lines, land continues to rise gently but it is over 3 miles before one crosses a 30 metres contour. Being initially just a rural parish Battersea parish is large for an urban Surrey parish, it covered just over 2,100 acres and would have supported a population of close to 5,000 parishioners for much of this transcription period. In Domesday times Battersea was held by Westminster Abbey and was a wealthy holding indeed, it could offer 17 ploughs, meadows & woodland and an impressive 7 mills.

The Church

St Mary's church sits right on the banks of the Thames, its feet almost in the waters of that great river. Although a church is mentioned as being here in Domesday Book there is no trace remaining of that early building. The present St Mary was built in the 1770s so many of the marriages listed here would have occurred in its predecessor. Pevsner is fairly terse in his account describing the building as a "homely, dark brick box with a square tower"; it clearly did not impress him unduly with its architectural interest. The Tuscan style western porch with its pediment is granted a mention but otherwise it is a purely descriptive account. Battersea Church Road parallels the Thames and the church sits between this road and the river with the churchyard having its own river frontage and, indeed, wharf with tied up houseboats. A popular lunchtime strolling area for nearby workers the site is also traversed by the urban stretch of the Thames Path National Trail.