England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Highworth St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Highworth lies in the extreme northeast of Wiltshire, not only does it form part of the border with neighbouring Berkshire but it also not too far away from Gloucestershire. Highworth is located about 6 miles northeast of the growing town of Swindon and lies on the A361 road which connects Swindon through to Lechlade. Highworth is a small market town, the market having been granted by Edward I, which has never quite made it to the customary size for such places, much of the older property is grouped around the main crossroads whilst modern developments have spread the town greatly to the north. Highworth's historical claim is for the site of a skirmish in the Civil War in which the church, having been fortified was slightly damaged, a cannon ball mark being still discernible; more serious damage was uncovered later when the remains of a massacre were identified nearby. As a market centre for local agricultural produce Highworth would have had a diversified economy, light industry today forms the backbone to what is also a commuter settlement for Swindon Highworth is drained northwards by small becks to join the nearby juvenile Thames which then leads eastwards to reach the North Sea through the capital and the Thames Estuary. Highworth, as its name suggests, sits on a piece of higher ground at around 130 metres above the sea, land falls away fairly gently in all directions, in particular to the valleys of the Tames and its tributary the Cole. Highworth parish was large, but incorporated the chapelries of Sevenhampton & South Marston, the total acreage of almost 8,400 acres being more typical f a northern upland parish; the wider parish would have supported a population of just over 3,900 of whom fewer than 1,000 would have been in the town itself. In Domesday times Highworth was a relatively small place, held directly by King William its assets were listed as a mere 2 plough and a small meadow.

The Church

St Michael's church sits at the heart of Highworth, just north of the principal crossroads and on the eastern side of Westrop. The church was here in Norman times, as proven by a tympanum in the southern wall depicting Samson & the Lion but most of the fabric is the result of later change. A cruciform 13th century version replaced that early church from which the Early English Arcades survive. However, the church was much altered during the great church-building era of the Perpendicular when Highworth would have been prosperous from wool trade, the crossing tower was removed and replaced with the grand towering western tower. The aisles, southern porch, transept and chapel all carry the same motif of this period too. For once Pevsner does not note and significant Victorian change to the building. The church sits behind a low local stone wall in a slightly elevated site, 5 steps rise from the gates to the churchyard level. The churchyard is fairly open and with few restrictions from the light-favoured southern aspects making for a straightforward piece to photograph.