England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Leicester St Margaret

The Parish

Leicester is an ancient city, probably of pre-Roman foundation, and capital of its county. The city is divided into a number of parishes, and several extra-parochial areas, of which St Margaret is the largest by population and area. The "cester" in its name indicates that it was a town of considerable importance in Roman times, as a major city of the kingdom of Wessex it was considered one of England's top 5 centres. Leicester is almost 100 miles northwest of London and at the heart of the East Midlands is still one of its major cities. St Margaret's parish consists of much of the north of the city and is centered on the northern point of the cities inner traffic ring where the A6 road heads off northwards from the city centre. The parish is set at about 50 metres above sea level and contains the main river for the city the Soar. Leicester grew substantially during England's industrial revolution, particularly trades involving the cotton spinning and manufacture of clothing. St Margaret's parish was the most populous of Leicester's parishes with around 31,000 parishioners at the end of this transcript period although that had grown spectacularly during the period of the transcript. As befits a major city Leicester has a very detailed entry in Domesday Book covering details of the properties and rental attributable to the King.

The Church

St Margaret's church sits beside the busy A6 dual-carriageway which heads northwestward from the inner ring road. The church is large as befits its population and has work from many architectural periods. Its crowning glory is the magnificent Perpendicular tower, described by Pevsner as "one of the grandest in Leicestershire". The earliest period found in the building dates from the 12th centuries and most architectural periods are represented in the fabric. The substantial contribution of Perpendicular should not be omitted not only the tower but 3 arcades and the chancel can be dated to a build period starting around 1444. Of course the Victorians had their usual go at restoration and many of the windows date from the restorations of 1840s and 1880s. St Margaret's has an exposed position by a busy dual-carriageway but thankfully a quieter access is available to the north where it is possible to park and view the building properly. The church sits in quite a compact graveyard hemmed in by a less than knee-high wall, many of the stones have been "tidied-up" leaving clear space. The site is largely tree-free which enables long visuals to be taken without impairment but doesn't create a sense of quiet and contemplation; this is a city church and there's no compromises to that position.