England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Mablethorpe St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Mablethorpe lies in northeastern Lincolnshire roughly 7 miles northeast of the small town of Alford. Mablethorpe stands on Lincolnshire's North Sea coastline at the eastern end of the A1104 road which connects it with Alford. Mablethorpe is a much grown place with its extensive sandy beaches growing into a coastal resort stretching for almost 2 miles along the shore. At the time of this transcript Mablethorpe was principally a farming settlement, the rich soils being excellent for growing cereals whilst wetter areas fed cattle on rich grazing. It was the construction of a railway line from Boston that sparked Mablethorpe's growth, together with the fashion for sea bathing. Early maps show the beginnings of the coastal strip at the head of the A1104. Whilst the coast brought benefits to Mablethorpe it also caused loss as the former parish of Mablethorpe St Peter has been lost to the sea over the centuries, finally disappearing in the 1540s. As a coastal settlement most water is fed by man-made channels into an outlet at the southern end. Mablethorpe is sited at sea level with nowhere reaching 5 metres within the parish, it takes a few miles inland before the 10 metre contour is met. Mablethorpe parish was large by Lincolnshire standards, covering 2,700 acres it would have supported a population of close to 250 parishioners, many more than that today in summertime. Whilst Mablethorpe has a Domesday entry it is a regional entry and not specific to this community.

The Church

St Mary's church stands inland from the coast at the junction of Church Road and Church Lane. The land for the church was apparently bequeathed by Sir Roger de Montalt in 1300 and the first church begun soon after. Very little of this church survives, indeed very little of the medieval survives in a church that has been extensively rebuilt in modern times. Pevsner identifies solely the arcades to the nave as original Decorated style from the early 14th century. By the 18th century almost all of the medieval had already gone as a brick nave and the surviving brick tower were created early in that century. This early rebuilding was followed by further work in the late Victorian era and continued into the 20th century when the brick nave was replaced by a further brick construction as recently as 1979. At the junction is a small gravelled area suitable for parking, the site has a screen all around of mature evergreens masking the church from the roads, a path cuts through into the churchyard. The odd layout of the church with differing heights to its components is the biggest challenge to convey in a churchyard with few obstacles for the photographer.