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

The Parish

The parish of Fowlmere lies in the extreme south of Cambridgeshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Essex, in addition Hertfordshire lies not too far away. Fowlmere is located roughly 5 1/2 miles northeast of the Hertfordshire town of Royston and stands just over a mile north of the A505 road which links Royston through to Duxford. Fowlmere is a crossroads settlement, the B1368 road leads northeastwards from the A505, passing through the village in  series of right-angled bends, junctions are formed with lanes headed for Shepreth & Thriplow, most properties lies either aling the B-road or these twin lanes. Fowlmere sits in one of the most fertile and easily worked areas of the county making it intensely arable, early gazetteers estimated in excess of 80% of the parish acreage as arable and the percentage may be higher today. The parish does, however, have one exception to the vast cereal fields that dominate, Fowlmere RSPB site sits protecting a glacial feature where ice has excavated a shallow bog to the west of the village noted for its rare aquatic & bog plants. The area forms the main drain northwards for the parish headed the short distance to join the River Cam, the Cam passes through Cambridge, crosses towards Ely before joining the Great Ouse for its final miles to The Wash and the North Sea. Fowlmere is sited at around 25 metres above the sea in a flattish area of the county, to the south land rises south of the A505 onto low chalk hills reaching 137 metres to the west of Essex' Heydon. Fowlmere parish was typically sized for the area covering a little over 2,300 acres that acreage supporting a population of close to 600 parishioners. Domesday Fowlmere was a more important place than today, indeed in medieval times it had been granted a market, now lost, its population large enough to place it in the top 20% of settlements, it was held mainly by Robert Gernon and had assets of 23 ploughs, some meadows and a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church stands on the southern side of the B1368, here named High Street, as it heads northeastwards out of the village. The church has the cruciform structure favoured by the Normans and the masonry has been retained from the 12th century in particular within the walls of the nave, at least that part below the clerestory. The simple 12th century nave was significantly expanded during the early 14th century, in the Decorated period, the chancel shows an east window from the Geometrical period that fell between Early English Gothic and Decorated but most of its windows are of the latter style indicating a lengthy build across the fashion change. Also early 14th century are the church's transepts, the southern, perhaps, built first followed by the northern. The final Decorated addition was the northern arcade, the windows and the doorway. The Perpendicular period saw further change with the insertion of that clerestory rebuilding the upper walls & roof of the nave to accommodate it, the crossing tower was completed with a top stage featuring typical battlementation and a spike, the northern porch added and the west window inserted. Pevsner notes 3 phases of Victorian restoration, in 1843, from 1855 to 1864 and in 1870 without detailing the work done at each. High Street is of ample width for careful on-street parking, the churchyard is unfenced with a pathway leading around to its south where ample space exists for most views to be available for the photographer.