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

The Parish

The parish of Mickleton lies in the extreme north of Gloucestershire part of a promontory of Gloucestershire land that penetrates into neighbouring Warwickshire & Worcestershire, the boundary was made neater in modern times by transferring parishes back and forth but Mickleton remains in Gloucestershire. Mickleton is located about 3 miles north of the small market town of Chipping Campden and sits at the junction of the B4081 arriving from there with the B4632 which comes south from Warwickshire's Stratford upon Avon. Early maps show Mickleton as a nucleated settlement with most properties lying between the fork of B roads and the church, in more modern times the village has expanded northwards by a further 1.3rd of a mile. Mickleton sits at the foot of the Cotswold range of hills, the parish would have included both the limestone tops and the clay vale below with a varied agricultural system favouring arable. In the Middle Ages, however, it was the Cotswold hills and their sheep that drove the prosperity of the area on their wool for the cloth trade. Modern developments have come to Mickleton, the railway line linking Moreton in the Marsh with Evesham passes through the parish without granting a station. Mickleton is drained westwards by numerous small brooks which coalesce to form the Broadway Brook before joining the Avon at Evesham, the Avon continues westwards to meet the Severn wherein water turns south to reach the sea through the Bristol Channel. Mickleton is sited at around 70 metres above the sea at the church, however, the steep escarpment of the Cotswolds lies just east and quickly reaches 259 metres on Ebrington Hill less than 2 miles from Mickleton. Mickleton was an extensive parish covering some 4,000 acres and it would have supported a population of around 700 parishioners. In Domesday times Mickleton was already a substantial settlement, its 37 households just sufficient to mark it as one of the largest 20% by population, held by Eynsham Abbey it could muster 15 ploughs and a salthouse.

The Church

St Lawrence's church once marked the northern edges of the village, nowadays its nearer the middle, it sits southeast of the High Street accessed by a dead-end lane, beyond the church a clutch of footpaths climb the escarpment to Ebrington Hill. The church began life in the 12th century as a much smaller church, both nave and chancel being shorter then their present arrangement. Whilst there is some 12th century fabric remaining these are only fragments as the church was substantially enlarged from c1300 onwards. The nave arcades received the first attention being Transitional in style between Early English Gothic and Decorated, the western bay has pointed double-chamfered arches. This change was only the initial flourish as the prosperity of the 14th century enlarged both nave and chancel to the west, the broad aisles were also enlarged and given splendid Decorated styled windows. Completing the 14th century work was the church's memorable western tower of 2-stages and topped with a ribbed and broached spire, a commanding sight from the western plain. Further work followed in the 15th century, typically a clerestory was inserted and the chancel was rebuilt in the then fashionable Perpendicular style. The next piece was added during the Commonwealth period, a fine 2-storey southern porch completed between 1650 and 1660. To complete today's church there was the usual Victorian restoration, here of 1870, besides a general restoration the chancel arch was rebuilt and the east window replaced in the chancel, ironically it was Decorated rather than Perpendicular. Just beyond the churchyard there is a small car park allowing a leisurely visit, a sloping pathway rises to the churchyard which sits above road level, sadly for the photographer the favoured southern aspects are beset by trees but most other angles are available for the photographer.