England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Owston Ferry St Martin

The Parish

The parish of Owston Ferry lies in the extreme northwest of Lincolnshire forming part of the county's border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire and also lying close to the border with Yorkshire. Owston Ferry is located on the western banks of the River Trent roughly 10 miles north of the market town of Gainsborough, it sits a lttle over 2 miles east of the A161 road which connects Gainsborough through to Goole in Yorkshire. Within the wider Owston Ferry parish, which forms a shallow strip alongside the course of the Trent for some distance, is included the small village of West Butterwick and the hamlets of Kelfield & North Ewstern. Much of the land within the parish lies at or even below sea level with much drainage leading to tracts of reclaimed land from the former fens. Within these areas the soil is rich and peaty with table vegetables and other high value crops a speciality, in addition a small weaving industry of hemp based products existed in the village. In addition the Trent was navigable past Owston Ferry leading to a small inland port as well as ship-related trades such as roperies. There being no crossing of the Trent between Gainsborough & Scunthorpe, except the modern M180 motorway, the ferry which operated until the 1940s offered an important service but has now ceased. The Trent drains the parish northwards joining with many other rivers of Yorkshire to reach the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Owston Ferry is sited at between 2 and 12 metres above the sea and land is close to sea level for some considerable distance across the former fen-land district, the former Isle of Axholme to the west holds the highest local land rising to just over 40 metres. Owston Ferry parish was extensive, as are many with reclaimed land in their content, covering close to 7,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 2,450 parishioners. In Domesday times Owston Ferry was a much smaller place, held by Geoffrey de la Guerche it could muster just 4 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland but did have 3 profitable fisheries, within the wider parish West Butterwick added a further plough and a mill.

The Church

St Martin's church sits as almost the westernmost building in the village sitting close by to the remains of the 11th century motte and bailey site. The church is the classic eastern mix of 14th century styles, the Decorated and Perpendicular showing an extended build across the transition between the two, The earlier style, the Decorated, is found mainly in the southern arcade whilst its northern equivalent shows both styles in a mixture. The main body and western tower are clearly in the later Perpendicular style, the tower ashlar faced is topped by corner pinnacles. Both nave & chancel show Perpendicular windows, the nave's 3-light, the chancel's 2-light. Restoration and rebuild came early here, the main work being done in a Georgian "Gothick" that is shown by the ceiling of the northern aisle and also by the baptistry. Much of that work seems to have fallen in the 1780s rather than the typical Victorian period. Parking should be found outside the elegant arches that lead through to a shady pathway heading westwards to the church, for those that prefer a shorter walk a small gate off the East Lound Road grants entry from the north. The churchyard is triangular in shape with the apex pointing east and widening westwards, the eastern end is slightly constrained between bordering trees but enough aspects remain to satisfy the photographer.