England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Rushall St Matthew

The Parish

The parish of Rushall is located in central Wiltshire about 2 miles southwest of the market town of Pewsey. Rushall is a compact small village sitting just north and east of the A342 road which connects Devizes with the Hampshire town of Andover. Rushall is built along two lanes, one leads north from the A road, the other eastwards. Almost all of the housing is along these lanes with minimal property alongside the main road itself. Rushall is built in the valley of the Wiltshire Avon, the parish (like many in this area) is strongly elongated on a northeast to southwest axis. This elongation was to provide each parish with a share of the differing landscapes and hence agricultural opportunities presented by that landscape. To the northeast is the river valley where cattle could be pastured, to the southwest the land rises steeply onto the chalk downlands of the Wiltshire Downs where sheep would have predominated, the village has grown up at the springline where water was available. Rushall is sited at around 100 metres above sea level, the drainage from the Avon heads south through the chalk hills to discharge into the English Channel at Christchurch. The parish was rather small but supported just under 300 parishioners. In Domesday times the report for Rushall makes impressive reading (but probably incorporates data from several surrounding villages nowadays separate), the parish boasting 26 ploughs and no fewer than 5 mills making it a wealthy place indeed.

The Church

St Matthew's church sits, appropriately enough, alongside Church Lane, the lane which heads eastwards from the A342, on its northern side. The church is a mixture of two dates, the western tower is all that remains of the early church, it is Perpendicular in style and probably was built in the 15th century. The remainder of the church is a rebuild dating from 1812 which, in contrast, was built in the style of the Decorated period which preceded the Perpendicular. The rebuilding was done to good taste and Pevsner is interested enough to describe the north window as "remarkable". The church sits behind a low but sturdy hedge in a rather open site. Access is at the western end where a pair of metal gates gives access to a gravel pathway. As the sight is totally open photographic opportunities are not limited at all.