England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Killingholme St Denis

The Parish

The parish of Killingholme lies in the extreme northeast of Lincolnshire forming part of its coastline with the Humber Estuary. Killingholme consists of both North & South Killingholme villages, the latter being the bigger at the time of this transcript albeit the church was sited in North Killingholme. South Killingholme lies on the busy A160 road which connects the port of Immingham into the wider road network, North Killingholme is a mile or so further north. Killingholme parish has changed markedly since the time of this transcript, at that time it would have been a pastoral farming community subsisting on the reclaimed land adjacent to the Humber, today it is swamped by the growth of Immingham as one of Britain's major container ports. Rail tracks heading for the port crisscross the parish and the night skies are dominated by the flares of the oil refineries standing between the twin villages and the sea. Numerous man-cut channels would have drained the parish the short distance to the nearby outer Humber estuary. Killingholme is sited at just 15 metres above the sea in a largely flat landscape where that is very much the local height for many miles. Killingholme parish was one of Lincolnshire's larger, it covered just over 5,100 acres and between the two villages would have supported a population of close to 700 parishioners. In Domesday times Killingholme was still a prosperous place, shared four ways by Count Alan of Brittany, Ivo Tallboys, Drogo de la Beauvriere and Norman D'Arcy it was amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday Book, offering 16 ploughs, extensive meadows and a share in a mill it was a wealthy place indeed.

The Church

St Denis (often rendered Denys) church is sited in North Killingholme sitting just north of Church Lane, which heads towards the refineries from the main north to south linking lane. The church has ancient origins, the tower arch and base of the tower show Norman Romanesque remains of a 12th century date, the arch, itself, being described by Pevsner as "sumptuous" albeit he is baffled by the need for such elaboration. The following three style periods are all represented in the church. Lancet windows from the early English Gothic are found in the chancel, Decorated style windows on the southern side of the chancel are matched by the exterior of the northern aisle, whilst the top of the tower and the arcades are Perpendicular in style and the clerestory from the very end of that period either 16th or even 17th century. A hotchpotch typical of many English churches which have been modified over the centuries. St Crispin's Close peels away from Church Lane just before the church and offers parking, the churchyard, approached through a white arched gateway, is relatively free from photographic obstructions.