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

The Parish

The parish of Hemswell lies in western Lincolnshire roughly 8 miles east of the inland port & market town of Gainsborough. Hemswell sits about a half mile north of the A631 road which connects Gainsborough through towards Market Rasen. Hemswell is one of number of villages which sit upon the spring-line at the base of the limestone escarpment which crosses this part of the county, most properties lie either parallel with the escarpment or upon the lane headed westwards to meet the A631. Like most Lincolnshire parishes Hemswell would have primarily been an arable farming parish but with thin soils to the east on the limestone this would have been varied with grazing sheep, the more clay-rich soils westwards being typically arable. One notable feature of the parish is that of Hemswell Cliff where a World War II bomber air base has been converted into Europe's largest antique dealing centre. A series of rather vague drainage takes water gradually westwards to eventually meet the Trent, water than heads northwards to reach the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Hemswell sits at the base of the low escarpment at around 40 metres above the sea, the top is closer to 70 metres reaching 73 at one spot. Hemswell parish was fairly typically sized for this part of the county covering just under 2,700 acres and supporting a population of close to 400 parishioners. Domesday Hemswell had 37 households, just sufficient to place it into the largest 20% of settlements in that book, shared by 3 landholders including King William its assets, however reflected a more simple manor offering just 6 ploughs and some meadows.

The Church

All Saints' church sits at the heart of the village on the southern side of Church Street and immediately west of a notable series of right-angled bends in the main village lane, All Saints is a church which has been much modified over the centuries with very little remaining fabric from its original construction. Pevsner finds, internally, an Early English Gothic 3-bay arcade from the 13th century and an early 14th century Decorated styled sedilia. There are inscriptions and documentary evidence recorded the collapse of the church's original western tower in 1754, the southern aisle was also demolished at the same time, it took 10 years to rebuild a new western tower with a completion date of 1764. The tower shows round arched windows, perhaps a hark-back to a Norman 12th century predecessor. Much of the main body dates from a rebuild of 1857-1865 following reports that the church was in a semi-ruinous state, the nave, northern aisle and chancel being from this work. Church Street is of sufficient width to allow on-street parking outside the churchyard where a neat lychgate grants entry. There are trees to the south but thankfully far enough away to not interfere with the favoured southern aspects.