England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Whitchurch St Dubricius

The Parish

The parish of Whitchurch is the most southerly in Herefordshire forming part of the 3-counties meet with Gloucestershire and with Monmouthshire, hence also with Wales. Whitchurch is located about 6 miles southwest of the market town of Ross on Wye and sits bisected, ("cruelly bisected" states Pevsner) by the A40 road which links Ross with Monmouth. Once a straightforward compact village sitting on the edge of the flood-plain of the River Wye nowadays a fast dual-carriageway carves the village in two. Whitchurch has a long history being an important iron smelting location for the Romans and through to the late medieval period, this activity was only abandoned due to the high cost of acquisition. In addition to the iron ore the local limestone was also extensively quarried whilst most farming was of the pastoral form specialising in beef cattle. Today the economy is based upon the natural beauty of the nearby Wye which performs an almost complete meander to the east and south of the village enclosing Huntsham Hill and the raptor watch-point of Symonds Yat, a breeding location for Peregrine Falcons. Both hikers, fishermen and water craft users throng the incised valley of the Wye bringing much needed income to the area. As already mentioned the modern development of the A40 is a mixed blessing, a fast dual-carriageway taking heavy traffic away from the village but a constant buzz of noise nevertheless. Whitchurch is drained southwards by the Wye which passes into the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Whitchurch is sited at around 30 metres above the sea but sits in a deeply incised valley where Huntsham Hill tops out at 145 metres whilst further northeast Coppet Hill reaches 188 metres, the landscape being strongly undulating. Whitchurch parish was fairly typically sized for this area, covering around 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 900 parishioners. Whitchurch is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Dubricius' church stands away from the village, almost on the banks of the Wye and reached along the dead-end lane of Old Wharf Lane. The church is largely a product of the 14th century moving later from east to west but much modified by Victorian intervention. The earliest part is the eastern end with the chancel being from the first half of the 14th century and in the Decorated style, reticulated tracery graces the east and northeastern windows. Pevsner notes a 13th century styled pier but believes it to have been reused by later work. Moving west the nave is of the later Perpendicular period although separated from the chancel by a Decorated styled chancel arch. Both chancel and nave retain their 14th century roofs. The Victorian restoration came in 1861 and was a thorough rebuild of the church's western end, the double bellcote and southern porch were added as was the wide northern aisle, for which a Decorated style was chosen. Old Wharf Lane is narrow, it turns off the Symonds Yat road towards the Wye and terminated in a semicircular parking area. Whilst the churchyard is undoubtedly pretty and secluded it  offers the photographer little by way of variation in the aspects available, the eastern end is embedded in bank-side trees whilst the southern views are similarly impacted, a head-scratcher for adequately recording this church.