England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Renhold All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Renhold lies in the northern portion of central Bedfordshire roughly 4 miles north east of the county town of Bedford. Renhold is located about 2 miles north of the A428 road which links Bedford with the Huntingdonshire town of St Neots. Renhold is a long straggle of a village, stretching for almost 2 miles along a lane from Workhouse End, almost on the A428, through to Salph End, which is almost a suburb of Bedford. Renhold has no definitive centre with properties strung out, clusters at Salph End and close to the church being the only notable concentrations. Like most Bedfordshire parishes Renhold would have, and indeed still does, earn its living from arable farming, whilst methods have intensified in today's largely cereal fields, in the past a more varied rotation of crops would have pertained. Renhold is drained southwards by small tributaries of the nearby Great Ouse which is soon joined on its long journey across the Fens to reach the North Sea through the Wash, Renhold is sited at around 50 metres above the sea in gently rolling countryside, land rises northwards, away from the Great Ouse, to local high spots of around 70 metres. Renhold parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering just short of 2,200 acres it would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. Whilst Renhold is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book the manor at Salph End has an entry as a holding of Hugh de Beauchamp, with just 2 ploughs and the usual meadows & woodland its only assets as a small rural holding.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the northern side of the long lane that forms the spine of Renhold, slightly nearer the western end than the eastern. The church is primarily one from the 14th century showing the two styles that held sway during that century, the Decorated and the Perpendicular. The earlier style, the Decorated, is shown primarily by the northern aisle and arcade whilst the south side and the chancel show the later Perpendicular styling. Also from that later style is the western tower complete with is recessed lead-covered spire. There is evidence for later work with the vestry being tentatively dated to c1725, an unusual date for major church-building. More typical later work is the Victorian restoration of the early 1860s which not only replaced the chancel arch but also stripped bare the internal walls. Outside the churchyard a triangular area is set aside for parking allowing several cars to safely park off-road. A neatly clipped archway of evergreen leads to a pathway crossing to the church through a churchyard which has a few trees in inconvenient locations for the photographer requiring some judicious choice of angles to adequately record this building.