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

The Parish

The parish of Astley lies in northeastern Warwickshire roughly 4 1/2 miles southwest of the industrial town of Nuneaton. Astley sits immediately north of the B4102 road which links Nuneaton with Meriden & Hampton in Arden. Astley is a small village with most properties lining the lane headed northwards from the B4102 towards Ansley. Astley is an historic place the site of a 13th century castle which eventually became converted into a fortified manor house on a moated site. Apart from its historical importance the house has a claim to fame as the home of the family of Lady Jane Grey until her father was found to be plotting against Queen Mary and it was removed. Most of the standing fabric dates from that Elizabethan period with traces of the earlier castle in the gate house and curtain wall. The wider parish would have been primarily a farming parish with mixed pastoral and arable in roughly equal proportions. Much of the eastern portion of the parish is encompassed within the parkland estate of Arbury Park, Arbury Hall being a fine example of the Gothic Revival. Astley is drained westwards by rather sketchy channels eventually coalescing into the Bourne Brook and then shortly after reaching the River Tame at Coleshill, the Tame heads north to join the mighty Trent for its long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Astley is sited at around 140 metres above the sea with a few spots to its northwest just exceeding the 160 metre contour as the highest ground in gently rolling countryside. Astley parish was typically sized for this area covering just under 2,600 acres and supporting a population of close to 350 parishioners. By way of contrast Domesday Astley was a tiny place of just 8 households held by the Count of Meulan it offered just 2 ploughs and a half league of woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits between the village and the castle with both accessed from Castle Drive. St Mary's has had a chequered history which began in mid 1300s as a collegiate church built at the behest of Sir Thomas Astley of Astley Castle. This church was cruciform in structure with a central crossing tower topped with a tall wooden spire that it was nicknamed the "lantern of Arden", the church had nave, transepts and a chancel with both northern & southern side chapels and must have been a magnificent sight. In 1545 the college was dissolved and over the next half century the church became decayed, robbed of materials and partly destroyed by the collapse of the central crossing tower. The resurrection of St Mary as a parish church was funded by Richard Chamberlaine in 1607, the work took the existing 14th century chancel and converted it into a nave to which a new western tower and chancel were added, Pevsner speculates that some of the material came from the previous church which seems very likely. The church received the almost customary Victorian restoration in 1876, in the late 20th century there was a danger of subsidence from old coal mine workings below so all the load bearing walls were underpinned in 1952, further restoration was needed to this historic jumble in the early 20th century.  Castle Drive runs north for a couple of hundred yards before terminating at a rough turning and parking area outside the gates. After a short stretch of footpath the church is found offset to the west between two very solid banks of trees which markedly impact the angles available for the photographer such that only views along the building from west or east are practicable.