England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Northaw St Thomas the Martyr

The Parish

The parish of Northaw lies in southeastern Herfordshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Middlesex. Northaw is located roughly 6 miles northwest of the Middlesex town of Enfield and sits about a mile east of the A1000 road which links High Barnet with Hatfield. Northaw is a small triangular  village with most properties lying between the B156 (Potters Bar to Cuffley) road and a subsidiary lane heading northeastwards. In addition to the small village which grants its name to the parish, Northaw also included the then hamlet of Cuffley, nowadays following the arrival of the railway and its station at Cuffley the hamlet in now a modern commuter town some 10 times the size of Northaw village. Sitting so close to London the typical arable farming of its county would have varied to take in market gardening to supply the nearby capital with fresh fruit & vegetables. A glance at today's Ordnance Survey mapping shows the parish to also be well-wooded, these areas would have been exploited for forestry products but today the largest Northaw Great Wood is a country park and well used for leisure. Modern developments have come in abundance, the railway to Cuffley continued to the county town of Hertford & beyond. To the south the modern M25 motorway, London's outer motorway ring-road passes through the south of Northaw parish.  Northaw is drained eastwards by a small brook which joins the Cuffley Brook and turns south and then east through northern Enfield to meet the River Lea, the Lea heads through London's eastern reaches before reaching the outer Thames Estuary at West Ham and thus to the North Sea. Northaw is sited at around 110 metres above the sea, Cuffley starts by the Brook at 70 metres but rises uphill to a similar height at its upper reaches, a few spots northwest of the Great Wood approach 130 metres as the highest ground around in gently undulating terrain. Northaw parish was smaller than many of its near neighbours but still large for a southern farming parish, it covered just under 3,200 acres and would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. Northaw is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Thomas' church sits at the apex of the triangle which forms the western extremity of Northaw, it sits behind a large triangular village green holding the village's war memorial. Today's St Thomas is the third iteration of church on this site, the original medieval church had been demolished and was replaced in 1810 by  a lavish new church funded by the local gentleman Mr W Strode. Sadly this church only remained in service for 70 years as in 1881 a terrible fire destroyed that church to a state beyond simple repair. Today's church was rebuilt upon the same footprint between 1881 and 1882. The design is of nave and chancel augmented with transepts, a southern aisle and porch and an unusually placed tower which stands to the southwest. It is clear that Pevsner feels the design, prepared by Lincolnshire architects reflects more the style of their county than that of Hertfordshire. Despite the recent completion date there has been time for alteration, a northern aisle was added in 1887, the northeastern vestry in 1893 and an internal southern porch in 2004. The interior is well worth a visit for the quality of its 19th century wall paintings which comprehensively decorate the church. The straight edge of the triangle of roads nearest the church provides some parking for the few allowing a relaxed visit. The church has patches of trees around, a small one to the southwest and a larger on to the northeast, the photographer's main issue is accommodating the tall tower into any landscape formatted image given the compact churchyard.