England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Standish St Wilfrid

The Parish

The parish of Standish lies in southern central Lancashire about 3 miles north of the industrial town of Wigan. Standish parish was extensive with several small towns included within its besides its main town, notable settlements are Adlington, Coppull, Charnock Richard and Shevington. Standish, itself, sits on the A49 road, which follows the ancient Roman Watling Street, and connects Wigan with Preston. Nowadays, with Wigan growing steadily northwards, barely a small gap disconnects Standish from its larger neighbour. Standish has fairly ancient origins although the evidence, other then literary, has disappeared on the ground; it is believed that Standish was the site of a pre-Conquest Saxon castle. Prior to the industrial revolution this was primarily an area dominated by pastoral farming, very little land set to cereals. Extensive coal found below soon rapidly increased the population and the economy boomed, further increases came with the growth of cotton & silk weaving in the town whilst others found employment in other extractive industries. Today Standish is a smaller town than many of its near neighbours but still an important centre of employment even if the mining and heavy industry has gone. Modern developments have come , in abundance, to the area, the Leeds - Liverpool canal skirts through to the east, the main West Coast railway line crosses en route from London to Glasgow and the modern M6 motorway passes just to the west. Small streams drain the parish to the nearby River Douglas which heads northwestwards reaching the outer Ribble Estuary and thence the Irish Sea. Standish is sited at around 100 metres above the sea and sits on something of a local height with few places much over the same or similar height for many a mile. Lancashire parishes are vast and Standish was no exception, covering just over 9,400 acres it's population would have risen through the period of this transcript to reach almost 8,700 parishioners. Standish has no mention in Doomsday Book which is sparse in its coverage of Lancashire.

The Church

St Wilfrid's church sits in the market place of the town a few hundred metres east of the route of the A49 through the town. Whilst there has been a church on this site from at least the 12th century, today's church is a product of the great church-building era of the Perpendicular and a late example of that era too. Documentary evidence places the main phases of the build to the 1580s but the church has had a series of additions and alterations ever since. The church is big as befits a small town with the nave having five bays and the chancel a further three, the whole being augmented by ailes and both northern & southern chapels. Work on the southern chapel is dateable by inscriptions dated 1669 but it is the Victorian era that saw major changes. The dominating western tower is a product of work done in the 1860s which saw not only that build but major restoration throughout. The church stands on the junction of the B5239 with Church Street, outside is the market plain complete with market cross, a few easily filled parking spaces can be found outside the elaborate gatehouse which graces the main entrance. The churchyard has a low, sandstone, wall surrounding and has a fair few trees which crowd, in particular, the favoured southeastern aspect making for a challenge to the photographer especially on a sunny day.