England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Castle Carrock St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Castle Carrock lies in the northeast of Cumberland roughly 10 miles east of the city of Carlisle. Castle Carrock sits on the B6413 road which traces the foot of the Pennine Range southwards from Brampton to Kirkoswald. Castle Carrock is a small and compact village sitting on the fore-slope below the rearing range to its east with most properties gathered along the B6413 which performs a set of right-angled bends through the small village. Whilst the wider parish encompasses gentle pastures falling away westwards it also includes extensive mountain moors only suitable for sheep grazing to its east. In more modern times the area east of the village has been acquired as a nature reserve by the RSPB, Geltsdale, with specific remit to protect breeding Hen Harriers as well as other upland species. Proximity to the northernmost ranges of the Pennine range also promotes  Castle Carrock as a tourism location for those outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking and fishing. Castle Carrock is drained northwestwards by the River Gelt which after turning more westwards soon meets Eden before passing through Carlisle and reaching the Irish Sea through the Solway Firth. Castle Carrock is sited at around 140 metres above the sea but the Pennine ranges loom eastwards rising to 482 metres on Castle Carrock Fell and eventually 621 metres on Cold Fell. Like many northern upland parishes Castle Carrock covered an extensive area of around 5,500 acres, that acreage supporting a population of close to 350 parishioners. Domesday Book has little if any coverage this far north and consequently Castle Carrock is not mentioned in that book.

The Church

St Peter's church sits to the east of the B6413 accessed by a narrow lane which serves both church and the local primary school. Sadly only a relatively few of these marriages would have taken place in this building as it was only completed in 1828 and replaced a rather dilapidated predecessor which, reputedly, was built from the stones scavenged from the "castle". Whilst today's church was only completed in 1828 it was markedly altered during a restoration which Pevsner blasts as "violently Normanised" in 1888-9. The great man's ire is further exposed by the clashing styles employed in that restoration which imposed a French or Italian style of Romanesque upon the unfortunate building with faux-Doric and similarly faux-Corinthian styles employed willy-nilly. A church which might appeal to some but not to the classical architect that was Pevsner. Whilst the lane bordering the churchyard is narrow a broad verge is well-used by locals, but try to avoid school start and end times. Thick tree belts screen the churchyard from every angle but once within all is straightforward for the photographer as all angles are readily available.