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

The Parish

The parish of Swinderby lies in the extreme west of southern Lincolnshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. Swinderby is located roughly 8 miles northeast of the Nottinghamshire market town of Newark on Trent and sits about a mile north of the A46 (which follows the ancient Roman Road, Fosse Way) which links Newark with Lincoln. Swinderby has two principal areas of settlement, an oblong of properties is augmented by a northward running tail along the lane leading to Swinderby's station. This modern extension has come about largely to support commuting into both Newark and Lincoln and also to support the nearby prison. Swinderby sits upon Jurassic rocks, mainly lias and associated clays, the farming is perhaps, therefore, a little more mixed in its regime than in most arable parishes. Modern developments have come to Swinderby, the aforementioned railway line linking Newark & Lincoln came first, whilst in more recent times the A46 has been upgraded to fast dual-carriageway status speeding traffic past the village. Small streams and field drains largely drain the parish southeastwards soon meeting the nearby River Witham which following a passage through Lincoln meets the North Sea through the port of Boston. Swinderby is sited at around 20 metres above the sea in gently rolling terrain where local heights fail to reach much more than a further 10 metres higher for some considerable distance. Swinderby parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering around 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Swinderby was largely held by Queen Judith with a minor holding in the hands of a rare Saxon survivor, Kolgrim of Grantham, collectively their holdings mustered 14 ploughs together with the usual meadows & woodland.

The Church

All Saints' church sits toward the northern end of the village on the western side of High Street as it heads away from the oblong of properties and heads for the station. All Saints is an early church with much remaining from both the Norman Romanesque and Early English Gothic periods of 12th and 13th centuries. Representing the Norman period is the northern arcade which shows the round piers, scalloped capitals and un-moulded arches of that period. The chancel, too, has Norman features with a pillar piscina from that era. Whilst these portions are of the 12th century the 13th and Early English Gothic is shown well by the unbuttressed western tower and much of the nave. A typical Victorian restoration, in this case of 1879, saw much refresh of the church and the addition of one of its distinguishing features, namely the apse which graces the eastern end. At the junction by the church there is ample space for a few cars to park and the main entrance at the southern end is graced by a neat lychgate granting entry to a churchyard which has a few trees but nothing that seriously impedes the photographer.