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

The Parish

The parish of Braunston lies in the extreme west of Northamptonshire forming a lengthy stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Warwickshire. Braunston is located roughly 3 miles northwest of the market town of Daventry and sits immediately east of the A45 road which links Daventry with the Warwickshire city of Coventry. Braunston is a mid-sized village largely built along a west to east running lane, a hotel marks its position on the A45 with the village running eastwards for a little over a half mile. At the time of this transcript and generally today in the wider parish farming of a mixture of both arable and pastoral methods predominated, to complement this some quarrying of the local stone employed a few. It was the coming of the canals, start of a plethora of modern developments that has marked Braunston today. The cutting of the Braunston Canal Tunnel in 1793 linked the village to the Grand Union Canal and this was swiftly followed by the arrival of the Oxford Canal in 1796, today Braunston is possibly the mecca for canal enthusiasts, its marina providing a residence for the live-aboards and a base for the holiday trades as well as a site for the chandleries and specialist skills needed to keep these venerable craft running. Later railway developments linking Daventry with Leamington Spa and Rugby with Brackley have all come and gone whilst the canals persist. Braunston is drained westwards by the River Leam which meets the Avon at Leamington Spa thence to the Severn and finally the Bristol Channel. Braunston rises gently eastwards from the Leam from 110 to 130 metres above the sea, the canal tunnel cuts beneath a hill topping 150 metres whilst northeast a spot height of 17y metres is the highest ground in rolling countryside. At just under 3,000 acres Braunston parish was quite large for southern England, that acreage would have supported a population of around 1,450 parishioners. In Domesday times Braunston was a more modest sized settlement, largely held by one Walter d'Aincourt its assets of 7 ploughs, meadows & woodland and a mill were indicative of a typical mid-sized rural manor.

The Church

All Saints' church sits at the western end of the village's High Street within the shallow fork formed by that street and Church Road. Sadly for medieval enthusiasts All Saints is a Victorian replacement for the village's previous church completed in 1849 and thus not the venue for these marriages. Braunston, thanks to its canals, became well known to the boatmen of the canals and its church became also known as the canal boatman's church with baptism, burials and even marriages of boating families being recorded here. Today's All Saints is, at least, built in a faux-medieval style utilising the motifs of the early 14th century Decorated style to good effect. Pevsner describes All Saints as "an impressive, prosperous-looking church". The pink sandstone is an attractive one and its contrast with limestone dressings makes for an attractive subject. The crocketed spire replete with pinnacles is a stand-out feature and a landmark for many a mile. Parking on High Street is widely used making for a relaxed visit. The churchyard is raised above road level with a flight of steps leading into it, unfortunately for the photographer the church sits tight to the churchyard's southern boundary removing the favoured aspects and making for a challenging subject on a sunny day.