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

The Parish

The parish of Barby is located in the extreme west of Northamptonshire, forming an extensive part of the border with neighbouring Warwickshire which surrounds the parish on 3 sides. Barby is sits about 4 miles southeast of the Warwickshire town of Rugby, in lanes roughly midway ( about 2 - 3 miles) between the A5 and the A45 roads. Barby is a large village with most properties grouped along a north to south running lane that forms the spine of the village. Modern developments pass through the parish, older is the Oxford canal running to Barby's west whilst the modern M45 passes just north. Barby would have earned its income from farming, a mixed farming regime dominated by cattle rearing would have been in place, today a more arable economy has appeared due to the use of heavy machinery. Barby is drained northwards by small tributaries of the Warwickshire Avon which is joined east of Rugby, thence westwards to reach the Severn and thence the Bristol Channel through the Severn Estuary. Barby is sited at around 150 metres above the sea sitting on something of a local high spot, land rises to 160 metres on Barby Hill but falls away in gently rolling countryside all around. Barby parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering just over 3,300 acres it would have supported a population of around 650 parishioners. In Domesday times Barby was held by William Peverel and was a relatively small place offering just 5 ploughs plus some meadows & woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the heart of Barby, to the east of the main north to south running lane but surrounded by the lanes that encompass the main area of settlement. Whilst the church has its origins in the late 13th and early 14th centuries there is little that remains of that period due to the extensive alterations made in the 19th. A few Decorated style windows remain which can be reliably dated to that period as well as piers and arches internally showing that style. The restoration of the 19th century not only replaced almost all of the fenestration but also demolished and rebuilt the southern arcade giving a slightly skewed feel to the building. The church sits at the eastern end of Church Walk, which leads eastwards from the Daventry Road. A spacious churchyard sits enclosed by surrounding properties, it has a few trees gathered to the southeast of the church which do somewhat limit the best angles for photography.