England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
East Blatchington St Peter

The Parish

The parish of East Blatchington lies in southern Sussex, indeed it forms part of Sussex' coast with the English Channel. East Blatchington, formerly a separate village, is now contiguous with the seaside town of Seaford being just its northern extension. East Blatchington sits on a rather suburban lane which rises onto the South Downs from the A259 road which connects Brighton with Seaford and onward to Eastbourne. At the time of this transcript East Blatchington would have been a farming village, mixed pastoral and predominantly arable on the downland slopes. Today it is dominated by 20th century developments and is an indistinguishable part of the town of Seaford. As a coastal settlement what drainage there is makes its way quickly to the nearby English Channel. East Blatchington is sited at around 30 metres above the sea but land rises quickly to the north to reach over 180 metres on the tops of the South Downs within a few miles. East Blatchington parish was small, it covered just 700 acres and would have supported a population of around 150 parishioners. There is no mention of East Blatchington in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the junction of Belgrave Road with Blatchington Hill amid a suburban setting. The church has very early origins, the priest's doorway has a round door-head and Pevsner indicates a date of circa 1200 and speculates that the nave was Norman albeit much altered over the centuries. Later, and in the Early English Gothic style, are the chancel windows together with the Sedilia & Piscina. These date from the 13th century, as does the western tower, its broached & shingles spire is, however, much later. The church is well-screened from the roads by a local flint wall and a large number of trees but these form a perimeter around the churchyard and once within, by a gateway off Belgrave Road, there are few obstructions to photography.