England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Saltfleetby St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Saltfleetby St Peter, one of three parishes along with All Saints & St Clement that make up the scattered village of Saltfleet, lies in the extreme northeast of Lincolnshire not too far from its North Sea coastline. Saltfleetby St Peter is located about 8 miles east of the market town of Louth and sits on the B1200 road which connects Louth with Lincolnshire's coastal road (A1031) just south of Saltfleet. The three communities are strung along this flat road through the coastal salt-marshes of this area, most properties clinging to the roadsides with few set off to one side. Saltfleetby St Peter is the westernmost community of the three with a crossroads to distinguish it. The area is much man-influenced with many areas reclaimed from the nearby North Sea, the land resulting is productive with drier areas supporting arable farming whilst the rougher and wetter pastures being grazing marsh. Most drainage in the area is man-made with the Mar Dyke draining Saltfleetby St Peter northeastwards to reach the nearby sea through Saltfleet Haven. Saltfleetby St Peter is sited at just 3 metres above the sea and there's almost 4 miles toward Louth before the 10 metre contour is passed. Of the three parishes Saltfleetby St Peter is the largest, covering close to 2,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 250 parishioners. In Domesday times the three parishes were not separably reported and were largely described as waste by their 5 owners with only 4 ploughs and some meadow reported as assets.

The Church

St Peter's church nowadays sits at the junction of the B1200 with North End Lane having been largely rebuilt at this site in 1877, the church in which these marriages took place stands as a lonely ruined tower around a half ile to the northeast. That old church had a Perpendicular tower which is all that remains today. The new church, intended as an exact copy of its predecessor with the exception of that tower and also without a clerestory which graced the earlier version. If the copying process is accurate then the original church would have largely dated from the Early English Gothic period of the 13th century - the replacement uses much material from the old church and those Early English motifs of lancet windows and responds are shown clearly. Access is made easy to the church by a lay-by on the opposite side of the B1200 and the churchyard reached by crossing the Mar Dyke on a concrete bridge. The churchyard is a little cramped with boundary trees very close, especially to the western end making for something of a challenge to the photographer seeking to record the bellcote which decorates in replacement for the tower.