England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Camberwell St Giles

The Parish

The parish of Camberwell lies in the extreme northeast of the county of Surrey, indeed it forms a short stretch of the border with neighbouring Kent. Camberwell lies now deep within the urban area of the capital whereas once it would have been a distinct separate town. Camberwell is sited around 3 miles south of the city of London and sits astride the A202 road which connects Westminster with Greenwich. During the time covered by this transcript Camberwell grew from a town of around 7,000 to almost four times that population. Maps of 744 show Camberwell as a large village separated from the lesser villages of Peckham and Dulwich by open fields. Development followed the main roads from the capital, in 1815 when Camberwell New Road was constructed it still passed through fields. Between 1820 and 1830 Camberwell grew beyond recognition and today it is contiguous with the greater metropolitan urban area of London. Following the building boom most surface drainage went underground to the Thames which lies only a couple of miles away to the north. Camberwell is sited at under 10 metres above the sea but the southern portions of the parish rise to over 30 metres as one moves away from the immediate vicinity of the Thames valley. Camberwell parish was large for its urban area and was later subdivided (in 1824) by the creation of St George, it covered around 4,300 acres and the population rose from around 5,000 to almost 40,000 during the period of this transcript. In Domesday times Camberwell was a sleepy rural spot, held by one Haimo the Sheriff it could offer just 8 ploughs plus small meadows & woodland.

The Church

St Giles' church stands on the southern side of Camberwell Church Street at its junction with Wilson Road. Sadly this is not some mediaeval masterpiece as the church in which all of these marriages were transacted was replaced in 1844 (making St George the sub-parish actually the oldest church in Camberwell). St Giles was built utilising the style of the Early English Gothic albeit Pevsner described it as "raw" and "not refined" in his rather brief description of the building. The church is large, as befits its fast-growing congregation, complete with cruciform structure dominated by the spired central crossing tower. The church sits in its urban setting behind a low brick wall with an entrance drive from the Wilson Road junction, Despite this urban setting the surroundings to the church are crowded with mature trees, the views from west and southern sides being almost impossible to acquire.