England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Farforth cum Maidenwell St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Farforth, which included the ancient parish of Maidenwell from early times, lies in eastern Lincolnshire roughly 6 miles south of the market town of Louth. Farforth sits within a large area devoid of significant numbered roads, the closest such road being the A16 (Louth to Skegness) road which lies almost 4 miles to its east. Neither Farforth nor Maidenwell are large enough to be called villages, Farforth is merely a couple of farms by the church whilst Maidenwell sitting a half mile northwards is a small crossroads hamlet. Both settlements would have been engaged primarily in arable farming, today little has changed with the rolling hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds on which they sit covered by broad cereal fields. The few visitors to the area used to visit the nearby small and basic Youth Hostel of Woody's Top before it was sold as a holiday cottage by the YHA. Farforth is drained eastwards by a small stream which feeds eventually into the Great Eau and turns northeast to reach the North Sea at Saltfleetby. Farforth is sited at around 90 metres above the sea with Maidenwell some 20 metres higher, land is gently rolling around here to local high points reaching almost 150 metres on nearby Rowgate Hill. Covering a little over 1,900 acres Farforth parish was typically sized for the area but supported fewer than 100 parishioners. Both settlements have diminished since their Domesday versions, both were held by Earl Hugh of Chester with Farforth offering 3 ploughs, a small meadow and a mill and with Maidenwell offering a further 4 ploughs, meadows and a small wood it also had a salthouse and combined there were 28 households far more than today.

The Church

St Peter's church sits within a cluster of farms in the notional centre of Farforth. Sadly today's church is not the venue for these few marriages as it is a mid-Victorian replacement for a medieval church and was completed in 1861. The small and simple building consists of nave and chancel augmented with a tall bellcote at its western end. The builders chose the style of the Early English Gothic including lancet windows to recreate a fashion which had come back into vogue. The site is reached by a small dead-end lane which runs south from the Scamblesby to Burwell east/west running lane, it ends at the cluster of farms. Parking should respect these are working farms and not block access. The church is screened from the north and west but has open views from both south and east.