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

The Parish

The parish of Halford lies in southern Warwickshire, the county borders, before reorganisation, were highly convoluted here and Halford formed part of the border with a detached portion of Worcestershire. Halford is located roughly 4 miles north of the Worcestershire market town of Shipston on Stour and sits on the northern banks of the Stour where the A429 (which connects Warwick with Moreton in the Marsh) crosses that river. Halford, as its name suggests is the site of a former ford across that river and has ancient origins as this is also the crossing point of the Roman Fosse Way. Today Halford is a small and compact village largely built along the A429 and lanes heading both east towards Idlicote and west, short looping, out-and-back, lanes. The Stour's water meadows would have provided rich grazing which led to a mixed farming regime with some arable on higher ground in the east of the parish, the local stone was also worked for building and lime-burning. The Stour drains the parish northwestwards to meet the Avon to the southwest of Stratford Upon Avon, the Avon, in turn, heads west to the Severn and thence to the Bristol Channel. Halford is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in gently undulating countryside where local heights rise to 135 metres on nearby Black Martin Hill. Halford parish was one of the county's smaller in extent, covering only just over 900 acres it would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. Despite the early nature of the river crossing Halford is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits to the west of the A429 on the southern side of the loop of lane that is Queen Street. Again, despite the lack of a Domesday entry, the church does date from that Norman period. The 12th century Romanesque style can be found in the chancel arch, often the earliest part of a church, the southern doorway and especially in a finely worked tympanum depicting an angel, which Pevsner describes as the "best piece of Norman sculpture in the county". It is sad, however, that the church received a heavy restoration in both 1862 and 1879 which has left most of the remainder of the fabric dating to Victorian times, indeed both arcade and southern aisle were entirely rebuilt. Traces of the 13th century Early English Gothic remain in the lancet windows of the northern window. Queen Street performs a sharp right-angled bend by the church but has sufficient room for careful parking. A low ivy-clad local stone wall borders the churchyard with wooden gates t the western end for entry. The church sits curiously close to the western edge of what is an extensive churchyard, a fact that makes a few restrictions to views of the western tower which has trees close by, all other angles are available, however.