England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cosby St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Cosby lies in south central Leicestershire about 7 miles southwest of the city of Leicester. Cosby is a large village, modern developments have stretched it over a mile in length, largely built along a north to south running lane and sitting a mile west of the A426 road linking Leicester with Rugby. The modern M1 motorway runs just east of the village whilst the more ancient thoroughfare of the Roman Fosse Way runs to its west. Cosby would have largely been an agricultural community at the time of this transcript with a mixed farming regime in place, some incomes would also have been supplemented with the manufacture of stockings. Today Cosby is a thriving commuter village on the edges of Leicester's urban fringe. Cosby northwards by small tributaries of the River Soar which joins the Trent in southern Derbyshire before reaching the North Sea through the Humber estuary. Cosby is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in gently rolling countryside, local heights rise to around 100 metres within a couple of miles of the village. Cosby parish was fairly typically sized for its area, it covered around 2,000 acres and would have supported a population of around 1,000 parishioners. In Domesday times Cosby was shared three ways, the majority held by Countess Judith & Robert of Bucy there was a small holding for the Count of Meulan. The parish was relatively small offering just 8 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

ST Michael's church sits on the western side of Cosby's main through lane at the heart of the village. Whilst the majority of the church dates from and utilises the Perpendicular style of the 14th/15th centuries, Pevsner is quick to indicate earlier origins for the chancel. The presence of lancet windows indicate that the building has been present from the early 13th century when Early English Gothic predominated. The church clearly received a major rebuild at a later date and also significant restorations were undertaken in the early 20th century. The western tower topped by its steeple is a notable landmark for the village and is visible for many miles. The church sits behind a low local stone wall with its eastern end almost flush with Main Street, properties grouped around make the southern aspect tricky to photograph whereas a clear section within the many trees permits a view of that steepled tower from the west.