England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Barton on Humber St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Barton upon Humber St Peter, one of two within the town, lies in the extreme north of Lincolnshire forming part of its coastline with the outer Humber Estuary. Barton upon Humber is located about 34 miles north of the county town of Lincoln and sits at the northern terminus of the A15 road heading north from Lincoln to the Humber Bridge. Barton upon Humber is a substantial market town and regional hub, at one time the most important town within North Lincolnshire. The town has a long history being probably a Roman station marking the crossing of the Humber, albeit their Ermine Street meets the Humber some distance to the west nearer Winteringham, and by the Norman Conquest was already the principal market town of the area. It suffered depredations during the Dark Ages from sundry invaders but survived intact as a port and market. Through the medieval period Barton upon Humber flourished as the local market for agricultural produce developing industries, too, in tanning & leather making in particular. Sitting where the chalk ridge of the Wolds meets the Humber there was also some exploitation of the chalk & flint for building and road mending. Modern developments have come to the town, a branch rail line terminates here and the busy A15 and Humber Bridge bypass the town to its west. Growth of Hull & Grimsby have left its port bereft of trade but as a regional market and centre for specialist trades it still flourishes. Of the two parishes within the town St Peter is the master parish with St Mary, formerly a chapel of ease, very much the smaller of the two. As a coastal town various sundry becks and streams drain into the nearby outer Humber. Barton upon Humber is sited at just 10 metres above the nearby estuary, the chalk ridge of the Wolds rises steadily to the south topping out at 67 metres at Beacon Hill. The joint area of the two parishes covered a little over 6,200 acres making it one of the larger in its county, it is not known how this area was split between the two parishes; collectively the two would have supported a population of close to 3,200 parishioners which was split almost 50/50 between the two. In Domesday times Barton upon Humber was a substantial town of almost 200 household putting it into the top 20% of English settlements at the time, shared between Gilbert de Ghent (with the larger holding) and Earl Hugh of Chester the combined town could offer an impressive 30 ploughs, small meadows and 2 mills.  

The Church

St Peter's church sits towards the eastern end of the town on the southern side of Soutergate. The church has pre-Conquest portions which Pevsner dates to the 10th century Saxon period. The western tower and porticus/baptistry are Saxo-Norman in age and represent the majority of what was a small initial church. To this ancient piece a nave, chancel and apsidal sanctuary were added in the late 11th century in Norman Romanesque style. Later and in the Perpendicular style of the late 15th century the chancel was rebuilt and the clerestory added to the nave giving a wide and airy "new" church supplementing the ancient pieces which remain forming much of the western end and southern face. Of course matters did not rest there, restorations in the 1740s, 1850s and 1890s all contributed to a lesser of greater extent to today's church. Soutergate & Beck Hill, its western continuation, both have ample parking enabling an extended visit to this gem of a church. The churchyard is elevated above road level with the main entrance at the eastern end. Whilst the churchyard is fairly tight to the southern aspect, restricting the better views from that quarter enough angles remain for the photographer.