England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bonby St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Bonby lies in the extreme north of Lincolnshire roughly 5 miles south of the town of Barton on Humber. Bonby sits on the B1204 road which runs south from South Ferriby along the base of a chalk escarpment, which forms a spine in this area of the county, as far as Elsham. Bonby is one of a number of spring-line villages which formed at the base of this escarpment and is a crossroads village with most properties lining the B1204 whilst others straggle up the slope on a narrow lane. All of the parishes along this road are aligned from southwest to northeast so that each parish could access all of the available land types giving a variable farming regime. To the west lie the peaty soils of the Ancholme valley which carried pastures for cattle, the steeper slopes of the chalk escarpment were for the sheep whilst on the top was perfect ground for cereals growing. Modern developments have come to the parish, the ancient River Ancholme being canalised and passing through the west whilst the A15 to the east has been upgraded to a fast dual-carriageway as access to the nearby Humber Bridge. The former swampy ground of Bonby Carrs carries water today through largely man-made channels to join the Ancholme which flows the short distance northwards to the outer Humber Estuary and the North Sea. Bonby is sited at around 20 metres above the sea, the escarpment rapidly rises to around 80 metres in a quarter mile and then more gently to Bonby Top Darm at 95 metres the highest ground around. Bonby parish covered just over 2,400 acres and would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Bonby was largely held by one Baldric's son Hugh with a smaller holding with Ralph de Mortimer, just 9 ploughs were recorded as its sole assets.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits east of the B1204 on the rising Church Lane, it sits on the northern side raised slightly above road level. As can readily be seen the church has fabric from 3 distinct eras and in conflicting materials. The earliest portion is that in traditional stone, the nave which dates back to the 12th century Norman Romanesque period. Pevsner points to the masonry of the nave's southern side  and to a doorway to illustrate his dating. The northern side of the nave is, however, more complex with the 4-bay northern arcade and the chancel arch from the 13th century Early English Gothic period much altered by later restoration and modification with regard to the organ chamber. To the east and west of the nave both chancel and tower are in brick and both come from the 18th century, the tower is dated to 1710 and come with a pyramidal roof whilst the chancel has no dateable features beyond its similar materials. A typical Victorian restoration of 1894 is recorded by Pevsner without details of the work carried out. Church Lane has ample size for on-street parking outside the gates covered as a relatively open sided lychgate. The churchyard is open and uncluttered with no obstacles whatsoever for the photographer.