England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Harpley St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of Harpley lies in the northwestern area of central Norfolk about 9 miles west of the market town of Fakenham. Harpley is located immediately south of the A148 road which links Fakenham with King's Lynn. Harpley is a substantial village with most properties either built along the main lane which heads for the Massinghams or on a pair of lanes heading east from the latter. Harpley sits just east of the Peddar's Way, an ancient track-way which is nowadays followed by hikers on the Peddar's Way & North Norfolk Coastal Trail. Like many parishes in Norfolk Harple would have predominantly earned its living from arable farming, early gazetteers place as much as 80% of the parish acreage to such use with minor portions devoted mainly to pasturing of sheep. Harpley sits on rather porous ground and many of the valleys around are dry for much of their length, the main valley, which drained Harpley in wetter times, heads westwards emerging as the infant Babingley River and heading to The Wash which is met close to Dersingham. Harpley is sited at around 80 metres above the sea, quite high for Norfolk, land rises imperceptibly a further 10 metres higher to the south. Covering just under 2,200 acres Harpley parish was fairly typically sized for western Norfolk where parishes are notably larger than in the east, within that acreage would have been supported just over 350 parishioners. In Domesday times Harpley was quite a modest place, shared by William de Warenne & Bishop Odo it could muster a mere 7 ploughs but did have a half share in a salthouse.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits on the northern side of the village on the northern side of Church Lane, a narrow lane running parallel with the A148. Like many Norfolk churches it is essentially a product of the twin styles of Decorated & Perpendicular. Documentary evidence places much of the build to the lifetime of John de Gurney, its rector & patron between 1295 & 1332. This era was when the church fashions were changing from Early English Gothic into the Decorated style. From the very end of the 13th century Pevsner places the southern aisle whilst the western tower dates from just beyond the turn of that century, in the early 14th century. The bell-openings and battlements of that western tower illustrate the new fashion very well. Whilst the main body of the church was undoubtedly built in Decorated style the nave and southern arcade were rebuilt later in the same century in the newly fashionable Perpendicular style, the period saw also the addition of both northern aisle and arcade and a southern porch. Like most churches a Victorian restoration took place, in this case the major changes were from 1878 whilst even at my visit work was being conducted on the main body's roofing. Church Lane is rather narrow but, thankfully, the verge is widened outside the wooden gates to allow a car or two to get off-road. Whilst fringed with mature deciduous trees the churchyard is open and uncluttered in the immediate surroundings of the church allowing unfettered access for the photographer.