England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Mickleham St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Mickleham is located in central Surrey in the heart of the North Downs. Mickleham lies roughly midway between the towns of Dorking and Leatherhead and about 2 - 3 miles away from each. Mickleham is located in a major gap in the North Downs chalk ridge where the River Mole cuts a deep valley through the range, Mickleham sits in the bottom of that valley on the line of the A24 road which connects London to the Sussex town of Horsham and thence to the coast at Worthing, thankfully the A24 now bypasses Mickleham to the west whereas it would once have traveled down the villages narrow main street (Old London Road). There is a mixed farming regime with pastures in the valley bottom as well as sheep grazing on the down's slopes, much of the parish is well wooded particularly to the east. Mickleham is sited at around 40 metres above sea level but the North Downs rise to 180 metres at Box Hill to the southeast. Mickleham parish is quite large for a southern parish covering over 2,800 acres and it supported almost 800 parishioners. In Domesday times the land was shared between tenants known as Nigel and Oswald, the parish supported 8 ploughs and meadows and woodland inhabited by "swine renders" is also mentioned.

The Church

St Michael's church sits on the eastern side of the Old London Road at its junction with a lane giving on foot access to Mickleham Downs. Whilst the building appears terribly pretty in its setting Pevsner mentions that this been "drastically restored" although does concede that this restoration was "not merely dreary". Underneath the Victorian's handiwork lies an ancient Norman building dating from the 12th century. The western tower and chancel are the oldest surviving parts although much modified. Much else is later additions and refurbishment dating largely from the 1870s including the added round tower on the south side which copies the motifs of the original. Despite the changes St Michael's remains a pleasant building. The church sits behind a waist-height brick wall in an extensive graveyard, access is at the southern end of the site through a pleasant lych gate with wooden gates. The site is relatively open and is suitable for photography.