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

The Parish

The parish of Friskney lies on Lincolnshire's North Sea coastline roughly 12 miles northeast of the port and market town of Boston. Friskney sits about 1 mile northwest of the coastal A52 which links Boston with Skegness. The main axis of Friskney village runs from north to south for roughly a half mile with various side lanes to both east and west, the parish, however, is characterised by a pair of satellite settlements such as Friskney Eaudyke and Fold Hill and numerous standalone farms and cottages across the extensive acreage. The parish is protected from The Wash by a series of sea banks which have been extended eastwards over the centuries to reclaim additional land, most of the 2 miles of land between the A52 and the present coastline is reclaimed land and virtually all of the parish lies between +&-5 metres of sea level. The soils which have been created are, however, rich and fertile and most of the land is set to arable in vast flat fields with few hedges, cereals dominate along with high value vegetables. Most drainage for the parish is along man-made channels and funneled to sluices which pas it through to The Wash and the North Sea. As already mentioned Friskney stands virtually at sea level, it takes a journey of over 8 miles towards Spilsby before a significant contour is reached in this flat terrain. Friskney parish was one of the largest in its county, covering just over 7,000 acres and supporting a population of close to 1,600 parishioners. All these people stand in sharp contrast with Friskney in Domesday times when it had just 3 households, it was held by a Saxon survivor one Ketilbiorn of Nettleton and mustered only a 1/3rd share of a plough.

The Church

All Saints' church sits at the junction of The Avenue (the main street) and Church Lane. Much of the church dates from the Perpendicular period like so many churches in Lincolnshire but All Saints has an earlier history. Two of the church doorways, that to the tower staircase and the basal stage of the tower and also the northern doorway date to the 12th century Norman Romanesque period. Whilst the basal stage of the tower is 12th century the next stage is 13th century and Early English Gothic in style showing the characteristic lancets of the period. The early 14th century Decorated style is to be found at the opposite end of the church where the chancel arch is of this design. Having exhausted these early period we are left with the bulk of the church which showcases the Perpendicular style. Subject to later restoration of some parts all of the remaining main body together with the topmost stages of the tower are from this period and probably represent a single rebuild of an earlier version. Two principal Victorian restorations are documented in Pevsner, that of 1879 rebuilt the aisles whilst the second of 1897 restored the chancel. The main entrance to the church lies to the west from Church Lane where a small parking space may be found. This is a church which will cause great head-scratching for the photographer as it sits within a veritable forest of trees and most being evergreens, only selected aspects are available and few showcase the church at all well.