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

The Parish

The parish of Battle lies in southeastern Sussex roughly 7 miles northwest of the coastal town of Hastings.  Battle sits at the junction of the A2100 road, which links it to Hastings, with the A271 road, linking it to Hailsham. Battle, of course, takes its name from the decisive fight between King Harold and William the Conqueror which actually took place in fields to the south of the town rather than in Hastings, since the "Battle of Battle" is slightly repetitive its best to leave matters alone. A consequence of William's victory was the establishment of his initial base in England from which the Conquest spread out. Once the throne had been secured William granted the site for the foundation of Battle Abbey with the high altar set upon the spot where Harold had been killed. The Benedictine Abbey thus grew the town from the battle site northwards establishing Battle as a small market town. The market was granted by Henry I but eventually fell into disuse. Henry's descendant Henry VIII, of course, caused the dissolution of the Abbey it becoming a ruin with the domestic premises taken as a mansion by Henry's Master of the Horse. The town of Battle sits across a small stream from the former Abbey with properties forming a "Y" shape along the two main roads which join at a roundabout at the northern end of the town. Whilst much of the medieval period saw Battle as a small market town and regional centre for specialist skills, the close proximity of the larger Hastings eventually whittled away those functions. Industry kept Battle alive with the town noted for the manufacture of gun powder as well as possessing tanneries. The wider parish was typical for the Sussex Weald with rather poor soils arable cropping was limited, pastures and in particular woodland and heath management were dominant. Today Battle is, of course, a noted destination for tourism with the former Abbey and the battle-site popular visits, a consequence is the changes in its High Street away from normal business premises to those supporting the historical tourist. Battle is drained northeastwards by the infant River Brede which eventually meets the Stour at Rye before turning south to the English Channel. Battle is sited on undulating ground with parts at 60 metres whilst others stand at 100 metres, the highest local ground reaches just short of 130 metres on the road to Hastings. Battle parish was extensive covering just under 7,900 acres and would have supported a population of close to 3,000 parishioners. Strangely for such an important Norman site Battle is not given an entry in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits north of the battle-site and former abbey on the northern side of the A2100 where the High Street becomes Upper Lake. The church was founded in the 12th century by Abbot Ralph who was abbot from 1107 to 1124. Very little of the fabric of that time has survived the many changes since. Pevsner points out a partially blocked arch in the southern chapel. The church was considerable expanded and lengthened in the latter decades of the 12th century and much of Norman Romanesque fabric survives of this time particularly in the 5-bay aisles and arcades. Shortly after this major change the western tower was added probably early in the 13th century and introducing Early English Gothic styling. The same style is shown by the chancel as the 12th century version was also rebuilt in the 13th and shows the lancet windows characteristic of the style. Some work followed in the 14th century with the Decorated style shown in  arches of the northern chapel and the Perpendicular style in the southern porch, but this were minimal changes to what is essentially as 12th & 13th century church. Whilst Pevsner does not document a Victorian restoration it is likely work has been ongoing throughout the 19th century as need arose. The church is one to visit after finding one of the town's car parks. As the church is large the principal issue for photography is the compactness of the churchyard it being difficult to find sufficient distance to encompass the church fully.