England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
North Wingfield St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of North Wingfield lies in northeastern Derbyshire not too far from the county's border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. North Wingfield is located roughly 5 miles south of the industrial town of Chesterfield and sits on the A6175 road, a linking road which connects the A61 (Chesterfield to Derby) road with the A617 (Chesterfield to Mansfield) road. North Wingfield is a much changed place directly as a result of the industrialisation of the area created by coal mining. Early maps show North Wingfield as a simple small crossroads settlement standing around the junction of the A6175 with the B6039 arriving from Chesterfield, to the southwest almost a half mile away lay the parish church and some accompanying cottages. For much of its existence North Wingfield was a farming parish, mixed methods in place with pastoral dominant, some small-scale extraction of shallower coal seams and the local ironstone was also quarried. In the 19th century North Wingfield became the centre of the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire deep coal mining area and the subsidiary settlement of Clay Cross grew to become the dominant settlement, sitting at the junction of the A61 & A6075 it grew from rural hamlet into mid-sized industrial mining town, North Wingfield also expanded linking its two settlements into one continuous whole. In the late 20th century the mines were gradually closed leaving a somewhat post-industrial feel to the area, modern developments have created a new role, the railway lines from Chesterfield to Derby and to Alfreton pass through without creating a station but the proximity of the M1 motorway and improvements to the A61 (which follows the ancient Roman Road of Ickneild Street) have enabled growth in commuting to both Chesterfield and Derby. North Wingfield is drained northwards by the River Rother which heads into Yorkshire, passes through Rotherham to meet the Don, turn east through Doncaster and meet the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. North Wingfield is sited at around 130 metres above the sea with Clay Cross some 10 metres higher, to the west of Clay Cross land rises onto the fore-slopes of the Peak District reaching almost 300 metres to the northeast of nearby Ashover. North Wingfield parish was one of the most extensive in this area of the county covering just over 7,600 acres, it would have supported a population of close to 3,100 parishioners by the end of the transcript period, growing rapidly from an estimated 2,000 average during the transcript period and doubling from the mining boom in less than 20 years subsequently. In Domesday times North Wingfield was a typical rural farming manor held by Walter d'Aincourt offering 11 ploughs backed by typical meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Lawrence's church once sat a half mile from the village that had been North Wingfield, nowadays it sits on the southwestern edge of the much larger settlement, St Lawrence Road becomes Market Street and St Lawrence sits high above that road as it descends to cross the River Rother, the church is accessed by a flight of over 30 steps from that road. The church has been on this site since the 12th century and some small fragments of that Norman Romanesque ers are still found within its fabric, the northern window at the eastern end of transeptal chapel being genuinely 12th century. During the early 14th century, in the Decorated style, today's chancel was built, contemporaneously the northern vestry and northeastern chapel. Much of the remainder owes itself to the later Perpendicular period notably the large and tall western tower complete with battlementation typical of the era. That motif was added to the remainder of the church in the 15th century and the southern porch added. The Victorian era saw radical changes through 3 phases of restoration in 1860 the southern aisle was rebuilt from its foundations, in 1872 the northern aisle and clerestory were restored and in 1878-1880 a more thorough general restoration refreshed much of the existing fabric. A footpath from St Lawrence Road makes for a less arduous access and has a few spots at its entrance for a car or two to safely park off the main road. Sadly for the photographer the church is placed in the southeastern corner of the tree-bordered churchyard removing the favoured aspects, all other angles are, however, available.