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

The Parish

The parish of Burgh St Peter stands in the extreme southeast of Norfolk forming a lengthy stretch of the county's border, here formed by the course of the River Waveney, with neighbouring Suffolk. Burgh St Peter is located roughly 7 miles northeast of the Suffolk market town of Beccles and sits about 2 miles north, albeit separated by the river, from the A146 road which links Beccles with Lowestoft. Burgh St Peter is a small crossroads village which is contiguous with its neighbour Wheatcare, a cluster of properties gathered around the mill and inn. Further east on the banks of the Waveney site Burgh St Peter Staithe wherein sits the parish church, a further riverside inn and some properties serving the Broads holiday trade. The Waveney curves right around in a broad meander with extensive marshes bordering the Norfolk side, early gazetteers estinated 3/4s of the parish acreage as marshland, grazing, read thatch harvesting, eel fishing and wildfowling the main economic activities, only a token area of traditional Norfolk arable resided. The staithe would have also acted as inland port removing the produce to centres such as Great Yarmouth and Norwich for sale. Today it is the Broadland holiday trade which sees most visitors to this once remote marshland community, overnight stays at the staithe being the main driver. Burgh St Peter is drained by the Waveney eventually northwards to meet with Norfolk's Broadland rivers at Breydon Water and pass through Great Yarmouth to the North Sea. Burgh St Peter is sited at sea level at the staithe but rises to around 20 metres a the village which is the highest land for some distance. Burgh St Peter was a rather small parish of just 860 acres yet would have supported a population of around 300 parishioners. Burgh St Peter is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the staithe some mile and a half east of its village, a short dead-end lane Church Lane leads to the churchyard from the leisure facilities and inn. There are two distinctly differing parts to the church as can readily be seen, firstly there is the original medieval church built in the early 14th century with the Decorated style its main feature. The style is seen well in the nave doorways with their simple double-chamfered arches and in the chancel windows. The main body of nave and chancel is a single unit covered by a neat thatched roof. The roof is probably later as the nave roofing internally shows Perpendicular styling. The western end of the church is undoubted, however, the major talking point of the church. Pevsner described it as looking "like someone's folly of telescoping brick boxes". There is brick vaulting from the 16th century at its base bit the whole edifice was built in 1793 and was intended as a mausoleum for the family of the then reverend Boycott. The tower has 4 brick boxes and is topped by a further brick cube. Church Lane ends at a turning point with room for a single car to park outside the unfenced churchyard, the eastern end of the church is compromised by close set trees but all other angles are available for the photographer.