England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Great Gransden St Bartholomew

The Parish

The parish of Great Gransden lies in the extreme south of Huntingdonshire, as it forms a peninsula of Huntingdonshire territory inserted into that of Cambridgeshire it forms an extensive stretch of the border between the two counties. Great Gransden is located roughly 7 miles southeast of the market town of St Neots and stands on and mostly northeast of the meandering B1046 road which links St Neots with southern Cambridge. Great Gransden is a large village which forms a tiled oblong with its short axis lining the B1046 and stretching northeast from there for almost a half mile. Great Gransden sits on prime fertile arable farming land with almost the entire parish acreage as set to crops, the soils lend themselves to modern machinery which has caused many hedgerows to be removed in the name of efficiency. Great Gransden is drained westwards by the Abbotsley Brook which meets the Great Ouse to the south of St Neots, that lengthy river continues northwards through Fenland to the port of Kings Lynn, the Wash and the North Sea. Great Gransden is sited at between 50 & 60 metres above the sea on the valley side of the Brook in gentle terrain where only a few spots rise above the 70 metres contour. Great Gransden parish was fairly large for a southern rural farming parish, covering just under 3,400 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. Great Gransden is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Bartholomew's church stands on the southern edges of the village accessed along Church Street and almost on the banks of the Abbotsley Brook. The church is almost completely in the Perpendicular style of the late 14th to 15th century, it is believed that this was as a consequence of the church passing into the hands of Clare Hall, Cambridge (the arms of said hall decorate the western door) which acquired the advowson in the mid-14th century. Donations made in wills of 1497 roundly book-end the potential time within which the church was completed. The western tower is the church's most notable feature being in 4-stages with a northeastern stair turrets and typical battlementation. A typical Victorian restoration of 1873 is the only major change since completion when the vestry & organ chamber were added in addition to the restoration of the remainder. Church Street is widened outside the churchyard into a large triangular parking area allowing a relaxed visit, the entrance now sits beside the old lychgate. The churchyard is busy with trees needing some scouting on behalf of the photographer to find the better views.