England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Elsted St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Elsted lies in the west of Sussex not too far from its border with neighbouring Hampshire. Elsted is located roughly 6 miles southeast of the Hampshire market town of Petersfield and sits a little over 2 miles northeast of the B2146 road which connects Petersfield with Emsworth. Elsted is a small and compact crossroads settlement sitting at the foot of the South Downs, one of a row of spring-line settlements following the base of this notable escarpment. Most of Elsted is set along the broader lane running from East Harting to Stedham with smaller branches to both north and south. Many of these parishes have a north-to-south axis, a mechanism designed such that they encompass both a stretch of the grazing on the nearby South Downs together with the more arable stretches of the Weald, Elsted was one such. Elsted is drained northeastwards by a small tributary of the River Rother which is reached near Midhurst, the Rother heads east to meet the Arun and the English Channel through the port of Littlehampton. Elsted is sited at around 90 metres above the sea, it sits on the fore-slope of the Downs which rise nearby to the local height of 242 metres on Beacon Hill. Elsted parish was typically sized if abnormally shaped, covering just over 1,800 acres it would have supported a population of around 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Elsted was an equally small holding of the Bishop of Exeter, assets included just 4 ploughs, some woodland but there was a mill.

The Church

St Paul's church sits to the north of the main lane through Elsted at the end of the short dead-end spur running north from the main crossroads. Elsted and its near neighbour Treyford share an ecclesiastical history, the latter's church almost supplanted St Paul in Victorian times with St Paul left to decay away. However, since Tryeford's church also became unsafe St Paul's fortunes were resurrected. The church has its origins in the 12th century but the misfortunes of the past have left little except some herring-bone walling as a testament following a tree collapse in 1893 which partially destroyed the nave. The chancel, untouched by that calamity, is of the 13th century and displays two lancet style windows of the Early English Gothic period. St Paul was finally given a new nave in 1951 which preserves some of the old whilst providing a new and sympathetic home for the congregation. The narrow spur lane runs for just a few hundred metres before finishing at the churchyard and a few accompanying houses. A rough area to the east is set aside for parking. The shaded entry is testament, however, to the dense and closely enclosing trees which make this a challenge for the photographer especially when in full leaf.