England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bedford St Peter

The Parish

The town of Bedford lies in northwestern Bedfordshire, it is the county town of its county and sits roughly 50 miles north of London. Bedford's origins lie intrinsically with the course of the A6 road from the capital which had its crossing ford of the major river of the Great Ouse at this location, the A6 runs eventually all of the way north to Carlisle. The original centre of the town sat on the northern banks of the Great Ouse around the crossroads with the A428 road which arrives from Cambridge and heads onwards to Northampton. It is believed that Bedford originated in late Saxon times and by the 10th century was already a market & trading place of some importance such that it was enclosed by c970. After the Conquest such a centre was naturally fortified by the Normans and a castle built, only the lower part of the motte remains today. Two Augustinian priories added to the town's importance, both founded in the mid-12th century. For much of the medieval period Bedford was merely a market town & centre for specialist skills supporting its immediate area, wool for cloth making, as well as other agricultural produce, being the main economic force. During the 16th century demand for wool declined and the town switched to become a centre for both lace making and straw plait. In 1689 the widening of the Great Ouse enabled transportation of goods right to the Wash port of King's Lynn rapidly expanding Bedford's role to become an inland port for distribution of both agricultural produce and its goods as well as the importation of such commodities as coal & fish. Modern developments arrived with the railways, lines from London survive with Bedford a main station, a further branch line once linked eastwards to Sandy but is now closed and re-purposed as a cycleway. In more recent times Bedford developed an industrial base from engineering leading to rapid population growth and expansion beyond the original planned Saxon centre, today Bedford remains divided by the Great Ouse, to the north it has spread for almost 3 miles to both north & east whilst south of the river it has spread to engulf the former village of Kempston, the most recent modern development, a fast dual-carriageway bypass of the A421 temporarily constrains its southern edges and connects the town with the M1 motorway and the A1 Great North Road. Bedford is drained eastwards by the Great Ouse which passes through St Neots & Huntingdon before being constrained by the massive Fenland drainage infrastructure of the Hundred Foot River, it finally arrives at The Wash through the Norfolk port of King's Lynn and thence to the North Sea. Bedford is sited at around 25 metres above the sea at its centre with outer suburbs rising to around 40 metres in gentle terrain, to its north land rises gently to close to 80 metres at the higher spots. Bedford is divided into 5 ancient parishes of which St Peter is that covering the northern and northeastern area of the old town, it covered just 547 acres of both town and adjacent once rural land, it was the second largest parish by population supporting around 900 parishioners. Whilst Bedford was undoubtedly one of the major settlements of the land at Domesday, like most such major towns its assets were not formally detailed as they were presumed to already be known to the monarch who shared the town with the Bishop of Lincoln.

The Church

St Peter's church, St Peter de Merton to give its full dedication, was originally built as a true suburban church i.e it sat outside the enclosed town and served both residents and rural folk. It stands on De Parys Avenue just to the east of the route of the A6 northwards from the town centre. This is a church with surviving fabric from even before the Conquest, Anglo-Saxon 11th century fabric is visible in the basal stages of the central tower, long-and-short quoins being characteristic of such early masonry. The church was burned and partially ruined in 1010 due to Danish incursions but was resurrected after the Conquest and rebuilt, the early church had a western tower and a nave which sits where today's chancel resides. A new nave, much larger than before, was constructed in the 12th century and the elaborated southern doorway constructed. The Early English Gothic period of the 13th century added the eastern arch of the tower whilst scattered lancets remain to document the period. Much of the remainder of the church, whilst appearing medieval in style, actually dates from extensive 19th century restoration and change, the top of the tower is a Georgian addition of 1828 with Norman style bell-openings only added in 1850, the northern arcade was built in 1845 and extended in 1851 whilst the whole nave was restored in two phases of 1881 & 1885 and the western porch added. Like most town churches St Peter is best visited on foot after finding a car park. Sadly for the photographer this is a very tricky church to photograph, many trees and also adjacent buildings restrict one only to a few incomplete views such that no angle can encompass the church adequately in full.