England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Gosberton St Peter & St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Gosberton lies in southern Lincolnshire roughly 6 miles north of the market town of Spalding. Gosberton sits on the A152 road which links Spalding with the A52 (Boston to Grantham) road. Gosberton is a large roadside villages lying along the A152 for over a mile as it passes through from southeast to northwest, further properties sit alongside the the B1397 which crosses the A152 at the southern end of the village. Gosberton sits within the rich agricultural landscape that is the Fens, the land largely reclaimed from the sea in early times being rich and productive is conducive to both traditional arable crops such as cereals and root crops but also the area specialises in the growing of higher value table vegetables such as onions, leeks and brassicas. Modern developments just impinge upon the parish, the railway line from Spalding to Sleaford passing to the southwest of the village. Gosberton parish once stretched eastwards from the village to the former coastline, now 6 miles or more from The Wash, drainage to that water-body is through man made channels such as the Risegate Eau which meets the last few miles of the River Welland before The Wash and the North Sea. Gosberton sits at around 5 metres above the sea in flat terrain where there is no higher ground for several miles in any direction. Like many parishes with substantial tracts of reclaimed land Gosberton parish covered an extensive area measured at just over 7,700 acres of prime agricultural land, at the time of this transcript many more folk worked that land resulting in a supported population of close to 2,100 parishioners. In Domesday times Gosberton was shared between the Bishop of Lincoln and Count Alan of Brittany, their combined assets amounted to 6 ploughs, some meadows but 3 profitable salthouses.

The Church

St Peter & St Paul's church sits just south of the A152 towards the northwestern end of the village at the junction of Westthorpe Road with Salem Street. The church has the cruciform structure typical of early Norman churches, there are sufficient patches of remaining fabric from that 12th century period to establish that the church came into existence during that century, further archaeological investigations have confirmed that the layout comes from a church of that early date. The church received a major rebuild during the early 14th century leading to extensive parts of the church in the Decorated style. The standout feature of the church is its steeple at 160 feet in height, it is Decorated in style to the bell-openings but the spire is later and Perpendicular. Decorated styled tracery can also be found in the northern transept windows and the chancel's east window together with the southern chancel chapel. Building continued beyond the fashion change from Decorated to Perpendicular and the latter style is found in the southern transept. the windows of the southern aisle, the southern porch and the substantial clerestory that was inserted to improve internal lighting. Restoration work is typical of the Victorian period with the rebuild & lengthening of the chancel being recorded in 1867. Both Westthorpe Road and Salem Street are of sufficient width to allow on-street parking, the latter street giving the best views to encompass the height of the crossing tower, gaining adequate landscape views is more tricky given the compact churchyard and many trees, a challenge for the photographer to find an adequate viewpoint.