England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Tadlow St Giles

The Parish

The parish of Tadlow lies in the extreme southwest of Cambridgeshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire is also not too far away. Tadlow is located roughly 4 1/2 miles east of the Bedfordshire small market town of Potton and stands on and mostly south of the B1042, a linking road which connects Potton with the A1198 (Royston to Huntingdon) road. Tadlow is a small place which runs south of the B1042 for just under a quarter of a mile Tadlow sits in prime arable farmland and is almost exclusively set to crops such as cereals, beet & oil-seed in large fields, the southern edges of the parish, bordering the infant River Cam, would have had a few pastures to leaven the mix. Tadlow is drained eastwards by the Cam which turns northeast to pass through Cambridge and onward into Fenland where it meets the Great Ouse for the final few miles of that river's course reaching the North Sea through the Norfolk port of King's Lynn and The Wash. Tadlow is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in gently rolling terrain where the local high spots to the west of Wrestlingworth reach 73 metres. Covering a little over 1,700 acres Tadlow parish was typically sized for this area, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Domesday Tadlow was shared between three landholders and was a prosperous farming manor offering 16 ploughs, some small meadows and held a mill.

The Church

St Giles' church sits to the north of the B1042 and is accessed from that road by footpath opposite to the main village lane. The core of the main body of the church is 13th century, both nave and chancel have the characteristic lancet windows typical of the Early English Gothic period. Contemporary with the core is its southern doorway which Pevsner singles out with praise for its ambitious design including two orders of colonnettes and fine arch moulding. The church's western tower is later and from the 15th century and the Perpendicular style, a will bequest of 1472 donating money to complete the spire confirms the dating indicated by the architecture, the insertion of Perpendicular styled windows into the core also dates from the same build period. A thorough Victorian restoration of 1859 - 1866 saw much change with the addition of a southern porch, southern & eastern windows of the chancel and the replacement of the nave roof. There is no parking on the B1042 which carries fast traffic, the lane of the village is best for on-street parking. The church is totally concealed within trees and a shady footpath leads to the churchyard. Trees are a theme of the churchyard too with only the favoured southeastern aspects clear, to the west the tower sits almost embedded within the trees thus views are markedly limited for the photographer.