England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Croston St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Croston lies towards the west of that part of Lancashire south of the Ribble. Croston is located about 6 miles west of the industrial town of Chorley and sits on the A581 road which connects Chorley with Rufford. Croston was in mediaeval times a small market town but that status has lapsed as larger settlements nearby grew more substantially, today Croston is a large village cradled in the confluence of the rivers Lostock & Yarrow. The low-lying area surrounding the parish was most suitable for pastoral farming and this dominated the economy although some small scale weaving took place too. Today Croston is supported by light industry as well as remaining farming. Modern developments have come to Croston, the Preston to Liverpool rail line passing through the western edge of the village and providing a station and inevitably some commuting to both of those larger centres. The twin rivers drain the parish westwards the short distance to the River Douglas, drainage is much man-impacted as the area is low-lying and has experienced some reclamation; in turn the Douglas heads northwards to reach the Irish Sea through the outer Ribble Estuary. Croston is sited between 5 & 10 metres above the sea and land barely rises above 30 metres for some considerable distance. Croston parish was at one time extremely extensive but numerous chapelries have been budded away over the years, the basal parish is around 2,500 acres and the population was close to 3,900 parishioners. Much of this area is not detailed in Domesday Book and Croston was not specifically mentioned.

The Church

St Michael's church sits to the south of the village, almost on the banks of the Yarrow and accessed by the cobbled Church Street south from the A581. The church is something of a dating puzzle, despite all being apparently late in the Early English Gothic period little of that date survives. Once one considers the succession of changes made it is perhaps not surprising. Pevsner list no fewer than 8 periods when either rebuilding or remodeling took place, 1577, 1682, 1708, 1710, 1715, 1768, 1823 & 1875. Clearly much has changed during all those period of work leaving a hotchpotch of evidence behind. The church is substantial, as befits the large congregation and has aisles and arcades expanding the basic nave, chancel & western tower format. Church Street leaves the A581 opposite the Grapes Inn and is a pretty street of terraced housing, limited parking is available in Church Street but street parking does occur on the A581 but it is perhaps better to seek it away from this busy road. The churchyard has a fine approach but is rather cramped and restricts the degree by which one can back away from the church to adequately capture it.