England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Great Munden St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Great Munden lies in the northeastern portion of central Hertfordshire roughly 8 miles east of the New Town of Stevenage. Great Munden sits just over 2 miles west of the A10 road which links London with Cambridge and is a small crossroads settlement, the central point of a scattered parish with many tiny hamlets holding small populations including Dane End, almost 3 miles to the south, and the surprisingly pretty hamlet of Nasty, a quarter of a mile north. The main focus of this dispersed community is the valley of the Dane End Tributary which traverses the parish from northeast to southwest and holds most of the parish population. Like so many parishes Great Munden was a farming parish with early gazetteers placing as much as almost 80% of the parish acreage set to arable fields, a coverage which largely still exists. Said Dane End Tributary leads southwest to the River Beane and from Hertford the Lea which heads through the eastern part of London to join the outer Thames and thence to the North Sea. Great Munden is sited at around 110 metres above the sea in gently rolling terrain where local high spots rarely rise significantly above 130 metres. Great Munden parish was quite extensive for a southern rural agricultural parish, covering close to 3,300 acres it would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. Great Munden is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits to the west of Great Munden's main crossroads on the lane headed for Wood End. The church has rather early origins with much from the 12th century Norman Romanesque left in place by both medieval and Victorian changes. The simple northern doorway is complemented by a small window in the chancel, whilst a Norman arch, which was discovered during Victorian work, in the north of the chancel was recovered but is still in situ. The first major alterations that took place were of the medieval period of the 14th century and 15th centuries. In a Decorated style is the fine three-light window of the southern aisle whilst the Norman chancel arch was partially destroyed in 15th century Perpendicular style widening. The western tower is also of this later period, topped with a characteristic spike typical of the area. The major changes of the Victorian era came in the 1860s and saw much refreshed with the main change externally being the re-facing of the church with flint. The church sits, surrounded by open fields, on a lane with enough verge for safe semi-off-road parking. The churchyard is surrounded by a low local stone wall with a gap where a cobbled path leads to the main door. A few trees are dotted around by most do not unduly impinge on the photographer's favoured aspects too badly.