England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bremhill St Martin

The Parish

The parish of Bremhill lies in the western part of central Wiltshire about 3 miles east of the town of Chippenham and 1 1/2 northwest of the market town of Calne. Bremhill is a compact village lying at the end of a ridge of high ground that spreads from the chalk downlands of Wiltshire southwestwards. The parish is in a web of narrow lanes set to the north of the A4 road which connects London to Bath. Bremhill is in a considerable elevated position at about 120 metres above sea level but in all directions except northeast land drops 60 metres to the valleys that surround. To the south flows the River Marden, a tributary of the River Avon, and its tributaries flow to east & west of Bremhill. The parish is a strange shape with neighbouring parishes fretted into it and is also large at almost 6,000 acres supporting a substantial population of over 1,500 parishioners. In Domesday times the land was owned by Malmesbury church and supported a very impressive 30 ploughs and 2 mills.

The Church

St Martin's church lies at the heart of the village, the church is of three main ages although there are indications of the building existing pre-Conquest. The chancel and tower base are from the Early English period with the characteristic lancets. Much of the remainder is from that classic church building period in the Perpendicular style of the 14th century. However the building shows a heavy Victorian hand in its restoration of 1850 which leaves much to speculate upon. The church is set within a vast spacious graveyard bordered by a low flint wall. This, in turn, opens onto the village square (actually triangular) creating a large open space at the heart of the village. Access is through a tree-shaded gateway and a long tarmac path giving views of the building ahead.