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

The Parish

The parish of Pett lies in the extreme southeast of Sussex forming a lengthy stretch of the county's English Channel coastline. Pett is located roughly 5 miles east of the coastal resort of Hastings and sits a little over 2 miles east of the A259 road which connects Hastings with Rye. Pett is a linear village stretching for over a half mile along a low ridge above the grazing marshes, a smaller settlement sits within those, Pett Level together with Cliff End, marking the parish's presence on the Channel coast. The parish has an extensive run from east to west but is shallow from north to south, there are extensive coastal grazing marshes which, according to early gazetteers, occupy almost 60% of the parish acreage, the remainder being largely arable. Modern developments have come to Pett, the southern terminus of the Royal Military Canal crosses the parish to end at the shingle banks that form much of the parish's coastal defense. Between canal and sea lies one of the country's wildlife assets Pett Levels nature reserve, a popular haunt for wintering wildfowl. Twin sewers, the local name for drainage channels, drain the parish eastwards, Pannel Sewer to the north and Marsham Sewer south of the village, both make their way into the maze of man-made channels east of the village before joining in turn the Rivers Brede and Rother to reach the sea at Rye Harbour. Pett stands at around 50 metres above the sea at the church, the ridge on which it stands rises steadily westwards reaching 174 metres at North Seat high above Hastings, the parish, of course, contains land from sea level to 50 metres. Covering a little over 1,900 acres Pett parish was typically sized for its area, that acreage supporting a population of around 400 parishioners. Pett is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary & St Peter's church stands on the southern side of Pett Road, the main east to west running road, roughly midway through the run of properties. Early gazetteers describe the church as a "neat edifice" but that church has gone. Today's version is not the venue for these marriages having been completed only in 1864 as a replacement for the medieval predecessor. Pevsner was clearly unimpressed by the main body of the church merely describing it in his terse 3 lines of description as "dull". The church is partially redeemed, however, by its complex northwestern porch-tower which rises from a square basal section through broaches into an octagonal bell-stage. Parking may be best found west of the site where the road widens marginally. The churchyard sits above road-height with twin climbing paths rising to gaps in the local stone walling, there are various trees close by in particular to the east of the church which do somewhat limit the aspects available for the photographer.