England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Longbredy St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Longbredy (usually rendered as Long Bredy today) lies in southern Dorset roughly 8 miles west of the county yown of Dorchester. Longbredy  sits a half mile south of the A35 road which connects Dorchester with Bridport. Longbredy  consists of two distinct clusters, a tight cluster sits around the church whilst open lane separates its from a further run of properties along a lane crossing the valley of the River Bride. Longbredy  sits on slopes rising to the chalk downs of Dorset a landscape that largely dictated the farming content of the parish, whilst sheep pastures would line the chalk the valley bottom was wetter and more suited to cattle; early gazetteers estimated that barely 1/3rd of the parish acreage was in arable methods. The area has interesting geology with Cretaceous chalk to its north whilst separating the parish from the sea sits Jurassic limestone, all of these formation dipping steeply to the north, the result is a distinctly undulating landscape. Longbredy is drained westwards by the infant River Bride which runs the short distance to reach the English Channel at Burton Bradstock. Longbredy  is sited at 70 metres above the sea at the Bride whilst St Peter's church sits some 20 metres higher, land rises steeply out of the church's back door to 195 metres on Martin's Down and 218 metres at the course of the A35 both sitting high on the chalk, to the south Abbotsbury Castle tops out at 215 metres on the equally high limestone. Longbredy  parish was typically sized for its area, covering close to 2,100 acres and supporting a population of around 550 parishioners. Domesday Longbredy  was equally a rural farming community held by Cerne Abbey and offering 8 ploughs, meadows, pastures & woodland and also held a mill.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the very northern end of the village tucked away behind a farm at the base of Martin's Down and accessed by a dead-end lane from that leading to Litton Cheney. Pevsner took note immediately of the length of the chancel deducing it to be 13th century and Early English Gothic merely from its great length, a fact confirmed by its lancet styled windows with a handsome stepped triplet a particular feature. The nave is next in age and Perpendicular in style reflecting a 14th century rebuild of the western end of the church, the nave comes from the late 14th century and to its west sits the western tower, also Perpendicular but of the early 15th century. There matters rested for 300 years until in the 18th century the southern porch was added. Victorian restoration came in two distinct phases, the first in 1842 tackled the chancel and was in Pevsner's words "rather delicately done". The later phase of 1862-3 was more brutal and restored the remainder as well as adding a southern aisle betwixt porch and the transept. The lane headed for the church ends at a small roughly surfaced parking area outside the gates, there are fine views of the church from here with the chalk downs rising beyond. Within the churchyard a few trees occupy the southeastern corner somewhat limiting the views from here but all other angles are open to the photographer.