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

The Parish

The parish of Martin Hussingtree lies in central Worcestershire about 3 miles south of the town of Droitwich. Martin Hussingtree is located on the A38 road between Droitwich & Worcester at its junction with the A4538. Martin Hussingtree is a small and slightly scattered place with most properties grouped around the road junction or in the vicinity of the church just southwest. Modern communications lie close by, the Birmingham to Worcester rail line to the west whilst a mile or so east lies the modern M5 motorway. Martin Hussingtree would have largely earned its living from farming with equal parts arable and pastoral dominating this area. Martin Hussingtree is drained to the northwest by small tributaries of the River Salwarpe which is joined just southwest of Droitwich, from there the course turns southwest to meet the Severn before heading south to the Bristol Channel. Martin Hussingtree is sited at around 60 metres above the sea and sits on something of a low ridge in gently rolling countryside, local heights rise only to just above 80 metres above the sea on nearby Newland Common to the east. By Worcestershire standards Martin Hussingtree parish was small verging on tiny, it covered just over 900 acres and would have supported a population of just over 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Martin Hussingtree was held by Westminster Abbey, a small place offering just 7 ploughs.

The Church

St Michael's church sits to the southwest of the main road junction accessed along the dead-end Church Lane and close to the nearby railway. The church has early origins but is much altered over the centuries. The earliest pieces are Norman notably the western wall of the nave and lancet windows in the chancel must date from the early English Gothic period. The church was much altered during the Perpendicular era and again in Victorian times, notably in 1883 when the bell-turret was repaired and a southern aisle was added. The church sits at the end of Church Lane, which continues across the rail-line as a footpath, where a small parking area is located. The site has no boundary being open to the road and initially appears crowded with trees, once through this border the churchyard is, however, open and without photographic restrictions.