England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Tunstall St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Tunstall is the most northerly of the parishes within that portion of Lancashire "south of the Sands" and forms an extensive part of both the border with neighbouring Westmorland and also with that with Yorkshire. Tunstall is located about 4 miles south of the small Westmorland market town of Kirkby Lonsdale and sits on the A683 road which connects Kirkby Lonsdale with Lancaster. Tunstall, itself is a relatively small village largely built along the A683 and sitting within the valley of the River Lune, the wider parish, however, is extensive, incorporating the hamlets of Cantsfield, Over & Nether Burrow and Leck as well as extending high into the Pennine range to the northeast. Tunstall village sits amongst extensive pastures, grazing of cattle in the valley being supplemented by extensive rough moorland in the outer parish where sheep and managed grouse moor dominate. Modern developments almost came to Tunstall as the Lancaster to Leeds railway line passes just to its south. Today Tunstall earns much of living from tourism with fishing on both Lune & Greta rivers very popular, hiking in the wider parish is also popular and caving in the limestone caverns too. The Lune drains the parish southwestwards and reaches the Irish Sea through Lancaster and its estuary. Tunstall village is sited at around 30 metres above the sea, it is atypical of the parish which rises in its northeastern section to 687 metres on Great Coum overlooking Dentdale. A typical northern upland parish, Tunstall covered just over 13,800 acres within which close to 700 parishioners would have been supported, a mere 150 in Tunstall village. In Doomsday times Tunstall is mentioned, despite its northern location where coverage is sparse, as a holding retained by King William but is described merely as "waste".

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits well away from its village accessed along Church Lane and sitting almost a half mile to the northeast. A church is mentioned in Domesday Book and there is speculation that there may well have been an Anglo-Saxon origin but little trace remains of that period today. The earliest period found in today's fabric is that of the Early English Gothic period of the 13th century. This style is shown in the lancet windows of the aisle and the northern aisle has dimensions typical of this period, internally both piscina and sedilia show similar dates. In the 1330s a chantry chapel was added in the Decorated style of that period. Most else dates from the local Tunstall family's investment attributed to 1415 by Sir Thomas Tunstall. Perpendicular style in both the sturdy crenellated tower and rather finely in the southern porch. Further window changes were noted in the 16th century and there, for once, work has stopped there being no discernible Victorian restoration to mask the dating detail remaining. Church Lane is narrow but is widened outside the churchyard for a car or two to park outside the gates. Sturdy local stone walls and metal gates lead to a diagonal path heading for the church,  a row of small conifers somewhat mars the favoured southeastern aspect but otherwise all is open and uncluttered enabling the photographer their angles.