England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hardwicke St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Hardwicke lies in the southwestern portion of central Gloucestershire roughly 5 miles southwest of the city of Gloucester. Hardwicke sits about a half mile west of the A38 road which connects Gloucester with Bristol. Until recent times Hardwicke was a discrete small village but as Gloucester's suburbs have marched further south the is now no clear countryside between Hardwicke and its larger neighbour being contiguous all the way to Innsworth and Churchdown in the far northeast. The original settlement had a small concentration of farms and cottages gathered near to the church with others scattered across the wider parish. Sitting on the broad flood-plain of the Severn Hardwicke had rich loamy soils which made it ideal for growing, early maps show many orchards dotted around the settlement and cereals would have also been grown. Modern developments have come in abundance to the parish, first to arrive and to its west runs the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal which brought vessels right to Gloucester, to its east the Gloucester to Bristol railway line scrapes through the east of the parish as does the modern M5 motorway on its way from Birmingham to the South West. The Severn sits barely 2 miles west of Hardwicke and prior to the canal's construction small streams and field drains would have transferred water to it, sluices now deal with the excess. Hardwicke is sited only just above the 10 metres contour to the southeast, however, views are of the nearby Cotswold escarpment which rises to 244 metres at Haresfield Hill. Covering just short of 2,400 acres Hardwicke parish was typically sized for its area, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 550 parishioners. Whilst Hardwicke does have a Domesday entry it is a regional entry governing many nearby communities, that of Hardwicke only recorded around 10 households so was very small.

The Church

St Nicholas' church stands on the curving lane at the bend where Pound Lane changes name into Church Lane, the canal is perhaps 250 yards further west. The church, subject to Victorian intervention, is one in which there is almost a continuous build apparent. Built over the end of the 13th century and into the early 14th the medieval content of nave, chancel and southwestern tower seems to comprise a single campaign. The chancel and its arch and southern doorway are the better Early English Gothic elements of the 13th century. The nave and southwestern tower lean toward the early 14th century Decorated style. Minor changes occurred during the later medieval times with a squint in Perpendicular added together with a 15th century southern chapel also in the same style. Two Victorian campaigns made wholesale changes to the church, the first of 1843-5 who rebuilt the original Decorated styled southern aisle and also altered the southern chapel together with a 3-bay southern arcade, a further campaign of 1876-7 added a complementary northern aisle in the Decorated style, a 4-bay northern arcade, created a northern chapel and moved the northern porch to the south side, as a further effort most roofs were renewed or replaced. A short gravelled drive leads to the lychgate, a car may safely squeeze onto this, the churchyard had a few easily avoided evergreens but not enough to seriously impede any aspect.