England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Covenham St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Covenham St Mary, there being two Covenhams scarcely separate from each other, lies in northeastern Lincolnshire not too far from its eastern North Sea coastline. Covenham St Mary is located roughly 5 miles north of the market town of Louth and sits a little over 2 miles east of the A16 road which connects Louth with the port of Grimsby. Covenham St Mary is a small and compact village built largely around a triangular junction of lanes, the northwards extension is the long straggle of Covenham St Bartholomew, a separate parish but contiguous with Covenham St Mary. Like most Lincolnshire parishes Covenham St Mary would have been, and still largely is, an arable farming parish, it sits, however, on low-lying ground where drainage has created usable land, the wetter areas would have only supported grazing of cattle. Much of the drainage is man-influenced and disrupted by the construction of the Louth Canal where once streams and drains would have made their way to Granthorpe Haven and the North Sea. Covenham St Mary is sited at just 5 metres above the sea and land eastwards is lower, the 20 metre contour is only met at the A16 which follows the base of the rising ground of the Wolds. In a county of small parishes Covenham St Mary was fairly typical, covering just under 1,000 acres it would have supported close to 150 parishioners. In Domesday times both Covenhams were reported together, although with two manors (one held by the Bishop of Durham, the other by William de Percy) it is tempting to suggest they represent the two parishes, collectively their assets totalled 12 ploughs, extensive meadows and an impressive 7 salthouses.

The Church

St Mary's church sits immediately north of the main junction within the village and is less than 300 metres from St Bartholomew. The church is a fairly typical example of one begun in the Decorated style and finished in the subsequent Perpendicular period. Decorated windows in the east face whilst most are Perpendicular. Documentary evidence records the licensing of the chancel in 1359, a date consistent with the architecture. The unusual western tower, constructed in a mixture of chalk and ironstone and very light in colour, carries a late-Perpendicular date of the 15th century and is topped by a 19th century bell-stage. For once Pevsner does not mention a general restoration so other than the addition of that bell-stage any that occurred must have been light and sensitive. The verge opposite the churchyard is widened to permit a car or two to get off-road allowing a visit. The hedged churchyard has metal gates for entry but is rather tight and compact making for something of a challenge to the photographer especially on a sunny day.