England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Northorpe St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Northorpe lies in northwestern Lincolnshire roughly 8 miles northeast of the market town and inland port of Gainsborough. Northorpe sits just over 2 miles east of the A159 road which links Gainsborough with Scunthorpe. Northorpe is a small village dominated by the grounds of its hall, a ruin of the 16th century with a newer house from 1875, most of the southeastern quadrant being the estate of said hall. The village consists of a single street which performs a right-angled bend at St John's church and is lined with most of the cottages. Northorpe sits on the broad plain east of the River Trent which is set upon Jurassic clays and silts making for rich soils slightly more difficult to work than the regular limestone and chalk of the centre and east. The area is, like most of its county, arable but with a slightly higher proportion of pastures due to its wetter state. Modern developments have come to the parish with the railway line from Gainsborough to Brigg passing through without granting a station. Northorpe is drained north and then west by the River Eau which soon meets the Trent and continues north to reach the Humber Estuary and the North Sea. Northorpe is sited at around 20 metres above the sea, about 3 miles east lies to low escarpment of Jurassic limestone, here little more than a gentle rise, which reaches 62 metres to the south of Kirton in Lindsey, the highest ground around. Covering a little over 1,800 acres Northorpe parish was typically sized for its area, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. It is difficult to reconcile Northorpe's presence in the top 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday Book, yet only 40 households were sufficient to elevate to that state, shared between 4 landholders its assets were more typical of today's tiny village with 11 ploughs and some meadows its only assets.

The Church

St John's church sits on the western side of Monson Road between its junction with Manor Road and its sharp right-angled bend. St John dates back to the earliest times with its northern and southern arcades together with the blocked northern doorway to the chancel all dating from the 12th century in Norman Romanesque style. The arcades show the characteristic round piers and unmoulded round arches. The build of the arcades was revised soon after completion to extend them further west probably in the later 12th century. The eastern end is dominated by the 13th century Early English Gothic chancel, a fine piece of work typical of that style. The 14th century is represented by the southern aisle doorway in the Decorated style and more dominating by the western tower in the Perpendicular style. Also in that style is the typical Perpendicular feature of a clerestory inserted to improve internal lighting. Restoration came late to St John's, the work being conducted between 1902 & 1904, it merely restored what was already present without major additions or removals. Monson Road is amply wide enough for on-road parking outside the churchyard which is open and uncluttered with no significant obstacles for the photographer.