England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Stoke Ferry All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Stoke Ferry lies in southwestern Norfolk roughly 6 miles southeast of the market town of Downham Market. Stoke Ferry sits on the A134 road which connects the port of King's Lynn with Thetford, that road being now taken in a bypass to the north of the village. Whilst Stoke Ferry might legitimately be termed a village its status wasn't always that simple. A market was granted for Stoke Ferry by Henry III and ran for many years before falling into disuse, a revival around the time of this transcript proved unsuccessful too and Stoke Ferry lapsed into village status, albeit a large one. Stoke Ferry gets its suffix from the former ferry which here crossed the River Wissey and most properties are built along the former route of the A134 or along Wretton Road heading west from it. With market status deferring to nearby Downham Market Stoke Ferry's economy was underpinned by farming with a higher proportion of pastoral farming than is usually the case in Norfolk. The river, navigable to Stoke Ferry, also provided some incomes in moving of farming produce to the port of King's Lynn. The Wissey drains Stoke Ferry out into the neighbouring Fenland merging with the Great Ouse in largely man-interfered drainage systems to reach The Wash and thence the North Sea. Stoke Ferry is sited at just 10 metres above the sea and land around is gentle only rising to the north where local heights reach just over 30 metres at nearby Boughton. As a fen-edge settlement Stoke Ferry parish was larger than is normal for Norfolk, covering just under 2,100 it would have supported a population of close to 650 parishioners. In Domesday times Stoke Ferry was largely held by one Ivo's son Reginald with smaller holdings with Ralph Baynard & Count Alan of Brittany, collectively their holdings could muster only 8 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland the parish did, however, have 2 fisheries and a half share in a mill.

The Church

All Saints' church sits at the heart of its community on the junction of the former route of the A134 with Wretton Road. This is a church with a chequered history, the former western tower collapsed in 1578 and the chancel was demolished in the same century to leave just a lengthy nave, a reconstituted and smaller chancel topped with a bellcote. Dating evidence was further removed by both Georgian, in the 1820s, and Victorian, 1840s, restorations which leaves Pevsner's account devoid of most dating detail. The only feature dated by him is the remains of the original chancel arch which is Perpendicular and probably 14th century. Even recently, during my visit work was still ongoing to remake the church for the 21st century. At the junction of Wretton Road and the High Street sits a substantial car park where gates lead through atypical flint and brick wall to the churchyard. The churchyard is compact making it difficult to get sufficient distance away and trees crowd the eastern end limiting the angles available to the photographer.