England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Deeping St James

The Parish

The parish of Deeping St James, one of several carrying the Deeping name, is one of the most southerly in Lincolnshire and sits roughly 9 miles north of the city of Peterborough and the same distance east of Stamford. Deeping St James forms part of the county's border with neighbouring Northamptonshire and its not too far from Cambridgeshire too. Deeping St James sits on the B1166 road which connects its larger neighbour Market Deeping with the Cambridgeshire town of Thorney and is a linear village lying along the northern banks of the River Welland, which here forms the county's southern border. Early maps show the village as a thin line of properties lying on the B1166 with little expansion to the north and a distinct gap before Market Deeping. Modern developments have extended the village westwards such that it is now contiguous with Market Deeping and also has much more depth, filling the fork between the B1166 and the B1525. Within the broader parish the land is highly fertile and largely reclaimed from the former wetlands that were The Fens before man's intervention, these peat-rich soils not only supported traditional arable crops but also high value vegetables such as onions, leeks and brassicas. The Welland was also navigable as far as Deeping St James making it also a small inland port. Modern developments have come to the parish, the Peterborough to Spalding railway line cuts through the eastern portion of the parish. Much of the drainage hereabouts is man-influenced but here the Welland drains the parish eastwards and then north to reach the North Sea through The Wash. Deeping St James is sited below 10 metres, indeed some parts are close to if not below sea level, a height not exceeded for some considerable distance in these flat lands. Like many parishes with a high proportion of reclaimed land, Deeping St James parish was extensive compared to the norm for its county, covering just under 4,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 1,700 parishioners. Even in Domesday times Deeping St James was already a large settlement, large enough by population to be amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded in that book; held principally by Godfrey de Cambrai, with a small share with Alfred of Lincoln, its assets were many, 16 ploughs, meadows and most importantly 2 fisheries, a wealthy place indeed at that time.

The Church

At one time St James' church sat to the north of the village but has been largely engulfed within the northern expansion of recent times, it stands some 200 metres north of the B1166 accessed via the semi-circular road of Church Gate. Outwardly the church appears to be one of the substantial Perpendicular masterpieces that dot the western Norfolk and adjacent Lincolnshire portions of the Fens, as Pevsner points out the story, here, is slightly more complicated. A chapel, attached to Thorney's Benedictine Abbey was founded here in 1139 and traces of that chapel are still to be found in today's church; along the northern side of the nave one finds a Norman Romanesque zigzag frieze of the 12th century. Internally the southern arcade, described by Pevsner as "astounding", has moulded rounded arches also of the 12th century, whilst the large Perpendicular styled windows of the northern face sit within a frame of Early English Gothic 13th style surrounds. These scattered remnants of early work are, however, over-shadowed by the exception Perpendicular overlay from the late 14th century albeit there are also early 14th century Decorated style windows on the southern aisle indicating an extended build period. The final piece to the jigsaw is the splendid western tower, here dating can be precise thanks to donations recorded in wills, a date between 1717 and 1732 is suggested, very late to be showing medieval styling but as Pevsner points out the result is actually fairly crude and more resembling Vanbrugh than typical medieval styling. There is street parking available in Church Gate immediately outside the churchyard's metal gates, thankfully the churchyard is of ample size and devoid of obstacles allowing the photographer free rein in choosing the better aspects to appreciate this fine church.