England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hinckley St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Hinckley lies in the extreme southwest of Leicestershire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Warwickshire, the parish boundary and that of the county too are formed by the ruler-straight line of the ancient Roman Road of Watling Street, nowadays followed by the A5 road. Hinckley is located roughly 13 miles southwest of the city of Leicester. Hinckley is a large market town which sits just northeast of where the A5 is crossed by the route of the A47 road linking Leicester with Nuneaton, the former route of the A47 once passed through the town but nowadays bypasses to the north. There is historical doubt over the origins of Hinckley's market, perhaps 1311 or more certainly issued or renewed by charter of King Edward VI in 1551. Prior to the industrial revolution market town was Hinckley's role serving as a regional trading hub and centre for specialist skills with a wider parish using a mixture of farming methods with almost equal proportions of arable and pastoral land. The first stocking frame was introduced in 1649 and by 1811 there were over 1,500 of these devices employing most of the population. Early gazetteers describe the produce as "cotton and worstead hose, particularly the former, of the coarser kind" and relate that the production here exceeded that of any similarly sized town in the land. Given the employment opportunities Hinckley expanded greatly. Twin blows reduced the trade to a mere residual level, firstly the town lost lucrative military contracts and secondly improved machinery introduced into Leicester took almost all of the residual trade reducing Hinckley to extreme poverty. Modern developments helped to prolong and diversify the town, the Ashby Canal arrived first connecting the town to the major town of Coventry and the main canal network, this was, in turn, followed by a railway line linking Leicester with Birmingham through Hinckley & Nuneaton. In more modern times Hinckley has expanded once again, its position close to major trunk roads and motorways and central English location induced many businesses to the town which has expanded to engulf nearby Burbage and has spread to form a shape not unlike a nail, broad north of the railway line but narrow and elongated to its south, the principal dimensions being of around 3 miles. Small brooks drain Hinckley southwestwards into the nearby River Anker, the latter heads westwards to meet the Tame at Tamworth and finally the mighty Trent wherein matters turn back east on that river's long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Hinckley's westernmost properties sit at around 90 metres but the town's centre stands at between 120 & 130 metres above the sea on a knoll, early gazetteers indicate that, before all of the urban developments, it commanded a view of no fewer than 50 churches from what was the local high point. Covering just short of 2,400 acres Hinckley parish was fairly typically sized for its region, the population of the town grew from close to 1,000 in the 17th century to over 7,000 by the end of this transcript period in the late 20th century it stood at over 55,000. Whilst Hinckley in Domesday times, in the control of one Earl Aubrey of Courcy, is recorded as of sufficient size to be amongst the largest 20% of settlements by population its assets are more modest, 13 ploughs backed by typical meadows & woodland indicate, merely, a large rural farming settlement.

The Church

St Mary's church, The Assumption of St Mary to give it its fuller title, sits in the heart of "old" Hinckley on the southern side of Church Walk and sitting behind the main school and near to the town's hospital. Pevsner initially described the church as "a large church of asymmetrical shape but by no means antique looking", an apt summary as this is a church with a medieval origin but one much altered during the period of the town's hosiery-driven prosperity. At its heart is a church from the first half of the 14th century, the period of the Decorated style in church architecture. By stepping inside Pevsner reveals the 5-bay arcades to be medieval originals despite faux-Decorated work on the Victorian parts copying the style. The church's stand-out feature is, however, that tall spire-topped western tower, whilst the tower is genuinely early 14th century the spire is an addition from a rebuild of 1788. As the asymmetrical shape suggests the layout is complex with the nave and chancel augmented by aisles, transeptal chapels and chancel chapels. The 14th century core was firstly modified as early as the Perpendicular era when a typical feature, a clerestory, was inserted but it took until Victorian times for major changes to be made. Pevsner records phases of alterations, complex in character, from 1863, 1876 & 1878 with double transepts added as the most significant changes in the two later phases. Like most urban churches parking around the vicinity is restricted and a town car park is recommended for any extended visit. The church sits within a park-like area which widens from the school, past the church to include the town's main leisure centre and hospital, the park has much woodland which does, unfortunately severely limit the viewpoints for the church, much head-scratching required by the photographer given the height of that spire.