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

The Parish

The parish of Wrestlingworth lies in the extreme east of Bedfordshire, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Cambridgeshire. Wrestlingworth is a substantial village lying around 6 miles northeast of the market town of Biggleswade. Much of Wrestlingworth is built either on or just north of the B1042 road which connects Potton with the A1198, the modern road which follows the line of the Roman Ermine Street. At the time of this transcript Wrestlingworth would have largely earned its living from farming and today arable fields till dominate the local landscape. Wrestlingworth is drained westwards by small tributaries of the River Ivel which is joined near Sandy where it turns northwards joining the Great Ouse and reaching the North Sea through The Wash. Wrestlingworth is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in gently sloping land, local heights rise to the Greensand ridge reaching almost 80 metres in Potton Wood a couple of miles to the north. Wrestlingworth parish was fairly typically sized for the area, it covered around 1,700 acres and would have supported a population of about 500 parishioners. There is, however, no specific mention of Wrestlingworth in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Peter's church sits on the eastern side of the village accessed by Church Lane which heads eastwards from the B1042 and edges around the churchyard. St Peter is essentially a Decorated style church of the 13th century and most of the fabric dates from that period. A single Norman style window in the chancel is perhaps indicative of the reuse of materials from an earlier church. The prominent western tower is, however, a later addition and is in the Perpendicular style, its notable stair turret giving it a peculiar asymmetry. The clerestory, too, is of the Perpendicular style and the two represent a significant refresh at those dates. Unlike most churches Pevsner does not mention any Victorian restoration so the building is relatively intact as a result. The churchyard is enclosed by a knee-height brick wall and there are entrances from both southern and northwestern aspects marked by metal gates. There are a lot of trees around the churchyard somewhat restrictive of photographic angles.