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

The Parish

The parish of Northrepps lies in the extreme northeast of Norfolk quite close to its North Sea coastline and sitting roughly 3 miles southeast of the coastal resort of Cromer. Northrepps sits about 1 1/2 miles east of the A140 road which links Cromer through to the city of Norwich. Northrepps is a compact small village built around a complex intersection of lanes, 6 differing lanes converge on the short stretch at the centre from most points of the compass. Like most Norfolk parishes Northrepps was primarily an arable farming settlement, the soils here light and sandy and formed upon glacial till were easily worked and very suitable for cereals and root crops. Modern developments have arrived at the parish in the form of twin railway lines, that of the Midland & Great Northern which once linked Cromer with Mundesley is closed but the line from Cromer to Norwich runs west of the village without granting Northrepps a station. Northrepps is drained southeastwards by a small stream which rises in the south of the parish, flows through nearby Gimingham and reaches the North Sea at Mundesley. Northrepps is sited at around 50 metres above the sea in hummocky terrain which rises to 78 metres on Toll's Hill from where there are fine views along the coast to Cromer. In an area with many very small parishes Northrepps stands out as one the more extensive, covering just over 2,700 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. Domesday Northrepps was a much smaller place than that today, a holding of William de Warenne it could only muster 3 ploughs, some meadows & woodland but possessed 2 mills.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the southwesternmost extremity of the village on the western side of Church Street which runs southwards to the sister village of Southrepps. Outwardly the church is a typical example of Perpendicular styling that one finds frequently in Norfolk, with strong and bold western towers and largely funded by the medieval wool boom which saw Norfolk highly wealthy. Pevsner points out one or two earlier features which indicate a much earlier origin for the church, there are zigzag patterns in the stones of the eastern end which date from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period and 2 lancet windows also in the chancel evidence of the 13th century Early English Gothic period. The 4-bay arcades are also earlier than the remainder being built in the 14th century whereas the remainder is 15th century or the result of Victorian intervention. The tall western tower has will bequests documenting its build between 1476 & 1487 which its battlementation probably added in the 1520s. Whilst Pevsner documents some of the impacts of the Victorian restoration he neglects to indicate the date, the clerestory, the roods and the vestry are mentioned as the main impacts. Parking is facilitated by a broad gravelled verge outside the gates, double one small, one wider. Once through the fringing trees there are few obstacles to concern the photographer.