England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Buslingthorpe St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Buslingthorpe lies in the northern potion of central Lincolnshire roughly 4 miles southwest of the market town of Market Rasen. Buslingthorpe sits a mile east of the A46 road which links Market Rasen with Lincoln. Buslingthorpe is a tiny hamlet with just some farms dotted across its extent, there is a notable grouping to the east of the former church but nothing that could be described as a village. Buslingthorpe sits within a largely flat plain with excellent growing soils for cereals and root crops, a rotation would have been practiced at the time of this transcript but today with modern machinery and chemicals it is almost entirely arable mono-culture. Modern developments have come to the parish, the railway line linking Market Rasen with Lincoln passing to the east without granting a station. Buslingthorpe is drained southwestwards by small streams all merging into the Barlings Eau which takes water south to meet the River Witham to the east of Lincoln, the Witham has a straightened course eventually arriving at the North Sea through the port of Boston. Buslingthorpe is sited at around 20 metres above the sea in terrain that varies no more than 10 metres either side of that height for some considerable distance. Buslingthorpe parish was typically sized for its area covering just under 1,100 acres, it would have barely supported 50 parishioners. Domesday Buslingthorpe was only marginally larger than today, it held 19 households and was held by Robert de Tosny with assets of 4 ploughs backed by some meadows & woodland.

The Church

St Michael's church was deconsecrated in 1984 and closed for worship, it is open to the public and managed by the Churches' Conservation Trust. The church sits to the west of the main group of farm buildings and to the north of Buslingthorpe Road, partially tucked away. Sadly there is very little of the medieval left in St Michael, both nave and chancel were rebuilt in a yellow brick in 1835 so most of the church would be unrecognisable to the majority of participants in these few marriages. A single lancet window in the western face of the tower would seem to indicate a 13th century Early English Gothic origin to the lower courses, the upper stages were rebuilt at the same time as the main body. The 13th century theme is carried into the nave's doorway and parts of the chancel arch. A triangular parking area sits west of the churchyard which is compact but not unduly impeded by the surrounding trees which largely keep to the edges.