England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Witchford St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Witchford lies in northern Cambridgeshire roughly 3 miles west of the city of Ely. Witchford sits on the former route of the A142 road which links Ely with Chatteris, that route nowadays being a bypass to the north. Witchford is a rarther linear village, more so in early times where old maps show a distinct cluster around the church with a secondary cluster further west grouped around the Baptist Chapel. Modern developments have expanded Witchford greatly to the north whilst its business park has expanded southeastwards. Like its larger neighbour, Ely, Witchford sits on a low island of drier land within Cambridgeshire's share of The Fens, surrounding land has much reclaimed territory the result of centuries of drainage. The reclaimed land proved highly fertile and today is an intensely farmed area growing typical cereals as well as high value crops such as table vegetables. Given man's interference in the drainage pattern it is difficult to discern the landscape as it once was but water eventually makes its way to the nearby Great Ouse and thus to the North Sea through the Norfolk port of King's Lynn. Witchford is sited at around 10 metres above the sea, the highest point of its little "island" being at 16 metres the highest ground for some distance. Parishes in the Fens are often extensive but Witchford at just under 2,600 acres was not unduly so, within that acreage it would have supported a population of close to 550 parishioners. In Domesday times Witchford was a holding of Ely Abbey, its assets of 13 ploughs and a small meadow reflecting its farming origins.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits on the southern side of Main Street, the former route of the A142, and almost at the eastern end of the village, close to the oddly named Grunty Fen Drain. This is a church where there is documentation of its consecration date, that being 1376. However the church styles are all older than that date, the western tower is apparently the oldest portion of the church and displays lancet style windows typical of the 13th century Early English Gothic style. The main body of the church, both nave and chancel, show  motifs of the Decorated style from the 1st half of the 14th century. All of these styles pre-date the consecration date by some considerable time and either indicate a love of prior styles or a genuine build earlier followed by a consecration to celebrate some later event. The only major piece of fabric post-consecration is that of the northern porch which is 15th century and typically Perpendicular in style. Its rebuilding in 1838 was the first in series of Victorian interventions, others followed in 1851 & 1887 to complete today's church. The construction of the bypass has left Main Street as a quiet village street allowing on-street parking without the constant passing of traffic. The church sits, set slightly back, behind a low local stone wall, the churchyard is rather tightly enclosed to the east and a few trees require a little ingenuity by the photographer to find the best views.