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

The Parish

The parish of Liss, in earlier times it was spelt Lyss, lies in the extreme east of Hampshire forming a lengthy stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Sussex. Liss is located roughly 4 miles north of the market town of Petersfield and sits immediately east of the A3 road which links London with Portsmouth, indeed, prior to its upgrade to modern dual-carriageway highway, that road formerly passed through Liss. In early times Liss consisted of two distinct villages West & East Liss but development since the arrival of the railway has caused them to coalesce into today's large village, in addition there are further settlements eastwards at Hill Brow and Rake making for a large population today. Liss sits on the western edges of The Weald an area with little good soils, arable farming was, therefore, less important than pastoral at the time of this transcript, today matters have changed somewhat due to modern machinery & fertilisers and the area has intensified arable farms too. Modern developments have arrived in abundance, the railway London to Portsmouth granting East Liss a station prompted rapid growth in commuter development and fortumately for the peace of the villages the A3 is now diverted westward around Liss. Liss is drained southwards by the headwaters of the River Rother which soon turns eastwards seeking a gap in the chalk barrier of the South Downs before finding it at Pulborough and reaching the English Channel through the port of Littlehampton. Liss is sited at around 70 metres above the sea while Hill Brow, as its name suggests sits at 160, higher ground still rises west of the A3 topping 248 metres on nearby Wheatham Hill. Liss parish was extensive at around 3,600 acres within which it would have supported a population of around 750 parishioners. In Domesday times Liss was a relatively small manor held by Winchester Abbey and offering just 3 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland but did have a mill.

The Church

St Peter's church sits perilously close to the route of the A3 but remains something of an oasis of calm despite the growl of traffic, it is reached by following the B3006 northwestwards and taking Church Street to the west. St Peter is rightfully viewed as a picturesque church, Pevsner calls it "engagingly rustic" with a mixture of dark brown and honey coloured sandstones. The church has its origins in the 13th century, the period of Early English Gothic, with its late 13th century southern doorway, western tower and (over-restored) chancel all hailing from that period. The base of the tower is certainly 13th century but the weatherboarding and timber shingled spire are later additions, the latter may well still be medieval. The original build spilled through the Transitional into the Decorated styling with the latter represented by octagonal piers and capitals and some northern face windows. The 17th century saw two additions to the core structure, the red brick southern porch in 1639 followed by the western window of the southern aisle, per a dated tie beam, added in 1655. The weatherboarding, the cusped barge-board of the porch are both Victorian contributions as well as restorations of 1864 to the chancel, 1881 to the nave roof and the 20th century phase of 1903 which rebuilt the southern wall. Church Street performs a set of right-angled bends to arrive at the southern entrance where a rough parking area for a couple of cars is found, the churchyard is open and uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.