England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Stamford All Saints

The Parish

The town of Stamford lies some 89 miles north of the City of London and 46 miles south of Lincoln and sits on the banks of the River Welland. Stamford formerly sat on the route of the A1 (Great North Road), a modern interpretation of the Roman Ermine Street, which links London northwards to Newcastle upon Tyne and on to Edinburgh. The A1 was re-routed west of the town during the 1960s to relive congestion and improve the town's quality. Stamford is a market town of some considerable size, at one time it had 14 parish churches nowadays a mere 5 including All Saints its largest and most dominant. In addition to the 5 in Lincolnshire a sixth parish may be found in Stamford Baron, geographically still part of the town but in Northamptonshire. Stamford, in fact, sits as a tongue of Lincolnshire land poking into the neighbouring counties of both Rutland & Northamptonshire forming stretches of the county's borders with both. Stamford's market dates even to pre-Conquest times when it was one of the 5 Boroughs of the Danelaw. During the medieval period Stamford became the major market centre & river-port for much of the rich agricultural produce of its region as well as engaging in pottery, iron-working and especially cloth making. In more modern times Stamford's position on the Great North Road enabled it to become the service station of that horse-drawn age, the inns lining its main streets showing the arched entrance-ways to stabled rear courts for the service of stage-coaches. The active interference of the local Lord Exeter drove the route of the East Coast Main Railway Line to nearby Peterborough resulting in some stagnation for the town, a mere branch line connecting Peterborough through to Melton Mowbray & Leicester serves the town with a station. The A1 is also upgraded to modern dual-carriageway highway, complete with its own service stations rather than utilising the town. Today's Stamford is something of a tourist attraction, the local stone from Barnack & Ketton giving its buildings a characteristic and attractive appearance, it remains a way-station and a market town even if the industry has largely disappeared. Stamford is drained eastwards by the Welland which crosses the Fens to reach the North Sea through The Wash. Stamford is sited on a rising site, the river at 20 metres whilst the northern suburbs stand at 50 metres above the sea, land also rises westwards but does not reach 100 metres until well into Rutland. All Saints' parish is the largest parish of the town, covering the western half, within this small acreage it would have supported approximately 2,000 parishioners. In Domesday times Stamford was a holding of King William, as an important town of the time its assets were not meticulously detailed referencing only the churches and mills present but highlighting the wealth to the King of the town.

The Church

All Saints' church sits almost centrally within the town standing at the head of the High Street on the plain that bears its name. As Stamford's major church it is a structure fitting to that status and a fine example of Early English Gothic styling, albeit much altered during the later Perpendicular period too. The Earl English Gothic flourished in the 13th century and those dates are attributable to much of the structure with Pevsner tentatively placing a date of c1230 on what he terms "the sumptuous 3-bay southern arcade", perhaps the best example of that style in the church. The style may also be found in the chancel, the southern chapel and northern arcade. too. It was the late 15th century that saw most major change to the core of the 13th century church. Primarily the tower and steeple is the most notable feature of those changes, a landmark in the town, which replaced an early tower standing above a southwestern porch. Typical Perpendicular features such as a clerestory were also added along with many windows of that style. Two phases of Victorian restoration are noted by Pevsner, the first of 1857 being followed in 1886 when the vestry was added alongside a refresh. Most town churches require a nearby car park but All Saints has its plain complete with small car park for those fortunate enough to locate a space it makes for a comfortable visit. The church stands within a churchyard little bigger than its footprint and surrounded by busy roads, whilst views are sufficient the traffic may present an unwelcome intrusion to any image.