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

The Parish

The parish of Grasby lies in northeastern Lincolnshire roughly 3 miles northwest of the small market town of Caistor. Grasby sits on and mostly southwest of the A1084 road which links Caistor with Brigg. The A1084 runs along the crest of the chalk escarpment which runs from northwest to southeast across this area of the county, the main village lane runs down that slope and out onto clay-rich terrain too the west, most properties either line that lane or dead-end lanes running parallel to the slope. Grasby parish was extended across all of the land-forms from clay vale to chalk summit giving the parish a diverse farming economy from rich arable land to sparse turf grazed by sheep. Today the base of the escarpment is followed by the local Viking Way Trail which brings a few visitors to Grasby village. Small streams and field drains take water westwards before consolidating into North Kelsey Beck, that is soon, however, swept up by the man-made channel of the New River Arnholme which sweeps water north to the Humber Estuary. Grasby is sited between 25 metres at its lowest point to just over 60 at the crest of the chalk, land rises gently from there to a spot height of 84 metres the highest ground for some distance. Grasby parish was typically sized for a Wold parish covering just 1,200 acres and supporting a population of around 350 parishioners. Domesday Grasby was very similar in nature to today's small village, the major share of its assets lay with Bishop Odo of Bayeux but some remained in Saxon hands as Ketilbiorn, a smaller share-holder, was likely to be, the total assets of 5 ploughs, a small meadow and a mill reflect the small rural manor ably.

The Church

All Saints' church sits northwest of the main lane through the village, it occupies an unusual site sitting upon a steeply sloping triangular churchyard which starts from Vicarage Lane at road level and ends up above head height at its pointed southern end. Sadly very little of this church remains as true original medieval fabric, the southern doorway complete with dog-tooth in its head-mould, the 3-bay northern arcade with double chamfered arches and the western tower are the main remnants of the 13th century Early English Gothic original. Work to change the church began as early as 1796 when the tower acquired a steeple (it was demolished as unsafe in 1957). Two campaigns of Victorian work did the rest, the first of 1850 rebuilt the northern aisle whilst the second of 1869 tackled the remainder of the church, the western tower also acquired new bell-openings from one these work phases. The northern face of the church sits at road height opposite the village's school, parking must be away from that. One can walk straight off the road without fencing at that point. For the photographer the better views are from the surrounding roads as the churchyard is barely larger than the church, only the height of the churchyard banks at the southern apex restricts the views.