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

The Parish

The parish of Withington lies in the northeastern portion of central Gloucestershire roughly 8 miles southeast of the town of Cheltenham. Withington sits just over 2 miles south of the A40 road which links Cheltenham with Witney in Oxfordshire. Withington is a small crossroads village sitting within a meander of the infant River Coln, most properties cluster around the oblong of lanes which forms the centre, the village does, however, have its counterpart of a second settlement east of the Coln, a steady curve of properties lining the course of the river for a little over a quarter mile. Withington sits within the limestone range of the Cotswolds, that limestone gave especially sweet and short pastures which suited the grazing of sheep, the wool from those sheep making the area prosperous throughout the medieval period. Today the area has moved markedly arable but still contains large woodland patches which would have been managed for woodland products. Modern developments have come and gone from the area, a branch railway line headed southeast from Cheltenham and exploiting the Coln's valley headed for Cirencester has closed and been largely removed. Withington is drained southeastwards by the Coln until it meets the Thames in its early iteration at Lechlade, the Thames has a long journey through to the capital and the North Sea trending eastwards the whole way. Withington sits on a rising slope from the Coln's bridge at 150 meres to over 170 metres in its western parts, land rises still further in rolling limestone hills to 289 metres on Foxote Hill to the northwest. Withington was a large parish covering 7,000 acres which would have supported a population of around 800 parishioners. Whilst Withington is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of the Bishop of Worcester the entry is clearly one for a region rather than the specific manor, a village of 15 households being unlikely to make use of 58 ploughs and 4 mills amongst other assets.

The Church

St Michael's church sits in that portion of Withington which is west of the Coln on the eastern side of the lane headed for Andoversford just where properties end on that side as it leaves the village. St Michael has had a long and varied history, the site is documented as a minster site as early as the 7th century beholden to the Bishop of Worcester. That church would almost certain have been of wood. Its replacement of the 12th century Norman Romanesque period was a simple church consisting of nave, chancel complete with a central tower just like today. Whilst some fabric dating to that period survives most has been reused during late remodelling, the exceptions are both doorways of the nave, the north a simple affair, the south altogether more elaborate in its carving. The following century of the 13th saw the church much changed, both nave and chancel were remodelled, the chancel lengthened whilst the nave has several block windows in the early English Gothic style lancets. At the same time or porobably slightly later the central tower received its second stage and a large southern porch was constructed. Having fabric from almost every recognised styling period it is appropriate that the south transept is from the early 14th century style of the Decorated. Many windows of both nave and chancel were replaced in the late 14th or early 15th century style of the Perpendicular whilst even Tudor times saw the parapet added. At least 3 phases of Victorian and later modifications are detailed, a restoration of 1873 which added a northern vestry and organ chamber and  a further phase in 1877 which rebuilt the chancel, finally in 1942 the south transept was furnished a a chapel. The churchyard is accessed by a short stub of a lane with enough parking for a car or two, whilst the churchyard is edged to south and west by mature tree-lines these are set away sufficient to allow most angles to be available to the photographer.