England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hunston St Leodegar

The Parish

The parish of Hunston lies in southwestern Sussex roughly 2 miles south of the city of Chichester. Hunston is a rather small village which sits on the B2145 road which connects Chichester with Selsey. Early maps show just a few properties lining the B2145 with a scatter of farms and cottages across the wider parish area, today Hunston has expanded westward acquiring new developments to the west of the B road. Hunston sits on the rather low lying and flat coastal plain in this area of the county, an area much man-influenced to improve drainage, the result is a patchwork of grazing pastures interspersed with drains and ditches. Modern developments have come to Hunston in the form of the Chichester Ship Canal which performs a dramatic right-angled bend immediately west of the village. As mentioned many field drains and the former course of the Bremer Rife drain the parish the short distance southwards to reach the English Channel through Pagham Harbour. Hunston is sited at just 5 metres above the sea with land below the 10 metres mark until rising slightly into Chichester, itself. Hunston parish was one of Sussex's smaller, covering just 1,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. Hunston was equally modest in Domesday times, a holding of Earl Roger of Shrewsbury it offered just 3 ploughs but possessed a mill and 2 salt-houses.

The Church

St Leodegar's church ( the dedication refers to a 7th century Abbot of Poitiers Abbey) sits away from the village at the end of Church Lane, which heads southeastwards from the B2145, eventually becoming a footpath headed for South Mundham. Sadly this is not some medieval masterpieces, nor, indeed, is it the venue for these marriages as the former church fell into ruin and was demolished in 1885. Old St Leodegar had a 12th century doorway leading to nave, chancel and a southern aisle. Its replacement is such that Pevsner declines even to comment upon it, a rather cruel treatment for what is maturing into a pleasant country church. At the end of the lane there is a widening sufficient to park without causing obstruction. The churchyard has a mid-height local stone wall surrounding with a rudimentary lychgate granting entry, the church, unusually, is orientated on a northwest to southeastern axis and has only minor obstacles surrounding it for the photographer.