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

The Parish

The parish of Bletchingley lies in southeastern Surrey quite close to its borders with neighbouring Kent & Sussex. Bletchingley is a substantial village and formerly a market town, that function having since been lost, lying about 3 miles east of the town of Redhill. Bletchingley sits on the A25 road which links Redhill onwards into Kent and Sevenoaks. Bletchingley has a long history, the remains of its Norman castle lie west of the village centre and fragments of Roman occupation have been found in the area. Today Bletchingley is a fairly large village mostly built along the A25 or adjacent lanes. Bletchingley sits on a ridge of land formed by the underlying sandstone which here forms high ground south of the North Downs but above the vale of the Weald. The poor soils from the sandstone would have lade pastoral farming the main economic activity. Bletchingley is drained by the small Gibbs Brook which flows eastwards to join the River Eden and eventually the Medway finally reaching the North Sea by the Thames Estuary. Bletchingley sits on a high ridge at around 150 metres above the sea and land falls away, principally to the south, to half that height. Bletchingley parish was quite large in an area of surprisingly large parishes, it covered almost 5,400 acres and supported a population of around 1,200 parishioners. In Domesday Book Bletchingley was held by one Richard, the son of Count Gilbert, and offered 14 ploughs as well as meadow, pastures and woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the western side of Church Lane which runs northwards from the A25. The church is a curious one in that it shows many ancient features whilst at the same time being heavily restored. It is unclear at times what is the original design & fabric and what is recreation. The church follows the standard design of western tower, chancel & nave augmented with southern chapel and arcading Pevsner is reticent on many dates but the base of the tower and the chancel & south chapel are the earliest portions and clearly Norman in origin, of the 12th or early 13th centuries. From the Perpendicular period is the southern arcade on the mid-15th century whilst much else dates from restoration of 1870 & 1910. The church sits in an elevated position above Church Lane with a chest-height wall banking the graveyard which is rather open. A wooden gateway grants access to an incised sloping path which grants access to the churchyard. The site is fairly open and does not restrict photography unduly.