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

The Parish

The parish of Cammeringham lies in western central Lincolnshire about 7 miles north of the city of Lincoln. Cammeringham sits on the B1398 road which connects Lincoln through to Kirton in Lindsey. One of a series of springline settlement sitting along the foot of the gentle escarpment formed by the Jurassic limestone ridge, Cammeringham is a small and compact village built around a crossroads. Like much of Lincolnshire Cammeringham would have principally been an arable farming community, there was, however, some small-scale quarrying of the local limestone for building stone to diversify the economy. A series of small brooks drain the parish westwards into the nearby River Tilt which turns south to join the Witham in Lincoln and thence to the North Sea through the port of Boston. Cammeringham is sited at around 25 metres above the sea, local heights rise, with the shallow escarpment to almost 60 metres on that ridge. Parishes along the foot of the limestone ridge are all elongated in an east to west direction being only a little over a half mile thick north to south yet extending across all of the available land-uses, Cammeringham parish was fairly typically sized and shaped, it covered around 1,800 acres and would have supported a population of just under 150 parishioners. In Domesday times Cammeringham was largely held by a rare Saxon survivor, Kolsveinn of Lincoln, with a smaller holding with Durand Malet of more typical Norman origin, collectively the parish could muster just 9 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Michael's church sits at the heart of Cammeringham, by the crossroads and on the western side of the B1398. Sadly the church is much diminished from what would once have been an ancient edifice. A two-bay arcade in Norman Romanesque style has been demolished leaving very little trace as has the former northern chapel which still shows a Decorated style arch now blocked into the main body. What remains is a nave, chancel and bellcote much of which dates from later periods notably the late 18th century rebuilding of the entire northern face of the church. The B1398 has sufficient wide verge by the gates to allow a car to park, the churchyard sits within a low limestone wall with metal gates at the northeastern corner granting access, sadly a large tree dominates the better viewing angle from the southeast somewhat limiting the available angles for photography.