England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Puttenham St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Puttenham lies in southwestern Surrey not too far from its border with neighbouring Hampshire. Puttenham is located about 4 miles west of the town of Guildford and sits just south of the A31 road which connects Guildford with Farnham in Hampshire. Puttenham is a small and rather linear village, paralleling, as it does, the prominent chalk ridge of the Hog's Back which runs immediate north of the village. Here orogenic forces have so distorted the underlying beds of rock that the Cretaceous chalk stands on edge forming a notable ridge-line proud above the clays to the north and the greensand to the south. The poorer soils of the southern portion of the parish remained as unenclosed common whilst the varied geology gave the parish a selection of both pastoral and arable farming land. Puttenham is drained southwards by a small tributary of the River Wey which, once joined, heads east and then north through the chalk ridge & Guildford to reach the Thames at Weybridge thence through the capital to the North Sea. Puttenham is sited at around 90 metres above the sea whilst the Hog's Back tops just over 150 metres to its north as the local high point. Surrey carries a mixture of both regular southern sized parishes and larger ones in extent, Putternham is one of the former, covering just under 1,900 acres it would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. Puttenham is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits towards the eastern end of The Street, a narrow lane leading westwards on which most properties stand. The church has its origins in the 12th century albeit it has been extensively modified over the centuries. Tentative dates of 1160 & 1170 are given for the earliest remaining potions, the northern arcade and southern doorway. The chancel arch is a little later, perhaps the early 13th century, as is the northern chancel arcade. From the Perpendicular period of the 15th century comes the western tower, albeit much restored since its construction, and it is clear that many windows throughout were replaced at that period. The major Victorian restoration of 1861 changed the church's appearance too adding triangular dormers to the northern side which Pevsner described as "naughty". The church sits behind a low brick wall and screened by trees and shrubs, a small parking area outside the gates permits a single car to park. The church stands a little close to its southern boundary restricting somewhat the angles available for the photographer.