England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Pleasley St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Pleasley lies in eastern Derbyshire forming an extensive part of the border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. Pleasley is located about 3 miles northwest of the Nottinghamshire industrial town of Mansfield and sits on the A517 road which connects Mansfield with Chesterfield. Once a rural community industry came early to Pleasley, initially textile production offered employment, the fast flowing waters of the River Meden enabling mills to operate along Pleasley Vale. Later still and subsequent to this transcript period coal mining supplanted the economy as the deep seams of the Nottinghamshire coalfield were exploited, running for just over a century from the early 1870s till closure in 1983 Pleasley Colliery employed many in the village and caused its expansion into a typical pit-village. With closure came a period of contraction and today parts of Pleasley are post-industrial in nature. The Meden drains the parish northeastwards, joining the Maun close to Clumber Park then the Idle and finally the Trent before reaching the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Pleasley is sited at around 130 metres above the sea, it stands in limestone country and local heights in the pleasantly undulating terrain rise a further 40 metres or so within a couple of miles. Like many Derbyshire parishes Pleasley was large in area, covering around 3,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 700 parishioners at the time of this transcript. Pleasley was not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book being recorded under the manor of Stony Houghton, held by one Walter d'Aincourt it was a relatively small place offering just 10 ploughs and few other assets.

The Church

St Michael's church sits just a few yards east of the busy dual-carriageway of the A517, Church Lane offering an oasis of tranquility from the rush of traffic along that route heading for the nearby M1 motorway St Michael is an early church, the oldest feature on many churches in the chancel arch and this one shows the style of the Norman Romanesque period placing the first build into the late 12th century. The aisle-less nave shows lancet windows of the Early English Gothic period and is 13th century, whilst the chancel is of the 14th. Later still is the western tower, Perpendicular in style and probably 15th century. Pevsner hints at a thorough restoration but the date of that action is not known. Even into the late 20th century changes have been wrought as a vestry was added in 1969. The church stands well back from its lane fronted by a broad triangular area providing ample parking. Once the churchyard is reached, however, some dismay greets the photographer as the church is rather hemmed in with trees making for a tricky subject to adequately capture.