England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Higham on the Hill St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Higham on the Hill lies in western Leicestershire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Warwickshire. Higham on the Hill is located roughly 3 miles northeast of Warwickshire's industrial town of Nuneaton and similar distance northwest of Hinckley. Higham on the Hill is located about a mile north of the A5 (London to Holyhead) road which here not only forms the county border but also follows the line of the ancient Roman Road of Watling Street, numerous Roman artifacts have been found throughout the area too. Higham on the Hill is a medium sized village built around a complex set of lanes with most properties lying along Main Street which forms the spine of the village. Whilst there are coal measures close by Higham on the Hill's economy would have been underpinned by farming with a mixed regime in place on these heavier soils. Modern developments have come to the parish, the Ashby de la Zouch branch canal passes through to the east whilst a former railway line running northwards from Nuneaton through the parish is now a local trail. In more modern times the former RAF Lindley airbase has become a vehicle proving ground facility with the noise of high-powered vehicles a common local sound. Higham on the Hill is drained southwards by small streams merging into the River Anker which joins in turn the Tame and then Trent before, after a long journey, the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Higham on the Hill is sited at around 110 metres above the sea in fairly gently rolling landscape, it sits on the highest ground for some distance with land falling away gently in all directions.Higham on the Hill parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering close to 2,500 acres it would have supported a population of around 550 parishioners. Higham on the Hill is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Peter's church sits to the north of Main Street at the heart of the village and is accessed along the narrow and dead-ended lane of Kelvin Hill. The church's principal point of interest is also its oldest, the 12th century Norman Romanesque western tower, a great rarity in its county. Whilst the rest of the church is much later the tower, which Pevsner speculates was intended originally to be a central crossing tower, has remained more or less untouched over the long centuries. The main body of the church was replaced in the unusual time period of the late 18th century, indeed contemporary with this transcript. Of the 1790 rebuild the nave remains complete with its pedimented gables whilst the chancel is a rebuild of the rebuild having been replaced in 1870 when it was shortened and its apse removed. Even the nave has been altered with a typical Victorian restoration on 1854 when the porch and southern aisle were added. Meanwhile the western tower has serenely sailed onward in a relatively untouched tribute to the early builders. Kelvin Hill widens outside the churchyard with space for a few cars to park and turn. A neat roofed lychgate allows entry to a churchyard which is open and uncluttered with few obstacles for the photographer.