England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Terling All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Terling sits almost centrally within Essex about 4 miles west of the market town of Witham. Terling is a a large village sitting on the eastern banks of the River Ter within an area devoid of significant roads, the closest such road being the A12 at Witham itself. Much of the village is built around a triangle of roads with a northwestern extension following the course of the river. Once sufficiently large enough to merit an annual Whit Monday pleasure fair Terling never quite developed into a small market town but still maintains the facilities of such a small town with inns and businesses retained. Like most Essex parishes Terling's economy would have been dominated by arable farming, the presence of the River Ter, however, also gave access to water-meadows and grazing pastures along its course. The Ter drains the parish southwards the short distance to the Chelmer whence it turns eastwards reaching the North Sea through the Blackwater Estuary. Terling is sited at around 30 metres above the sea, land rises fairly gently out of the river valley reaching local heights of almost 60 metres within a mile or so. Terling parish was fairly large for its county, covering just over 3,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 900 parishioners. In Domesday times Terling was a holding of one Ranulf Peverel, a relatively small place of 5 ploughs, extensive meadows, pastures and woodland but it also possessed 2 mills.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the eastern edge of the village close to Terling Place an 18th century house replacing what had once been the site of a palace of the Bishops of Norwich. The church is one which has seen major changes over the centuries since its first construction so much so that little remains of its original fabric. Pevsner notes a single lancet window from the Early English Gothic period to suggest a 13th century origin for the chancel whilst other areas, the southern porch and southern arcade are datable to the 15th century and Perpendicular in style. Internal features of the tower arch indicate that the church once had a 13th century tower but this fell and was replaced by the present brick tower and steeple in 1732. Much else is as a result of two intensive campaigns of restoration, the first in 1849 followed by a second 7 years later, which completely remodelled much of the church. The churchyard is set back from Church Road by an extensive green with a U-shaped access track granting ample parking. A low flint & brick wall surrounds with broad wooden gates granting entry to a churchyard which has few obstructions to photography.