England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hail Weston St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Hail Weston lies in southern Huntingdonshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Bedfordshire. Hail Weston is located about 2 miles northwest of the market town of St Neots and sits on the B645 road which connects St Neots with Kimbolton. To the east of Hail Weston lies the course of the Great North Road from London to Scotland which follows the line of the ancient Roman Road of Ermine Street. The B645 which formerly wound through the village now passes to the west in a short bypass leaving Hail Weston as a peaceful small and compact village. Hail Weston would have had a varied farming regime, it sits on the southern banks of the River Kym and the river's water-meadows would have supplemented the usual arable fields with some rich pastureland. The Kym flows eastwards the short distance to join the Great Ouse from where matters turn northwards to reach the North Sea though The Wash. Hail Weston is sited at around 30 metres above the sea in gently rolling terrain that rises little more than 10 further metres for some distance. A typically sized parish for southern Britain, Hail Weston covered just under 1,600 acres within which a population of close to 400 parishioners would have been supported. In Domesday times Hail Weston was an equally small rural landholding, shared between Robert the son of Fafiton and Eustace the Sheriff it could muster 8 ploughs and the usual meadows & woodland.

The Church

The former route of the B645 through the village performs a series of right-angles bends inside one of which lies St Nicholas' church at the heart of the village. St Nicholas is a very attractive church, described by Pevsner as "a sweet building". The principal attraction is, of course, the splendid western tower although the cobble rubble walls of local stone are also very pleasant. The tower was not always as today, at the time of this transcript it more resembled a windmill with no sails, being weatherboarded. The framework is entirely of timber and unique within its county. Today's jettied top stage supporting the pyramidal roof dates from 1884 but the original date of the tower is uncertain, Pevnser tentatively states earlier than c1500. The remainder of the church has a 13th century date being Early English Gothic in original style as evidenced by the lancet window of the chancel's north wall. The 1884 work also resulted in new roofs as well as a general restoration. High Street, which passes the church, is perhaps a little too narrow for safe parking but widens after the next turn allowing safe refuge. The churchyard has a tall brick wall facing the road broken by metal gates at the northern end of the site, the churchyard, once within, has few obstacles for the photographer.