England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Clenchwarton St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Clenchwarton lies in western Norfolk forming s stretch of the county's coastline and sitting roughly 1 1/2 miles west of the port of King's Lynn, as the gull flies, but some 3 miles by road. Clenchwarton sits on the former route of the A17 road, The Washway, which links King's Lynn with Sleaford and onward to Newark on Trent, the A17 has been diverted in the late 20th century to take advantage of the former route of the Midland & Great Northern Rail line now closed, it runs 3.4s of a mile south of Clenchwarton. Clenchwarton is a village which has expanded significantly in modern times, early maps show a nucleated settlement gathered around the church with a westerly tail of properties lining the former A17, today Clenchwarton has grown to the north and also eastwards such that it is very close to joining up with West Lynn. Clenchwarton sits within Fenland surrounded by reclaimed land with rich soils very suitable for the growing of higher value vegetables such as onions, leeks and brassicas, crossing the parish to the east is a former river course of the Great Ouse giving wetter ground and used for pasture, to the north lie extensive grazing marshes with a sea bank protecting them from inundation from The Wash. The Great Ouse's former course carries water to West Lynn and there meets the main channel before heading into the North Sea. Clenchwarton is sited below 5 metres above sea level in extremely flat terrain where one has to travel east of King's Lynn to cross the 10 metre contour. Clenchwarton parish was large as are many in The Fens, covering just under 2,900 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. Whilst Clenchwarton is recorded in Domesday Book as a holding of William D'Ecouis it has no assets or population at that time.

The Church

St Margaret's church sits tucked away in between Church Road and Main Road, it is accessed from the former by footpath and from the latter by a gravel surfaced lane. St Margaret is largely a product of the later medieval times with the 14th century western tower in brick the oldest portion remaining. As Pevsner points out a complete 14th century brick tower is unusual not only in its county but also nationally. Pevsner neglects to assign it to either the Decorated or Perpendicular eras but the presence of lancet opening to the ringing chamber implies the former. The nave is solidly Perpendicular and makes much use of the local carrstone. an iron-rich sandstone from the early Cretaceous period which imparts a warm umber glow in evening sunshine. Whilst the fabric may be late 14th century many of the windows. whilst still Perpendicular, are from the 15th century. Brick is used once again in the Perpendicular southern porch and raised it head again during the Victorian restoration which rebuilt the chancel in 1864 using both brick and carrstone in harmony with the nave. The roughly surfaced lane, Smallholdings Road leads past the church to a small car park, alternatively Main Road has ample space for parking and a short footpath to the site. A few trees dot the churchyard leaving no clear southern aspects unless rather close and making for a few difficulties for the photographer.