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

The Parish

The parish of Gainsborough lies on the western edge of northern Lincolnshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire, here it is formed by the River Trent. Gainsborough is located roughly 18 miles northwest of the county town of Lincoln and about 10 miles northeast of the Nottinghamshire industrial town of East Retford. Gainsborough sits at the crossroads of 2 A-level roads, from east to west the A631 runs from Bawtry through to Caenby Corner where it meets the A15 and the ancient Roman route of Ermine Street whilst from north to south the A159 runs south from Scunthorpe becoming the A156 south of Gainsborough and running to the A1133 and Newark upon Trent. Gainsborough is a substantial market town and inland port, the latter much diminished from earlier times. The early history of the town dates back to Saxon times, it has a historical note as a the venue for the marriage of King Alfred the Great, in the early 11th century the town was, however, partially sacked by the Danes. The town's market was granted by King John in 1204 and lead to the growth as a regional centre for trade in the, mainly agricultural, goods of the area as well as a home for specialist skills. The growth to prosperity in the 17th and 18th century came as a result of the development of the port not only for export of said produce and import of goods such as timber from Scandinavia and luxury goods included wine & spirits and tobacco but also as a major transshipment hub for much of the navigable Trent catchment area. The port took overall control of the Trent and associated waterways between the town and the junction with the Yorkshire Ouse and the other Yorkshire Dales rivers. The arrival of railways in 1849 wounded the river trade from which the port has never recovered leaving Gainsborough merely as a regional centre, major market and shopping centre. The wider parish is dominated by typical Lincolnshire arable fields, large hedge-less and seemingly lifeless. Growth in the town has seen it spread from the core around the church along the river to both south & north engulfing the former discrete settlement of Morton and nowadays stretching for almost 2 1/2 miles of river frontage. The modern developments of the railways have left Gainsborough with lines running northeast to Brigg, southeast to Lincoln, southwest to East Retford and northwest to Doncaster making it a notable railway hub. The Trent and associated man-made channels drains the parish northwards meeting the Yorkshire Dales rivers in the form of the Ouse alongside the bird-reserve of Blacktoft Sands and thence eastwards to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Gainsborough sits almost at sea level by the river with its easternmost suburbs rising merely to around 30 metres above the sea, nevertheless that is amongst the highest ground for some considerable distance in this rather flat landscape. Gainsborough parish was one of the larger in its county, covering close to 7,200 and supporting a population that only rose slowly from 4,500 estimated in 1801 to 8,600 in 1871. In Domesday times, perhaps reflecting the ravages of the Danes, Gainsborough was only a modest place of 16 households in a manor held by Geoffrey de la Guerche, a mere 8 ploughs backed by typical meadows and woodlands comprised the assets, within the current parish area manors at both Morton and Thonock contributed little more.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the western side of Church Street within a roughly oblong territory, Church Street runs from north to south parallel and west of the town's main High Street. The prosperity that the port brought to the town had the side effect of removing much of the original medieval church as it was invested in enlarging and improving the town's parish church. Of the original medieval building the main survivor is the striking 90 foot tall western tower, a notable piece of elegant Perpendicular style from the late 14th century. Markings upon the grounds delineate the original outline of the medieval church's footprint, showing it to be just under 150 foot in length, together with the mighty tower the whole must have been an impressive site when first completed. Sadly by 1734 a survey of the church revealed it needed urgent repair, rather than restore money was available to rebuild and in 1736 work commenced on the current nave and chancel, it was substantially completed in 8 years by 1744. Despite the relative modernity it is still an impressive building of 6-bays Venetian-styled windows and ballustraded parapet and marked with an eastern apse. Again despite the modern date there has also been time for alteration as in 1903 twin vestries have been added to north & south whilst there has been repeated re-ordering of the interior and its fittings. Church Street has a row of short-stay parking bays but for an extended visit a town car park should be sought. The oblong within which the church sits has both northern and southern edges angled slightly, it is largely open-plan with only a low wall separating it from the town's busy pavements. The western half of the extensive churchyard has many trees but thankfully the eastern and southern flanks favoured by photographers have no major obstacles.