England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Colton Holy Trinity

The Parish

The parish of Colton lies in northern Lancashire within that detached portion of the county which sits in Furness across Morecambe Bay. Colton is located about 5 miles northeast of the market town of Ulverston and sits roughly 2 miles north of the A590 road which connects Ulverston through to both Kendal and the M6 motorway. Colton was a relatively new creation, having been split from Hawkshead parish in 1676, the wider parish incorporates the parochial chapelry of Finsthwaite which was licensed for marriages and will have its own page within this project. There is no village of Colton, the place marked on Ordnance Survey maps merely being the slight conglomeration of church & a few farms and cottages. The wider parish encompasses most of the southern fringes of the Lake District between Coniston Water & Lake Windermere, a sparsely populated area dominated by the rearing of the local Herdwick sheep on the low fells of this area. Industry did grow too with iron, gunpowder & acid works mainly in the southern fringes of the parish. The Rivers Crake and Leven encompass the fringes with Colton Beck & Rusland Pool draining the interior, amongst numerous other small backs. All are heading for the Irish Sea through nearby Morecambe Bay. Colton is sited at a range of heights, the southern edge of the parish being at sea level whilst the northern fells rise to local heights of 335 metres on Top O' Selside. Colton parish is extensive as befits a northern, upland, parish, covering just over 14,300 acres the collective parish & chapelries would have supported a population of almost 1,800 parishioners. Coverage of Domesday Book is sparse this far north and Colton is not mentioned within the book.

The Church

Holy Trinity church sits high on the slopes of a low fell surrounded by the ubiquitous sheep pastures accessed by a sharply rising lane from that which parallels the Colton Beck. The church is very simple and sparsely decorated having been covered in render at some stage in its life. Dating evidence too is scarce so Pevsner relies on documentary sources to give the following dates. The church was consecrated in 1578 as a parochial chapelry to Hawkshead parish, the building was further extended in 1721 by addition of a northern transept whilst a major restoration of the late 1880s saw the present building emerge. From the signposted junction at Colton Farm lanes zigzag up steeply to the church grounds where tarred roads end at a small car park, the lane continues over the crest as a public footpath heading for Bouth. The churchyard is open, extensive and has little in the way of obstacles to photography other than a scatter of trees easily avoided.