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

The Parish

The parish of Heather lies in western Leicestershire about 4 miles south of the industrial town of Ashby de la Zouch. Heather is a mid-sized and compact village that sits about a mile west of the A447 road that connects Hinckley with the A611 to the east of Ashby de la Zouch. Heather has its origins as a settlement and base for the Knight's Templars who founded the village, of these irrepressible knights there is no trace in the village today, however. The parish had a more mixed economy than most, the farming of the parish was predominantly pastoral albeit some 40% is arable according to early gazetteers whilst mining for underlying coal was long term for over 200 years but today has disappeared aling with most industrial evidence. Heather sits within the infant valley of the River Sence with a substantial area now covered by the Sence Valley Forest Park, a delightful amenity for the villagers. The Sence drains the parish southwestwards, joining the Anker at Atherstone and turning westward to meet, in turn, the Tame at Tamworth and turning back north until reaching the Trent at Alrewas, from here matters turn eastwards on a long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Heather is sited at around 130 metres above the sea, almost on the watershed where and gently rises to local heights of barely 10 metres higher at Normanton le Heath. By Leicestershire standards Heather parish was fairly small, covering only a little over 1,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 350 parishioners. In Domesday times Heather was a tiny hamlet of just 4 households, held by Queen Judith it could offer just a single plough.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits at the heart of Heather o n the western side of the Main Street and almost opposite the village's inn, the Crown. The church is a creation of the early 14th century, modified a little over the centuries since, and created utilising the Decorated style of the early half of that century. The style is shown to best effect in the nave and southern aisle which have been least modified in later eras albeit the typically Perpendicular clerestory was added to the nave around a century later to improve internal lighting. Pevsner views the western tower as also "probably Decorated" but qualifies that remark as it has been extensively modified by the Victorians who removed the recessed spire which once graced the tower. The restoration of 1946 was extensive and included the complete rebuild of the nave which, at least, remained faithful to the Decorated style in which it was originally, no doubt, built. Main Street is sufficiently wide to permit parking to the south of the site from where a sloping pathway leads gently up to the un-gated churchyard. The church is well exposed from the south granting excellent aspects from that angle whilst being tightly enclosed from both north and west and lismiting views of that western tower.