England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Long Itchington Holy Trinity

The Parish

The parish of Long Itchington lies in southern central Warwickshire about 6 miles east of the town of Leamington Spa. Long Itchington is a large village which sits immediately west of the A423 road which connects Coventry with Southam  and onward to Banbury in Oxfordshire. Long Itchington sits largely west of the A423 grouped around an oval of lanes, there is a presence on the main road and a smaller grouping to its east. This is a fertile area of the county and Long Itchington would have largely earned its living from arable farming of these richer soils. Whilst Long Itchington sits a little to the east of the ancient thoroughfare of Fosse Way, modern developments have also criss-crossed the area albeit many since removed. The Grand Union Canal from London to the Midlands was forged across just south of the village and is popular with both leisure boating as well as being an increasingly popular walk, the smaller eastern portion of the village largely grew to support the canal. Railways also came, a line connecting Leamington Spa through to Daventry swooped south of the canal but has since been closed and largely removed. Long Itchington is drained northwards by the River Itchen, until that river meets the Leam wherein matters turn firstly west and then back south, the Leam meets in turn the Avon and then the Severn on a long journey to the sea through the Bristol Channel. Long Itchington is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in fairly gentle terrain where land rises away from the Itchen to local heights of a little over 100 metres. Long Itchington parish was amongst the most extensive in its county, covering almost 4,800 acres it is certainly large for a lowland parish, within that acreage would have been close to 1,300 parishioners. In Domesday times Long Itchington was in Royal hands, the daughter of King Edward, Christina holding the manor; it was a wealthy holding with 22 ploughs, meadows & pastures and 2 mills.

The Church

Holy Trinity church sits at the heart of the village on the southern side of the tree-shaded Church Road and within its junction with Thorn Way. Holy Trinity has its origins in the late 12th century, the southern aisle, despite 15th century rebuilding, still demonstrates the Transitional style between Norman Romanesque and Early English Gothic of that short time period. Perhaps part of a continuous build is the chancel in fully formed Early English Gothic, the lancet windows characteristic of that style shown well in both northern and southern walls. Matters rested there until the great church-building era of the Perpendicular whence came the western tower and a clerestory, the tower shows a tiny stump of its former spire, the spire having been blown down in a storm of 1762 and made safe rather than being renewed. As is usual a Victorian restoration took place, in this case in the mid 1860s, its chief action being to raise the roof lines and to re-pew the nave, further work in 1876 saw the vestry added. Church Road is well-endowed with parking spaces making for a simple visit, the main entrance is from the corner with Thorn Row but a western entrance is also present. Whilst there are one or two trees placed within the churchyard they are easily avoided by the photographer.