England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
West Hoathly St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of West Hoathly lies in northern Sussex not too far from the point where Sussex meets both Surrey & Kent in a three-way meeting point. West Hoathly is located about 5 miles southwest of the market town of East Grinstead and sits around a mile east of the B2028 road which crosses The Weald from Lingfield in Surrey to Hayward's Heath. The parish offers three principal main settlements, West Hoathly, itself, is small triangle of properties whilst to its east, having grown up as a railway settlement sits the slightly larger cluster that is Sharpthorne, finally and some 2 miles northwest is the crossroads settlemet of Turner's Hill. West Hoathly sits within the rolling heart of The Weald, a tumble of sandstone hills rising out of richer clays, the area was once a vast Royal hunting forest extensively wooded and underpopulated as a consequence. A perched sandstone bolder atop a smaller version makes for an interesting local landmark. The soils hereabouts were poor in quality so grazing and woodland management dominated the economy with only small patches of arable. The oaks so grown were a prime source for outfitting England's navy. Modern developments have come to the parish in the form of the London to Hayward's Heath railway which once granted Sharpthorne a station before plunging through the highest ground in a tunnel.West Hoathly is drained northeastwards by the headwaters of the River Medway, its course temporarily interrupted by Weir Wood Reservoir before resuming through Tonbridge to the coastline of North Kent and the outer Thames Estuary West Hoathly is sited at around 180 metres above sea level at one of the hihest points in the Weald and not exceeded between North & South Downs. West Hoathly parish was extensive, covering almost 5,300 acres, a size required to support its population of around 1,100 parishioners. Like most of the Weald West Hoathly is not mentioned in Domesday Book which has a marked gap in coverage in this area due to the Royal Forest.

The Church

St Margaret's church sits within West Hoathly, itself on the eastern side of North Lane which runs southwards towards Ardingly. The church has two distinct eras within its fabric, the main body is the earlier of these two and date from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period but both show modifications from the 13th century with earlier windows replaced by characteristic lancets of the later period. Historic England tentatively grants a date of c1060 for the nave. The southern aisle, also of the 12th century originally, was widened and remodelled in the early 14th century in a Decorated styling. The chancel, too, was modified masking its early features in or about 1250. Attached to this early main body is the much later Perpendicular styled western tower complete with characteristic Sussex-style shingled broach spire. Dating is a little uncertain with a date of c1400 for its completion. A typical Victorian restoration of 1870 added the final flourish, the roofing, as well as refreshing much else. North Lane is widely used for parking outside the churchyard which is slightly raised above road height and entered up a short flight of steps. sadly for the photographer thick trees remove the favoured southeastern aspects leaving possibly the best views from North Lane itself.