England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ross St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Ross, better known, perhaps, as Ross-on-Wye, lies in southern Herefordshire not too far from the joint border with neighbouring Gloucestershire and also with Monmouthshire, hence also Wales. Ross is a market town, one of the largest towns in its decidedly rural county, which sits, as its modern name suggests, on the banks of the River Wye some 14 miles southeast of the county town of Hereford. Ross sits at the point where the modern motorway, the M50, becomes the dual-carriageway A40 linking onwards to Monmouth, to its east the A40 heads for Gloucester. The oldest parts of Ross forma distinct crossroads centred to the northeast of the church, to the northeast runs the main street, full of the shops and services of a major rural market town. It was as a market that Ross grew to its present status, a relatively minor settlement in Norman times was granted its market by King Stephen in 1138 and lacking close competition Ross grew to become the regional centre for local trade & services. The town specialised in the local farming produce with the local cider a staple, in addition some iron working in early times has died out. The wider parish encompasses typical Herefordshire farming activities, including cider production, as well a mixture of arable farming with the county's traditional beef herds. From roughly the mid-18th century the beauty of the Wye Valley led to growth in tourism and Ross became an important centre for that business a base for river trips to both Hereford and Chepstow. Modern developments of the Hereford, Ross & Gloucester railway, which arrived in 1855, boosted Ross' tourist credentials, sadly that line closed by 1965. The modern M50 connecting the town to the UK's main motorway network made up for this loss but nowadays, perhaps, sees more traffic passing by than stopping. Ross remains the rural market town that it had become and a regional centre for trade and local tourism, a few specialist light industries vary the local economy. The Wye, of course, drains the parish maintaining its deeply incised meandering course down to the outer Bristol Channel and arriving through the port of Chepstow. Ross is sited on a bluff at 50 metres above the sea, some 20 metres above the river below, away from the valley of the Wye land rises steeply to the south reaching 203 metres at the ancient hill fort in nearby Chase Wood. Ross parish was extensive, covering just over 3,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 3,800 parishioners. In Domesday times, as already alluded, Ross was a more modest place, a mere 28 households, of insufficient size to be amongst the top 20% of settlements listed it was a holding of the Bishop of Hereford offering an impressive 25 ploughs and a small meadow but did possess a mill

The Church

St Mary's church stands southwest of the main crossroads of the town, almost on the apex of the bluff sitting above a steep drop to the river. Whilst the church has its origins in the late 13th and early 14th centuries the facade indicates that much alteration has been done in more modern times to create the exterior that we see today. Pevsner's forensic examination spends most of its time considering the fabric from the church's interior where the true origins of the building are more clearly seen. Earliest parts of the church date from the early to mid 13th century, a time when Early English Gothic style was in vogue; this style can be seen in the southern arcade with its circular piers and abaci. The equivalent arcade to the north is slightly later with the abaci now octagonal and of the late 13th century. A phase of rebuilding characterised the turn of 13th into 14th century when much was rebuilt or replaced ahead of a re-dedication dating from 1316. The church's impressive western tower, something of a challenge to encompass by photography in landscape form, is essentially the main product of this early Decorated style and dates from the early 14th century. The Perpendicular era, notable for its spate of church-building, scarcely touched St Mary, merely adding the northern porch and a top stage to the lofty tower as well as replacing a few of the windows in this late-medieval style. It was 1721 that saw the first of many restoration & rebuilding phases which brought about today's exterior. The tower, whilst exhibiting its original styles, is actually a rebuilding of this date whilst some 20 years later which saw the lower halves added to the piers of the arcades changing the height and, of course, the proportions of the interior. Much of the exterior's fabric comes from a series of 19th century restorations with those of 1865 & 1878 being the main influences. As the church sits almost at the heart of the town it is perhaps best to make one's visit after finding parking in one of the town's car parks although street parking, if fortunate, can be found along Church Street to the church's east. There are many entrances to the churchyard, much of which is shielded by massive walls, particularly alongside Church Street, and raised above street level. Perhaps the best way in is from St Mary's Street where a tall set of steps flanked by columns rises into the churchyard, whilst the churchyard, itself, is largely free of obstacles, such is the height of the tower that it is almost impossible, without resort to a fish-eye, to gain a landscape view which encompasses its full height, a challenge to the photographer.