England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Fenton All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Fenton lies in southwestern Lincolnshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. Fenton is located roughly 6 miles east of the Nottinghamshire market town of Newark on Trent and sits about 2 miles south of the A17 road which connects Newark with Sleaford. Fenton is a small and compact village with most properties lining it Main Street, a lane running southwards from the A17 to Stubton. Like most Lincolnshire parishes arable farming would have been, and indeed still is, the mainstay of the local economy with cereals chiefly grown in broad hedge-less fields. Fenton is drained northwards by the infant River Witham, this ignores the nearby Trent to pursue its own course via Lincoln and Boston to reach the North Sea. Fenton is sited at around 20 metres above the sea in the vale below the limestone escarpment which lines up eastwards and rises to 102 metres above nearby Leadenham. Typically sized at around 1,200 acres Fenton parish would have supported a population of around 100 parishioners. Fenton is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

All Saints' church sits at the southern end of the village set a little to the west of the Main Street. Like most churches All Saints displays fabric from many eras, the earliest fabric is that of the northern arcade which shows forms characteristic of the 12th century Norman Romanesque style, round piers with square abaci and scalloped capitals. Its southern equivalent is, however, late 13th century, coming from the brief Transitional period between Early English Gothic & Decorated styles and showing flavours of both. Also of this period is the doorway of the northern aisle. There is then a gap to the western tower which is Perpendicular in style and either late 14th or early 15th century in origin. As is typical of many churches too there was work during the Victorian period, here it was quite extensive from 1838 and amounted almost to a complete rebuild of the chancel and changes to the eastern endings of the arcades. Main Street has a sinuous course through the village and to the west a right-angled set of lanes leads to the church which has a few properties scattered around it. A diagonal path leads to the main doors across a churchyard which has few obstacles for the photographer.