England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Shocklach St Edith

The Parish

The parish of Shocklach lies in the extreme southwest of Cheshire forming part of the border not only with the detached portion of neighbouring Flintshire but also with Denbighshire. Shocklach is located about 6 miles east of the Denbighshire industrial town of Wrexham and lies on the eastern banks of the River Dee which here forms the border. Shocklach sits, in lanes, about 2 miles north of the B5069 which connects Malpas with Bangor on Dee. Shocklach is a mixture of a settlement, two distinct centres, the village of Shocklach itself, the subsidiary settlement of Shocklach Green closer to the Dee and a scatter of farms and cottages to the north around the former site of a Norman border castle at Castletown. The area is extensively farmed for cattle, the rich pastures of the Dee floodplain providing excellent forage. The Dee drains northwards through the city of Chester to reach the Irish Sea. Shocklach is sited at just 30 metres above the sea but land rises steadily eastwards to top 100 metres on Kidnal Hill near to Malpas. Cheshire is a land of large parishes, Shocklach was not one of those it covered just under 2,900 acres and would have supported a population of a little over 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Shocklach was a tiny place, held by one Robert, son of Hugh, it was a place of just 3 ploughs and a half acre meadow.

The Church

St Edith's church sits a little north of the main village centre, a mile north on the lane to Farndon and a short step down Church Lane. The church has ancient origins its basal fabric being Norman Romanesque in style. Pevsner cites the southern doorway as illustrative of this period but ventures to describe it as "very crudely decorated". The church has a simple structure of nave & chancel with a double bellcote at the western end. The chancel arch is often the earliest feature of the church's main body, in this case it is 14th century indicating a significant rebuild at that period, also from the same era comes the northern doorway. A baptistery was added, according to Pevsner in the 17th century and was as rustic as that southern doorway. There is no mention of a significant restoration in that account leaving a church which is the usual mixture of styles from across the centuries. At the end of Church Lane whence it becomes a footpath sits a rough parking area large enough for many cars. The churchyard has quite a few trees which are sadly concentrated in those areas with the best photographic angles resulting in some difficulty to adequately capture the building.