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

The Parish

The parish of Whaddon lies in the extreme southwest of Cambridgeshire in an area where Cambridgeshire meets the 3 counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, Whaddon being not too far from either of these. Whaddon is located roughly 4 miles north of the town of Royston and sits a mile east of the A1198 road which links Royston with Godmanchester. The A1198 forms the western boundary of Whaddon parish its straight line confirming it follows the route of the ancient Roman road of Ermine Street. Whaddon is a rather dispersed settlement built largely around a square of lanes which is broken by lacking a southern edge, a subsidiary settlement to the south is Dyer's Green. Like most Cambridgeshire parishes Whaddon would have mainly earned its income from arable farming, the soils here are particularly suitable for cereal growing and today vast prairie-like fields are the norm. The parish is drained northeastwards by the River Cam which, after passing through Cambridge joins the Great Ouse south of Ely before reaching the North Sea through the Norfolk port of King's Lynn and The Wash. Whaddon is sited at around 20 metres above the sea in gentle terrain which gradually rises southwards reaching spots in excess of 100 metres as it rises onto chalk followed by the equally ancient Icknield Way, now a popular local trail but anciently pre-Roman. Covering just 1,200 acres Whaddon parish was towards the smaller end of the scale in its county, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 350 parishioners. Curiously Whaddon's Domesday entry indicates a number of households which would have placed it amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded in the book, a contrast to today's small village. Shared between 4 landholders its assets of 22 ploughs seem also to that scale especially when backed by typical meadows and a mill, Whaddon is a much reduced settlement it would seem.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the southern side of the northern edge of Whaddon's open-sided square of lanes, that passing it being Church Street. Three ages of church-building can be readily seen in St Mary becoming later in age and fashion as one passes from east to west. The chancel is earliest portion of the church and dates from c1300 placing it in the short-lived Transitional era between Early English Gothic and Decorated in styles. The chancel arch shows features from the earlier of the two styles whilst forms from both are intermixed. Moving westwards the nave and accompanying aisles have a date from the early Perpendicular era, Pevsner assigns c1380 making them very early in that era. The main body also comes complete with that characteristic Perpendicular feature, namely a clerestory here showing quatrefoil opening within square surrounds. The nave is topped of with a grotesque corbel enhanced roof. Completing the 3 medieval phases is the western tower which is late-Perpendicular and from the 15th century. The tower top with stair-turret is, however, a product of the final phase, the typical Victorian restoration, here it came in 1894 having been preceded by an earlier version tackling the fenestration and adding the organ chamber in 1869. Church Street has ample space for on-street parking outside the churchyard which stands facing broad open fields to the north. Broad wooden gates grant entry through a low iron post & rail fence which surrounds a churchyard dotted with a few mature trees but these easily avoided by the photographer.