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

The Parish

The parish of Walberton lies in southwestern Sussex a little over 3 miles west of the town of Arundel. Walberton sits a half mile south of the busy A27 road which links Arundel and Chichester and consists of a long strip of properties lining a parallel lane for almost a mile west of the B2132 road which runs south from the A27 to Middleton on Sea. Early maps show 3 distinct clusters along this lane but all have become one in modern times through infill. Walberton sits on the fertile coastal plain which lies between the South Downs and the English Channel, that fertility made arable farming and market gardening the main economic forces. Modern developments have come to the parish with the railway line between Arundel & Chichester passing through and granting a station to nearby Barnham whilst parts of the A27 have been upgraded to modern dial-carriageway. Walberton is drained southwards by a small stream which becomes increasingly man-influenced while crossing the flatish ground east of Bognor Regis to the English Channel. Walberton is sited at around 15 metres above the sea in a largely flat area with land only rising north of the A27 to 112 metres at The Folly the local high point. Walberton parish covered roughly 1,500 acres so was typically sized for the area, that acreage supported a population of close to 550 parishioners. In Domesday times Walberton was held by Ear Roger of Shrewsbury with assets of 9 ploughs backed by meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sat in the easternmost cluster of the village together with Walberton House and its grounds, a substantial early 19th century building. The church is accessed along the shady and narrow Church Lane which reaches a dead-end at the churchyard. Despite a thorough restoration in 1903, described by Pevsner as "mulish" to the extent it encouraged the establishment of the protection organisation the "Diocesan Advisory Committee" to protect further churches from such wanton change, much of the original medieval remains. The church is mentioned in Domesday Book and the nave is almost certainly from the pre-Conquest Saxon period of the 11th century. Sadly the 1903 work removed Saxon quoins and a gable-cross. The chancel is slightly later and shows the lancet styled windows of the Early English Gothic period of the 13th century, the northern porch is contemporary and also has a lancet. Gracing the skyline is a timber bell-turret which was rebuilt affectionately in the 1903 work leaving a pretty silhouette for the church at least. Church Lane is narrow and should be avoided for parking, best done on the main village street and approached on foot. The churchyard is compact and trees sit close to the church's south making for a few problems for the photographer to solve in acquiring adequate images.