England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Carlton St Andrew

The Parish

The chapelry of Carlton lies in western Leicestershire not too far from its border with neighbouring Staffordshire. Carlton is a chapelry of Market Bosworth but was licensed for marriages hence its inclusion within this project. Carlton is located about 2 miles north of its mother parish and is a largely linear village lying about a mile and a half west of the A447 road which links Hinckley with Coalville. Carlton sits to the west of a crossroads of lanes on a low ridge of land. The area would largely have earned its living from a mixed farming regime at the time of this transcript, both arable and pastoral being employed. The land hereabouts is gently undulating and a number of small streams drain the parish westwards to the River Sence, although the modern Ashby de la Zouch Canal disrupts such a drainage pattern. The Sence has a circuitous route to the North Sea via the Anker, Tame and finally Trent before reaching the sea through the Humber Estuary. Carlton is sited at around 110 metres above the sea and land rises and falls by not much more than 30 metres either side of that height for some distance. The chapelry was relatively small by Leicestershire standards covering around 750 acres it would have supported a population of just under 300 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Carlton in Domesday Book it being covered by the entry for Market Bosworth.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits on the southern side of the main east/west running lane through the village. The church is a relatively modern replacement for a mediaeval original having been built in 1764. The church is largely of brick. Despite this recent origin the church was extensively renovated in 1867, Pevsner describes the process as "gothicized" and clearly was little impressed. The church entry covers a mere 3 lines in the guide. The church sits behind a low brick wall between rows of housing and an arched metal gateway grants access to the churchyard. The churchyard is small and quite well wooded making life difficult for the photographer, especially when viewed from the north.