England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Netherhampton St Catherine

The Parish

The chapelry of Netherhampton, its mother parish being Wilton, lies in southeastern Wiltshire roughly 2 miles southeast of the small town of Wilton. Netherhampton sits about a mile south of the A30 road linking Salisbury with Exeter on the parallel running A3094 which runs south of the River Nadder. Netherhampton is a linear small village with most properties lining Parish Road which is an out-and-back loop north of the A3094, Much of the chapelry's acreage was set to pasture with the Nadder's flood-plain providing excellent grazing for mainly cattle, drier parts to the south would have been arable. On the hills above to the south lies Salisbury's race course taking advantage of the good turf formed on the chalk. Netherhampton is drained eastwards by the Nadder which soon joins the Avon with water turning south to reach the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour. Netherhampton is sited at around 50 metres above the sea, the downs rise steadily southwards reaching 120 metres at the racecourse and 190 metres further west on Compton Down. Around 800 acres was assigned from Wilton parish to the chapelry which would have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Netherhampton is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Catherine's church sits squeezed between Parish Road and the A3094 on the southern side of the former and towards the western end of the small village. Sadly there is very little of this church remaining from the medieval. Early gazetteers described the church as "principally in the later English style, but its chancel is early English", that all changed in 1877 when the church was almost completely rebuilt. A few 14th century stones remain reused in the chancel arch and the brick western tower had already replaced its predecessor in the 18th century but everything else is of the Victorian rebuild. Thus the church would in all likelihood not be recognised by the participants in these marriages. Parish Road has ample places for safe on-street parking, the churchyard has a small copse to its southwest and the odd tree dotted about all easily avoided by the photographer.