England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Goadby St John

The Parish

The parish of Goadby lies in southeastern Leicestershire quite close to its borders with neighbouring Northamptonshire and Rutland. Goadby is located about 8 miles northeast of the market town of Market Harborough. Goadby is a very small place indeed, little more than a hamlet it sits in lanes about 2 miles south of the A47 road which links Leicester with Peterborough. The area around Goadby is classic English Mid-Shires countryside, gently rolling with large hedges and a tradition of hunting with hounds. The living would have largely been from a mixture of pastoral and arable farming at the time of this transcript. Goadby is drained to the south by a series of small brooks that merge to form the infant River Welland which eventually heads to the North Sea through The Wash. Goadby is sited on a little knoll of land at about 150 metres above sea level the hills hereabouts being around 50 metres or so above the valleys. This eastern area of Leicestershire is characterised by many small parishes and Goadby is one of them, it covered barely 900 acres and supported a small population of less than 130 parishioners. In Domesday Book Goadby is held by one Geoffrey Alselin and could offer very little in the way of resources just a couple of ploughs and a small wood.

The Church

St John's church sits in the north of the main area of properties, accessed by Church Lane which starts as a lane and becomes a footpath running to the church behind some properties. The church is small as befits the tiny congregation and consists of a combined nave and chancel with a small western bellcote. Pevsner places the origins in the 13th century highlighting a pair of lancets as evidence. Much was, however, restored and altered in the 19th century including the bellcote which was rebuilt. The church is best approached on foot from the main lane, a pair of wooden gates at the western end to the site grants access and there are few obstructions once inside the churchyard.