England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Stretton on Dunsmore All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Stretton on Dunsmore lies in eastern Warwickshire roughly 6 miles southeast of the city of Coventry. The name carries its suffix in homage to the former extensive heath of Dunsmore which once covered this portion of the county and is found in the name of several local villages. Stretton on Dunsmore lies almost at one of Roman Britain's most important crossroads, here the A45 road follows their Watling Street whilst the B4455 follows the Fosse Way, the two intersecting just over a half mile north of Stretton on Dunsmore. It is undoubtedly likely, therefore, that Roman remains can be found in the area. Most of the large village of Stretton on Dunsmore lies on and west of the B4455 with a crossroads of lanes forming the centre of the village. At the time of this transcript Stretton on Dunsmore's economy would have largely been based upon farming, a mixed regime present in these parts, in addition there was a noted business in manufacturing plaster of Paris from the local gypsum-rich strata. Stretton on Dunsmore is drained southwestwards by small feeder streams of the nearby River Leam which meets the Avon at Leamington Spa, the latter heading on westwards to eventually meet the Severn and reach the sea through the Bristol Channel. Stretton on Dunsmore is sited at around 90 metres above the sea in gently undulating terrain where local heights rise little more than a further 20 metres for some distance. Stretton on Dunsmore parish was above average in extent for a lowland British parish, covering close to 2,800 acres it would have supported a population of almost 1,100 parishioners. In Domesday time Stretton on Dunsmore was a holding of Earl Roger of Shrewsbury and was, even then, a mid-sized village offering 17 ploughs and the usual meadows & woodland.

The Church

All Saints' church sits almost on the western edge of Stretton on Dunsmore on the southern side of Church Hill. Sadly this is not some medieval masterpiece but the work of Georgian re-builders, indeed such is the date of the re-consecration that only the very last marriage in this transcript would have taken place in this building. Built between 1835 & 1837 the church opened in May 1837 in time for that final marriage. Resembling the "Commissioners Churches" of the first third of the 19th century the church adopts the high and narrow fashion of that time. The builders chose a mixture of Geometrical (a short lived style of the late 13th century) and Decorated styles as their inspiration. Internally the piers reflect the later Perpendicular style. Since completion in 1837 a modest restoration took place in 1913 following the addition of a vestry in 1908. Church Hill is sufficiently broad and has a pavement outside for a short stay. The churchyard has a low brick wall to the road with an arched and piered gateway, shaded beneath a massive evergreen for the main entrance, the churchyard is open and uncluttered with no obstacles to the photographer.