England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sedgefield St Edmund

The Parish

The parish of Sedgefield lies in southern central County Durham roughly 11 miles south of the county town of Durham. Sedgefield once stood at the crossroads of the A177 (Durham to Stockton on Tees) road with the A689 (Bishop Auckland to Hartlepool) road, the pair now bypass the town to west & south. Sedgefield is a modest sized market town roughly linear but spread along the either side of the former route of the A177, at its centre is its splendid central block containing church and the former market area. Sedgefield was granted its market in 1312 in the reign of Edward II and became the centre for trade & specialist skills for its mainly rural area. The wider parish is largely farmed with arable in dominance despite its northern location, a few pastures sit closely around the town itself. Unlike much of its county Sedgefield failed to benefit from industrialisation remaining resolutely rural, the town's reputation as a centre for fox-hunting and horse-racing tributes to that rurality, to this day it retains, as Pevsner notes, the "feel of a large village". Modern developments have come to the parish, the railway line connecting Teesside with the East Coast line from London to Newcastle passes through whilst in more recent times the nearby A1 has been upgraded to motorway as the A1M. Sedgefield is drained southwards by the River Skerne which heads to the Tees at Darlington from whence water turns east to arrive at the North Sea. Sedgefield is sited on a rather flat shelf at between 100 and 110 metres above the sea, land is hereabouts rather gently rolling with local high points rising only to just below 150 metres at nearby Trimdon to the north. Sedgefield parish was vast, covering over 17,000 acres but within that acreage could be found the chapelry of Embleton, the whole would have supported a population in the region of 2,000 parishioners which double-counts Embleton's 100. Domesday Book has no coverage north of the route of the Tees, consequently Sedgefield has no entry in that book.

The Church

St Edmund's church sits at the heart of its market town, within the splendid central block and on the southern side of Front Street. For Pevsner to devote 4 pages of dense text to this buildings tells you all you need to know about its splendour and historical importance, this short piece can only be a taster for a visit. The church has an ancient past, the earliest fabric still remaining being from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period albeit that is restricted to some masonry at the angle of the nave's northern wall with the north aisle, a remnant of a previous aisleless nave remaining despite that nave being replaced by today's version. Both nave and the rather long chancel carry 13th century dates despite later changes, a single window in the southern aisle remains determinedly a lancet of that Early English Gothic period. Most windows are Decorated in style as they were replaced during the early 14th century. Whilst the impressive western tower is styled in the later 14th century perpendicular styling it re-uses the stair turret of its predecessor from either the late 12th or early 13th centuries, a notable survivor. The account in Pevsner details a lengthy series of restorations, improvements and additions from the late 18th century onwards, they include a southern porch added in the 18th whilst the vestry & organ chamber came in the early 20th century. Internally the woodwork of the church receives high praise for its quality, the chancel screen receiving particular attention to its description. Parking on Front Street is straightforward including immediately below the northern face of the church which sits on a raised bank above street height with no fencing or gates. The church is a large and imposing building requiring some distance away to  adequately encompass it in a landscape format, thankfully only a few trees around the eastern end impairs the favoured sight lines.