England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Nicholas at Wade St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of St Nicholas at Wade lies in the extreme northeast of Kent, indeed it forms a stretch of Kent's coastline with the North Sea. St Nicholas at Wade lies at the western end of the former Isle of Thanet and sits about 6 miles west of the modern seaside resort of Margate. A large and substantial village St Nicholas at Wade sits in the crook formed by the A299 (Herne Bay to Ramsgate) road and the A28 (Margate to Canterbury), most of the properties are gathered at the village centre or towards the A28 to its southeast. With its feet on higher ground overlooking the former channel connecting Thanet to the rest of Kent, St Nicholas at Wade would have benefited from both arable farming on the higher ground as well as extensive grazing marshes on the, now, reclaimed land of the former seabed. With its coastal location there would also have been opportunities for fishing and shell-fishing albeit the coast had no dedicated harbour. Much of the drainage is man-influenced but the River Wantsum remains as a channel draining into the nearby North Sea to the north. St Nicholas at Wade is sited at just 20 metres above the sea with much of the parish at or even below sea-level, land rises steadily to the east onto Thanet to reach local heights of around 50 metres around Manston Airport. The parish of St Nicholas at Wade was one of the larger within its area, it covered over 3,400 acres and would have supported a population of almost 700 parishioners. There is no specific mention of St Nicholas at Wade in Domesday Book despite the early origins of its church.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits at the heart of the village on the eastern side of its main crossroads. The church was substantially complete by the 13th century, the arcades being fine examples of late 12th century workmanship. Late Norman in style they are a substantial part of the church. The southwestern tower is later and of the 14th century as is the Decorated style southern porch. The church clearly impressed Pevsner as he describes it as "one of the most rewarding churches in northeastern Kent". The site is curiously small for such a large church which sits close to the road in a slightly elevated site, that southwestern tower looming above The Street. Given the small site the best views are from outside the churchyard whilst trees clustered around the eastern end make for restricted angles for photography.