England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Weethley St James

The Parish

The parish of Weethley lies in the extreme west of Warwickshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Worcestershire. Weethley is located about 3 miles southwest of the small market town of Alcester and sits on the B4088 road which links Evesham through to the A422 (Alcester to Worcester) road. Weethley is a tiny place, a real blink-and-miss hamlet stretched out as a series of individual farms and cottages along the B-road. There is no village centre to speak of and no village facilities. The area is noted for a mixed farming regime with roughly equal pasture and arable, in addition several patches of woodland would have been coppiced for forestry products. Weethley sits on a minor watershed, westerly water flows along the Piddle Brook to the Avonm eastwards it picks the River Arrow before heading to the same river, the Avon eventually meets the Severn at Tewkesbury where water heads determinedly south to the Bristol Channel. Weethley is sited at around 110 metres above the sea at its parish church, a half mile further north a spot height of 124 metres marks the summit of this little ridge in rolling countryside. Weethley parish was one of the smallest in its county, covering just 583 acres and supporting barely 50 parishioners. Whilst Weethley is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of Evesham Abbey it had no recorded population or assets.

The Church

St James' church sits to the west of the B4088 accompanied by Church Farm and accessed by a short dead-end lane. As can readily be seen this is not a medieval church nor is it the venue for these few marriages as it as built in 1858 replacing an earlier chapel. The church uses the 13th century motifs of the Early English Gothic with lancet styled windows, a simple structure of nave and short apsed chancel with the western end topped by a rather tall bellcote. A small church as befits its tiny congregation. A small white sign points the way to the church and after passing the farm it comes to a small turning circle and parking area outside the churchyard, the churchyard is open & uncluttered with no difficulties for the photographer other than having a domed area holding the church.