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

The Parish

The parish of Tissington lies in western Derbyshire forming a short stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Staffordshire. Tissington is located roughly 4 miles north of the market town of Ashbourne and sits a half mile east of the A515 road which connects Ashbourne through to Buxton. Tissington is a small and compact village largely built around an oval of lanes enclosing its imposing church and edged westwards by the grounds of Tissington Hall, the early 17th century home of the Fitzherbert family. Tissington is an upland parish sitting on an underlie of limestone, a region of the Peak District, known colloquially as the White Peak, The economy had 3 main pillars, sheep grazing the sweet turf of the limestone, quarrying of said limestone and a small cotton mill that employed around 130. Today the area is highly touristic, a mecca for outdoor pursuits such as hiking and fishing. Modern developments came and disappeared, finding new usage, the railway line, largely a mineral service, between Ashbourne & Buxton now closed but forming a tremendous asset as the joint walking, cycling route of "The Tissington Trail". Tissington is drained southwards by the Wash Brook which meets the famous River Dove to the west of Ashbourne, the Dove continues southwards into Staffordshire before turning east to meet the Trent, the latter then continues on its long journey to the North Sea eventually arriving through the Humber Estuary, Tissington is sited at around 230 metres above the sea, land rises still higher westwards across the A515 reaching a spot height of 369 metres high above iconic Dove Dale. Covering only a little over 2,200 acres Tissington was one of the smaller parishes in upland Derbyshire, that acreage would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. Tissington has been here since Domesday with 20 households recorded held by Henry de Ferrers and supported by 7 ploughs, typical meadows and woodland and a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church forms the heart of the community sitting opposite the entrance to Tissington Hall estate. As Pevsner's preamble states "from the triangular village green one enjoys a picture of exquisite beauty"; there is no doubt that Tissington is a picturesque spot and enhanced by its church. Two distinct ages of the church are readily apparent, the imposing 12th century Norman Romanesque styled western tower being an iconic feature. Together with the church's southern doorway they form a motif more defensive than ecclesiastical, a blockhouse of a tower. Sadly the remainder of the church dates subsequent to the marriages in this transcript being a rebuild of 1854, a build labeled "Normanization" by Pevsner and containing faux-12th century features for more modern things such as a clerestory. The Green is well-used for parking and the church is a short climb uphill to the churchyard, despite being relatively treeless the southern aspects are impeded but all other angles are available for the photographer.