England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Newchurch in Pendle St Mary

The Parish

Newchurch in Pendle (the suffix serves to distinguish it from the other Newchurches in Rossendale & Culcheth) is a parochial chapelry within the vast eastern Lancashire parish of Whalley, Newchurch in Pendle chapelry forms part of the northern limits of that parish and, as such, also forms part of the border with neighbouring Yorkshire. Newchurch in Pendle chapelry covers a significantly large area of the county with the village that donates its name to the chapelry being little more than a hamlet lying roughly 6 miles north of the industrial town of Burnley, other settlements within the chapelry being Barley & Roughlee. Newchurch in Pendle village is sited roughly 2 miles north of the A6068 road which connects Padiham with Nelson. Much of the chapelry was carved from the ancient Forest of Pendle, itself a small part of the greater "forest" which extended over much of this area of the western Pennines. Pendle, of course, is inextricably linked to the ill-fated "Witches of Pendle" an English equivalent to the Salem events of the USA, today that tragic set of events leads to a minor tourist industry. The area, pre-industrial revolution, was largely a pastoral farming area, cattle in the valleys and sheep on the extensive rough moorland. The area does, however, have extensive coal measures underlying and together with the traditional hand-loom weaving & stream powered mills has a more manufacturing base for its employment. Modern developments have come to the chapelry, the Leeds to Liverpool Canal passes through to the south and is now followed by the modern M65. Today the chapelry is an important area for tourism with excellent hiking opportunities not only on Pendle Hill but through the wider area. Newchurch in Pendle is drained eastwards by the Pendle Water which joins the Lancashire Calder and reverses direction to flow westwards joining the Ribble and thence to the Irish Sea through Preston. Newchurch in Pendle, the village, is sited at almost 300 metres above the sea but land rises to the top of Pendle Hill, itself, at 557 metres just a couple of miles to the north. The acreage of the chapelry is equivalent to many parishes, covering just over 5,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 2,700 parishioners. Newchurch in Pendle is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits within the hamlet of Newchurch in Pendle on the eastern side of the main lane that leads down to Fence on the A6068. The church is a relatively modern one, the western tower is said to date from 1544, making it late Perpendicular, but its clean lines and neat appearance undoubtedly reflects later refurbishment. Indeed much of the church dates from later work. Mason's dates indicate a significant build of 1740 whilst documented other work of the 1810s undoubtedly account for most of the fabric. In all the church is neat and tidy and sits as a testament to years of good attention. The lane past the church is narrow but clearly marked with several parking bays despite this fact. The sits slopes downhill steeply from the road with access through a metal gate and a sloping pathway. The church sits on a level platform within an otherwise steep churchyard and has few obstructions to photography.