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

The Parish

The parish of Whittlebury is located in the far south of Northamptonshire, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Whittlebury is a rather long linear village located about 4 miles south of the small market town of Towcester. Whittlebury sits astride the A413 road which connects Towcester with Buckingham. At the time of this transcript the parish would have largely earned its living from farming, almost equally arable and pastoral at that time, now predominantly arable. The parish also contained extensive oak woodland a valuable source of timber. Whittlebury is drained southwards by a small tributary of the Great Ouse which is joined northeast of Buckingham and thence makes its way to the North Sea through The Wash. Whittlebury sits on a ridge of high ground at some 150 metres above the sea, it represents the local heights and land falls away in gently undulating countryside all around. Whittlebury parish was fairly typically sized for the county, it covered an area of 3,400 acres and would have supported a population of about 750 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Whittlebury in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the northern end of the village on the southern side of the lane heading for Silverstone. Whilst the church has its origins in the 13th and 14th century only the western tower is representative of that era. Fragments remain elsewhere of that period but clearly have been reused during the many extensive restorations that have occurred. The church probably received the first of these changes during the Perpendicular period as all of the northern windows show this style. The later changes, mainly Victorian included almost a total rebuild of the chancel, Pevsner regards the restorations as "restored beyond redemption" and is clearly unimpressed. A rough trackway leads to the church and a small parking area. The church is enclosed in a post & rail fence breached by a nice lychgate. The church is rather crowded by tall trees to both east and west which somewhat limit the photographic angles available.