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

The Parish

The parish of Hardwick lies in western Cambridgeshire about 6 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. Hardwick is located roughly 1 miles south of the A428 road which connects Cambridge with St Neots. Once a rather small village sitting on a narrow lane connecting the A428 through to the B1046 at Toft, Hardwick has grown substantially in recent times expanding northwards to reach the main road. The growth of the village is spawned by its proximity to the county town and fueled by commuters. Like many villages in this part of the county arable farming dominated the local economy and landscape with large open fields of cereals, beet and oil-seed stretching as far as the eye can see. A small tributary of the River Cam drains eastwards into that river, reaching it to the south of Cambridge, the Cam turns northwards to cross the Fens to Ely joining the Great Ouse to reach the North Sea through The Wash. Hardwick is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where local heights barely rise more than 10 metres higher for some distance. Hardwick parish was fairly typically sized for this area, covering just over 1,400 acres it would have supported a population of around 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Hardwick was a holding of Ely Abbey and was a middling sized parish offering 10 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the western side of the lane connecting A428 with B1046, here known simply as Main Street. The church is a fairly typical example of a church built across the fashion divide from commencement in the Decorated style to completion in the Perpendicular. The exact dating is complicated in this case by over zealous restoration which has masked much dating detail. The western tower shows details of the early 14th century but also has out-of-fashion lancet windows from an earlier style's era. Decorated style is also shown in a single window of the chancel, this area was obviously redeveloped in the later part of the century by replacement Peninsular style chancel arch and remaining windows. The nave shows Perpendicular style windows but those of the northern side are entirely from the 19th century restorations as is much else. The church is set well back from the road with a spacious lay-by to park outside. A short pathway leads to the lychgate granting entry, the churchyard is a curious shape being a round-ended triangle with the point facing the road. This means the better aspect from the southeast is removed from the photographer's palette, the narrow eastern end limiting the views available.