England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Breedon on the Hill St Mary & St Hardulph

The Parish

The parish of Breedon on the Hill lies in the extreme northwest of Leicestershire, indeed it forms a lengthy stretch of the border with neighbouring Derbyshire. Breedon on the Hill is located about 5 miles northeast of the industrial town of Ashby de la Zouch and sits, in lanes, just a mile north of the busy dual-carriageway of the A42 which connects that town with the modern M1 motorway. Modern communications can also be found nearby as Breedon on the Hill lies just 4 miles southwest of east Midlands Airport. Breedon on the Hill has ancient origins, its iconic hill - only 50 metres higher than the neighbouring land - a Carboniferous era limestone reef left isolated by erosion of softer sediments, is topped by the site of an Iron Age hill-fort. It was here in the 7th century that a monastery was founded by the monks of Peterborough Abbey. Sacked by the Danes the site was resurrected by the Normans and the present-day village of Breedon on the Hill grew up at its southern base. All traces of the monastic are now lost to history with the exception of those incorporated into the church. At the time of this transcript Breedon on the Hill would have been a farming community with a mixed farming economy equal parts arable and pastoral. Little has changed albeit the arable nowadays dominates. Breedon on the Hill is drained northwards by small tributaries of the nearby Trent which is soon joined, the Trent eventually draining into the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Breedon on the Hill village is sited at around 70 metres above the sea, its church at 120 metres on its knoll, sitting just south of the main Trent Valley the landscape is gently rolling with that knoll forming the highest ground for some distance. Breedon on the Hill parish, incorporated the chapelry of Worthington, which has marriages of it's own and warrants it's own page, was larger than many in its area, it covered almost 2,800 acres and would have supported a population of around 2,600 parishioners. In Domesday times, despite its antiquity, it is not separately enumerated being recorded under the manor of Tonge and held by one Henry of Ferrers. The manor could offer 13 ploughs as well as meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Mary & St Hardulph's church sits in splendid isolation atop its limestone knoll, a fine viewpoint and destination for the surrounding area as a consequence, there is adequate parking at the top of its winding access lane. The present church was commenced in the early 12th century and is proven to be in existence by documentary evidence as early as 1122. The western tower has features remaining from that period. To that church a long chancel was added in the 13th century forming what is actually most of today's church. From the later Perpendicular era of the late 14th and early 15th century comes the clerestory and the augmentation of the tower in the form of the crenellation of tower, chancel and chancel aisles. After the normal restorations of the building we are left with an iconic building atop a fine viewpoint and a worthy asset to the county. The access road winds up from the northwestern corner of the knoll, precariously above the eastern quarry to reach the church site which is protected by a low local limestone wall. The churchyard, accessed through a wooden gate, is open and with no restrictions for photography.