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

The Parish

The parish of Gillingham lies in the extreme southeast of Norfolk forming a stretch, here performed by the River Waveney, of the border with neighbouring Suffolk. Gillingham is located around 2 miles northwest of the Suffolk market town of Beccles and sits on the A146 road which links Beccles with the city of Norwich. Most of Gillingham's properties lies immediately west of the current course of the A146, a parallel lane, the former course, forming the main street, whilst the subsidiary settlement of Dunburgh is almost touching the neighbouring parish of Geldeston. Gillingham's position on the northern edges of the Waveney's flood-plain gave it a selection of land types, grazing marshes alongside the river's course but arable cropping on the slightly higher and drier land away from the Waveney, the extensive reed beds bordering the river also gave access to the traditional Broadland activities of reed-thatch harvesting and wildfowling. Modern developments have come from the parish, a railway line bordering the boundary between the two counties once connected Beccles with Bungay but has been closed for some time, indeed much of its course has now been built over as the improved A143. The Waveney drains the parish eastwards, meeting with the other Broadland rivers at Breydon Water and then reaching the North Sea through the port of Great Yarmouth. Gillingham is sited at around 10 metres, enough to keep it above flood levels, above the sea, land rises gently into Norfolk with local high spots hovering between 30 & 40 metres above the sea. Gillingham parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering close to 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Gillingham was a holding of King William, himself, and a relatively wealthy one too, its 31 ploughs were quite impressive and in addition the usual meadows & woodland were augmented not only by its own mill but a half share in another.

The Church

St Mary's church sits east of the A146, thus separated by that road from the majority of the parish, it is close to the two-storeyed Jacobean house of Gillingham Hall. The church has a cruciform layout, a layout which confirms its origins in the 12th century Norman Romanesque period. The three main components of nave, chancel & crossing tower all have 12th century origins and all have been extensively modified at various times since that early date. The nave was considerably shortened in the 17th century, it appears quite stubby to the west of that crossing tower. The crossing tower is, perhaps the most complete Norman piece whilst the chancel has been largely obliterated by the changes of the Victorians. The Norman chancel was replaced in an extended campaign, running from 1859 to 1869, which saw the original replaced by what is now a super-sized nave complete with aisles and chapels and with an apsed replacement chancel too. Of interest is the remains of a second church, All Saints, within the same churchyard, this church was demolished in 1748 leaving leaving only the 15th century Perpendicular tower. From the A146 a short cut-off lane heads to church & hall, the churchyard is open to the road, which is broad enough for parking, with only a low, grassy bank separating it. Whilst the favoured southeastern aspect is a little constrained by trees the photographer should find most angles available in a relatively open & uncluttered churchyard.