England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Stratford Subcastle St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of Stratford Subcastle lies in southeastern Wiltshire roughly 2 miles northwest of the city of Salisbury. Stratford Subcastle sits just under a mile west of the A345 road which links Salisbury with Amesbury. The parish gets its suffix from its position lying beneath the hill-fort of Old Sarum which is believed to have been commenced in Neolithic times, remodelled as an Iron Age hill-fort and then subsequently modified to a cathedral and a medieval castle, for early parliaments it served a a "rotten Borough" having just a tiny electorate. Stratford Subcastle lies on the eastern banks of the Avon as a long strip of properties squeezed between river and mound, as Salisbury has expanded it has now effectively become merely its northwestern suburb. At the time of this transcript it would have been a pastoral farming community, the Avon's water-meadows holding cattle whilst the limestone downs were the home of sheep. The Avon drains the parish southeastwards, passing through Salisbury and continuing onward into Hampshire and reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour. Stratford Subcastle is sited at around 50 metres above the sea with Old Sarum's mound standing a further 50 metres higher, across the Avon and further north heights of 156 metres are reached at Newton Barrow. Stratford Subcastle parish was typically sized for a southern rural parish, covering just under 1,500 acres it would have supported a population of around 350 parishioners. Stratford Subcastle is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book it was probably recorded as part of Salisbury.

The Church

St Lawrence's church stands just beyond the final property in the linear village as the lane which forms its main High Street heads alongside the Avon headed for the Durnfords. Whilst St Lawrence has early origins it was heavily modified and virtually rebuilt in 1711 courtesy of Thomas Pitt, the grandfather of Prime Minister William Pitt the elder. A few traces remain of the early church, the chancel arch is a 13th century Early English Gothic piece and a blocked northern lancet windows confirms the chancel to that century in its origin. The remainder dates from the 1711 rebuild or from later work, the western tower convincingly from the 13th/14th century Transitional period was in fact completely rebuilt and carries am inscribed date recording that fact. The chequered pattern in the stone is repeated in the northern wall of the nave so probably that too is contemporaneous. Later work us restricted to a few 16th and 17th century window replacements whilst the interior was restored in 1905. The lane passing the church is of sufficient width to allow careful parking opposite to the church, unfortunately the optimal aspect from the southeast is removed by a group of trees but most other aspects are available for the photographer.