England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sherington St Laud

The Parish

The parish of Sherington lies in the extreme northeast of Buckinghamshire not too far from the county's two borders, with both Northamptonshire and with Bedfordshire. Sherington is located just under 2 miles northeast of the market town of Newport Pagnell and stands on the former route of the A509 which links Newport Pagnell through Olney to Wellingborough, that road now bypassing to the east. Sherington is a large village built around an oblong of lanes, the western edge the former A509, both the western and eastern edges has small northern extensions of properties. The village sits on the outside of a notable meander of the River Great Ouse, a situation which gave it access to not only the lush riverside pastures of the flood plain but also to drier land to the east of the village, early gazetteers estimate arable in dominance by 2:1. The local limestone is extracted by quarrying for use on the roads and for burning for lime, cottage industries in the village included lace making for pillows and turning rushes into matting. Modern development has upgraded the A509 south of the village to fast dual-carriageway highway with beneficial results to the peace of the village's High Street. Sherington is drained on a sinuous course by the Great Ouse which, after passing through Bedford heads for the Fens, Ely and the port of King's Lynn before reaching the North Sea through The Wash. Sherington is sited at between 60 & 90 metres above the sea climbing the gentle valley slope, further east a few spots breach the 100 metre contour but usually not by much. Sherington parish was typically sized for the area covering close to 2,000 acres which would have supported a population of around 850 parishioners. In Domesday times with 36 households Sherington was borderline for inclusion in the top 20% of settlements by population, held by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances its assets of 14 ploughs, meadows & woodland and a mill indicate a prosperous middling farming manor.

The Church

St Laud's church (Laud was the 5th Bishop of Coutances in the 6th century and is  traditionally invoked as a healing saint for eye maladies and blindness) stands on the northern edge of the village at the northern limit of the lane forming the eastern edge of the oblong, School Lane becoming Church End. The church has its oldest fabric dating to the 13th century although its cruciform layout is often associated more with the 12th century. Both the central crossing tower and the northern arcade hold fabric of the Early English Gothic era, the tower top is a later 15th century amendment in the Perpendicular style. The church was added to in the early 14th century with the construction of a southern aisle in the Decorated style along with the southern porch of similar age. Besides topping off the tower the Perpendicular era saw the insertion of a clerestory to improve internal lighting. A typical Victorian restoration of 1870 is recorded without Pevsner detailing its impact, usually the sign of a light and sensitive piece of work. As Church End approaches the churchyard gates it narrows appreciably, parking is advised away from their vicinity. A gently sloping path leads into the churchyard which has trees but none that will cause inconvenience for the best photographer angles.