England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Great Yeldham St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Great Yeldham lies in the far north of Essex not too far from its border with neighbouring Suffolk. Great Yeldham is a large village lying roughly 8 miles southeast of the Suffolk market town of Haverhill which sits on and east of the A1017 road which connects Haverhill with Braintree. Great Yeldham lies in the shallow valley of the upper River Colne, a route also followed by the road, with most properties of the original village lying along this route, modern developments have expanded the village eastwards mostly north of the lane running to Little Yeldham. Like most Essex parishes arable farming dominated the local economy, the residual product of all this cereal was straw and a flourishing plaiting trade in that straw, mainly for hats, occupied many too. The Colne drains the parish southeastwards, passing through Halstead to reach Colchester and the North Sea through the small port of Brightlingsea. Great Yeldham is sited, on the A1017, at about 50 metres above the sea with the northeastern outposts some 20 metres higher, land is gentle with local heights reaching almost 90 metres to the north of Little Yeldham.Great Yeldham parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering around 1,800 acres it would have supported a population of close to 700 parishioners. In Domesday times Great & Little Yeldham were returned as a single entry, shared by 4 landholders collectively the two villages offered 16 ploughs, the usual meadows and woodland and there was pair of mills.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits on the western side of the A1017, here named Church Road, almost at the northern limits of the village. The church has its origins in the 14th century and is almost entirely in the Perpendicular and later styles. The core of the church, nave & chancel, dates from the middle of the 14th century and are both fairly typical of their period. What makes St Andrew stand out is the curious accumulation of projecting parts attached to the southern face of that core. The porch, Pevsner calls it "mighty", began life in the later 14th century as a tower, curiously placed and left unfinished before conversion when a more normally placed western tower was added in the late 15th century. To this oversized porch both vestry and a chapel were added. Like most churches the Victorian restoration occurred, in this case it came in the 1880s and saw the renewal of most windows, roofs and the internal seating. The main road is a little busy but at the southern end of the site by the entrance is a sufficiently wide verge for a car or two to safely park outside the lychgate which grants entry. A pathway heads across the churchyard to the church, sadly the western end of the building is rather tightly enclosed by trees but other angles to the favoured southeast are mercifully free for the photographer.