England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Benington St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Benington lies in central Hertfordshire about 5 miles southeast of the new town of Stevenage. Benington sits in an area rather devoid of major roads, the closest being the B1037 (Stevenage to Buntingford) which lies just over 2 miles to Benington's north. Benington is said to have a long history, theories state that it was the seat of the Kings of Mercia in the Dark Ages, today it is a tranquil village in rolling Hertfordshire countryside crisscrossed by paths and bridleways and popular with hikers and riders alike. At the time of this transcript Benington would have had an agricultural economy albeit supplemented by the local straw plait manufacture. Benington is drained southwestwards by small streams heading for the nearby River Bene, this joins the Lea at Hertford and reaches the Thames in the east end of London, thence to the North Sea. Benington is sited at around 110 metres above the sea on something of a local high point, in gently rolling countryside local heights reach just over 10 metres higher whilst land falls away westwards to the Bene valley. Benington parish was fairly typically sized for its area, it covered around 2,900 acres and would have supported a population of around 600 parishioners. In Domesday times Benington was quite a small place, held by Peter of Valognes it could boast 10 ploughs and woodland occupied by many pigs.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the heart of Benington on the northern side of Church Green. The church is a building commenced in the late 13th century and substantially completed by the middle of the 14th, as such it encompasses the end of the Early English Gothic and the period of the Decorated styles. The earliest portions identified by Pevsner are the sedilia and piscina both completed in the 13th century. The northern chancel chapel has a style consistent with a pre-1330 date. The only portion of the church which is later is the Perpendicular western tower of the 15th century. The church sits in an elevated position above Church Green and is accessed either by a long sloping path from the pretty lychgate at the eastern end of the site or by steeply rising steps closer to the church. A much wooded site with trees which rather enclose the western tower and do fundamentally restrict the angles available for photography.