England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Scrivelsby St Benedict

The Parish

The parish of Scrivelsby lies in eastern central Lincolnshire roughly 2 1/2 miles south of the market town of Horncastle. Scrivelsby sits on the B1183 road which links Horncastle with Boston. Today's Scrivelsby is a real blink-and-miss tiny settlement but it has not been always so, the original village having been removed to create the estate of the now demolished Scrivelsby Court. Scrivelsby Court was the home of the Dymoke family who held the position of "King's Champion", first granted by Richard II, and the right to defend the king in duels, the extensive parkland remains the main feature of the parish and includes a deer park. There is no village as such today merely a scatter of farms and cottages across the wider parish, to the west, on the A153, sits the subsidiary settlement of Dalderby. Like most estate parishes and especially those in Lincolnshire arable farming dominated the local economy. Modern developments did come to the parish but have closed, the Horncastle branch canal having made its way along the valley of the Old River Bain. Scrivelsby is drained westwards by a small stream which soon joins that river which heads south to meet the Witham, also canalised, before reaching Boston and the North Sea. Scrivelsby is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where land rises eastwards to a spot height of 81 metres south of Hammeringham marking the highest ground. By Lincolnshire standards Scrivelsby parish was quite large, covering just over 3,100 acres it would have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Domesday Scrivelsby records a much more vibrant place, its 89 households placing it comfortably in the largest 20% of settlements in the book, a complete contrast to today, largely held by Robert the bursar its assets of 12 ploughs backed by meadows and woodland and a mill indicate a mid-sized rural farming manor.

The Church

St Benedict's church sits west of the B1183 accessed by a rough track and sitting adjacent to a patch of woodland, it sits opposite to the estate of Scrivelsby Court. This is a church which was radically restored in late Victorian times, so much so as to appear externally almost completely 19th century. In reality some fabric remains of earlier times, the northern arcade is identified by Pevsner as genuine Early English Gothic from the 13th century as is the 2-bay northern chapel. From the later Perpendicular era the chancel and its doorway appear to be original 15th century features. The 1860 restoration not only refreshed the entire church it was also responsible for the rebuild of the tower which is unusually placed to the northwest. The main point of interest internally is the extensive collection of tombs of the many generations of Dymokes. The track leading to the church is well marked with a prominent blue sign, those careful of their vehicles may choose to walk from here but there is space closer to the churchyard. A screen of trees along the eastern border of the churchyard masks the church from the road but once within there are no obstacles to concern the photographer.