England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Privett Holy Trinity

The Parish

The parish of Privett lies in southeastern Hampshire roughly 6 miles northwest of the market town of Petersfield. Privett is located a half mile north of the A272 road which links Petersfield with Winchester. Privett is a tiny place, little more than a hamlet with a few properties set around a rough oval of lanes, to the northwest sits a similarly sized hamlet of Bailey Green whilst most of the parish is dotted with farms and cottages. The area, today, is intensely arable which was not the case at the time of this transcript when a more rotational farming method would have been in place. Modern developments have come and gone from Privett, a branch railway line from Alton which ran down the Meon valley having been closed and dismantled. Privett sits on a porous chalk substrate with no surface drainage for some distance, most water makes its way below ground to the River Meon a few miles to the south, the Meon heads south passing Fareham to reach the Solent at Titchfield Haven. Privett is sited on a plateau at 170 metres above the sea, similar heights represent the highest ground around albeit over-topped by Colemore Common to the northeast which reaches 187 metres. Privett parish covered just under 1,300 acres and would have supported a rather dispersed population of close to 250 parishioners. Privett is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

Holy Trinity church sits to the east of the small hamlet on the southern side of Merepond Lane, the church has been closed and is not managed by the Churches Conservation Trust. sadly the church is not the venue for these marriages having been built in the 1870s. Considering the small congregation it was a highly ornate and elaborate church with a stand-out western tower towering 169 feet above the land. The church is rendered in the manner of the Early English Gothics style of the 13th century. Inside the sumptuous detailing is far more elaborate than appropriate for a tiny village church with reredos with its scene of the Supper at Emmaus, well worth a look. Merepond Lane has a broad green verge which is often used by local people for parking outside the neat lychgate which grants entry. Sadly for the photographer the church sits rather tight to the southern edges of the churchyard removing all of the favoured aspects from the armoury, all other angles are available but make for a challenging subject on a sunny day.