England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wellington St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Wellington lies centrally within Herefordshire roughly 5 miles north of the county town of Hereford. Wellington sits with a toe hold on the A49 road which links Hereford with Leominster but the majority of the village lies to its west. Properties run from the A49 westwards for almost 3/4s of a mile with side lanes adding to the village and making it substantial, the village is constrained to the north by the course of Wellington Brook. Wellington sits on the western edges of the floodplain of the River Lugg, this position gave it access to lush pastures alongside the river but also higher and drier ground where hardier cereals would have been grown such as oats & rye. In more modern times the course of the Lugg has meandered leaving gravel deposits which have been dug for road building and are now flooded creating a watery landscape popular with waterfowl. Modern developments have come to the parish with the railway line linking Hereford with Shrewsbury passing through to the east without granting Wellington a station. The Wellington Brook heads east the short trip to join the Lugg wherein water turns southwards, the Lugg meets the Wye to the east of Hereford and continues with it the outer Bristol Channel arriving through the port of Chepstow. Wellington is sited at around 60 metres above the sea but northern views are dominated by the bulk of Dinmore rising to 227 metres above Wellington Wood. Herefordshire parishes are often larger than their southern and eastern counterparts, covering just over 2,500 acres Wellington parish was fairly typically sized for the area, that acreage would have supported a population of around 650 parishioners. Domesday Wellington was already a substantial place large enough to qualify in the top 20% by population, held by the wonderfully named Hugh the Ass its assets of 11 ploughs and 2 mills indicated a slightly smaller community than that.

The Church

St Margaret's church sits towards the eastern end of the village on the northern side of the main road through the village and opposite to the Community Hall and Sports Facilities. St Margaret is a particularly complex church which fascinated Pevsner such that his analysis covers a page and half of text, this is an attempt to summarize that essay. The church has its origins in the 12th century with fabric of the Norman Romanesque period particularly evident in the western tower. The tower stands upon a 12th century tower arch and the lower stages are clearly contemporary and of rubble. Sundry windows from the same era dot the nave and both southern and northern doorways are also 12th century. The chancel is of the 13th century and shows the characteristic lancet windows of the early English Gothic period. Whilst Norman windows are retained in the nave it was clearly re-worked in the early 14th century with Decorated styled windows in situ too. The western tower acquired its topmost stage and battlements in the later 14th century, they are Perpendicular in style. Also contemporary with that addition is the 4-bay arcade and windows within  the northern transept. Restoration came late to St Margaret, the chancel was restored in 1884 with much else targeted in 1887, the tower was restored and stabilised in 1912. The community hall has a small car park opposite the church, considerate parking may be acceptable.The churchyard is entered from the western end by a rising path, as the church sits close to the southern edge the better landscape views are actually from outside, the entrance also produces the best views of the tower which so fascinated Pevsner.