England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Shaftesbury St James

The Parish

Shaftesbury lies in northern Dorset not too far from its border with neighbouring Wiltshire. Shaftesbury is located roughly 28 miles north of the county town of Dorchester and 11 miles north of the market town of Blandford Forum. Shaftesbury sits on the crossroads of the A30 (London to Exeter) road with the A350 (Warminster to Blandford Forum) road. Shaftesbury has a long and ancient history, there has been speculation it existed prior to the 1st century but more certainly it is attributed to a  foundation during King Alfred's reign c880. The town has a remarkably good defensive position with a commanding spur reaching 210 metres and standing above the countryside with fine views all around, the logical place in early medieval times to place a castle, that Saxon construction is no more. Further growth to the town came with the foundation of its Benedictine Abbey probably in 888 which grew to become the wealthiest in the land, of course this was destroyed under the changes wrought by Henry VIII and his dissolution. Shaftesbury was one of the most important towns in the land and supported no fewer than 12 parish churches which had reduced to just 3 by the time of this transcript, the town's status as a regional market was boosted by having 5 market crosses. In the later medieval period Shaftesbury was merely the regional centre for trade with specialist skills, St James parish, covering both the southern area of the town and a stretch of rural land to the southwest would have also benefited from pastoral farming. Shaftesbury has expanded to the east considerably, despite the railway bypassing the town in favour of nearby Gillingham, growing a modern suburb which differs markedly from the largely stone-built old town. In modern times Shaftesbury's Gold Hill achieved fame for its starring role in the Hovis bread adverts picturing the cobbled street lined by local limestone-built buildings. Shaftesbury is drained northwestwards by small feeder streams of the River Stour which is met south of Gillingham, water here turns back south, southeast and finally east to reach the English Channel through Poole Harbour. Shaftesbury is sited between 170 metres, in St James parish, to over 230 metres in its northeastern suburbs with the former castle's knoll standing proud above the town, land continues rising northwards to reach 249 on Hart Hill amongst rolling limestone terrain. Of Shaftesbury's 3 remaining parishes St James in a true suburb, holding the southwestern portion of the town as well as a tract of nearby countryside, it covered a typical 1,800 acres and would have supported a population of close to 900 parishioners. Shaftesbury is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of King William and already a town of sufficient size to be comfortably amongst the largest 20% of settlements by population, its assets were not, however, specified, a common tradition in the Book for some larger settlements well know to the King.

The Church

St James's church stands within the fork formed by Foyle Hill and the B3091 road headed for Sturminster Newton. Today's church, however, is not that in which these marriages were performed having been built to replace a medieval version and completed in 1867. The build would have been initiated and financed by the prominent Grosvenor family who owned some 75% of the properties in the town. The church is typically laid out with nave and chancel and a western tower, the nave augmented by aisles and short "pseudo" transepts. All is built in a harmonious mixture of the 14th century styles of the Decorated and of the Perpendicular. A few pieces including some aisle windows were retained from the original structure, these stand out as they are of greensand rather than limestone. There a few on-road parking spots south of the entrance from Foyle Hill, the churchyard is elevated way above road height on the eastern side. The churchyard is much constrained with little land either north or south of the building, thus removing most of the favoured angles from the photographer's portfolio.