England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Skillington St James

The Parish

The parish of Skillington lies in the far southwest of Lincolnshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Leicestershire, it is also fairly close to neighbouring Rutland. Skillington is located about 7 miles south of the market town of Grantham and sits roughly 2 miles west of the A1 (Great North Road) which links Grantham with London. Skillington is a mid-sized village grouped around a T-junction of lanes within a shallow valley in limestone countryside. Like most Lincolnshire parishes Skillington would have been exclusively an arable farming parish with cereals the predominant crop, today little has changed with perhaps more oil-seed and beet in the product mix. Skillington is drained northeastwards by a small tributary of the Cringle Brook which merges into the River Witham for a long journey through Grantham & Lincoln before meeting the North Sea through the port of Boston. Skillington occupies a valley-side location at between 100 & 120 metres above the sea, land continues to rise under limestone to reach a little over 150 metres within Leicestershire. Skillington parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering a little over 1,200 acres it would have supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Skillington was an equally unremarkable place, shared by no fewer than 4 landholders including one by King William, himself, it could offer 14 ploughs, remarkably extensive meadows & woodlands and there was a mill.

The Church

St James' church sits on the western edge of the village on the northern side of Park Lane. The church certainly has ancient origins, indeed fabric remains from the pre-Conquest period in the form of Saxon long-and-short quoins in both the northeastern corner of the nave and in the southern chapel. Of course the church has been much altered since these early 12th or even late 11th century traces. The 13th century saw a much larger church built in the mixture of Early English Gothic and later Decorated styles. Pevsner places the southern arcade as early 13th century whilst its northern equivalent is late 13th century as are the chancel and southern aisle. The western tower was clearly commenced in the late 13th century, evidenced by the bell-openings, but given its broach spire in the early 14th century and Decorated in style.  The final piece of this period of change is that of the clerestory, a typical Perpendicular addition to improve internal lighting. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it must have been light and sensitive. Park Lane arrives outside the church where there is a triangular green with adequate space for careful parking. The churchyard is surrounded by a local limestone wall with gates at the southwestern corner for entry, some mature trees in the southern quadrant lead to some inconvenience for the photographer requiring unconventional angles to achieve adequate images.