England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Normanby le Wold St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Normanby le Wold lies in north central Lincolnshire about 4 miles north of the market town of Market Rasen. Normanby le Wold is a small village sitting, as its name suggests, high on the Lincolnshire Wolds about 2 miles east of the A46 road which connects Market rasen through to the port of Grimsby. Little more than a straggle of farms and cottages at the edge of the escarpment Normanby le Wold is nowadays just a small rural hamlet. Like much of Lincolnshire Normanby le Wold would have been a farming community, in this case, however the local stone was also quarried for road building and use in local rough building which varied slightly the economy. A small beck drains the parish southwards and turns west before being intercepted by the man-made New River Ancholme draining ultimately into the outer Humber Estuary. Normanby le Wold is sited at around 140 metres above the sea, the escarpment falls away by 100 metres to Claxby down below whilst the dip slope reaches local heights of almost 170 metres within a mile or so northeastwards. Normanby le Wold parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering jusy under 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of a little over 100 parishioners. In Domesday times Normanby le Wold was a much more sizeable place, shared between 3 landholders it could call upon assets of 11 ploughs, extensive meadows & woodland and a third share of a mill.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the southern end of the hamlet where the village lane becomes a footpath, now followed by the Viking Way Trail. Whilst the church has its origins in the 13th century the Victorian restoration of 1868 encompassed almost a complete rebuilding of the eastern end of the church. Early English Gothic architecture does remain, the basal portion of the western tower together with the southern doorway remain from that period. The western tower shows a Perpendicular style in its top stages and bell openings showing a period of rebuild from the late 14th century. It is, however, the restoration from which most else is dateable. Normanby le Wold's narrow lane meanders southwards past farms until, just before reaching open fields, the church appears on the left behind post & rail fencing. Whilst the lane is narrow it is only frequented by local farm traffic so parking should be possible with care. Once through the metal gates and screening trees the churchyard is open & uncluttered with no obstructions to photography.