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

The Parish

The parish of Pitsford lies almost centrally within Northamptonshire and roughly 5 miles north of the county town of Northampton. Pitsford sits a half mile east of the A508 road which connects Northampton through to Market Harborough in Leicestershire. Pitsford is a mid-sized and compact village with most properties lying along twin lanes, that which connects the village with the A508 and a southeastern running alternative, where the two meet being the notional centre of the village. Pitsford sits upon ironstone, its rich and warm colour giving an attractive building stone, if somewhat notorious for weathering. That underlying geology also gave excellent soils which made arable farming the main dominant land-use. Modern developments have come and gone from the parish, the former railway line from Northampton to Market Harborough being partially a heritage line and partially adopted by a lengthy stretch of the Midshires Way local trail. To the northeast of the village the local landscape has been transformed by the creation of Pitsford Reservoir built in 1955 to supply water to Northampton, today it is also a renowned nature reserve popular with wildfowl in winter. The stream which leaves the reservoir drains Pitsford southwest and then south to meet the Nene to the west of Northampton, the Nen has a long journey across eastern England to reach the North Sea through The Wash. Pitsford sits on rising ground from 90 to 110 metres above the sea, very much a hilltop settlement with the local high point standing close by at 125 metres. Pitsford parish was fairly typically sized for its area covering close to 1,400 acres and supporting a population of around 550 parishioners. In Domesday times Pitsford was shared between Walter of Flanders (with by far the larger share) and Count Robert of Mortain, the assets of 7 ploughs and 2 mills being fairly typical of small farming communities of the time.

The Church

All Saints' church sits northwest of the main junction of the village accessed by the dead-end Church Lane. Whilst the church has medieval fabric remaining it was subject to a restoration of 1866-7 which amounted to an almost complete rebuild. The oldest fabric is the fine 12th century Norman southern doorway, Pevsner bemoans the possibility that it is reset and reset by wrongly being assembled, never the less it is a handsome piece. Truly medieval and 14th century is the short western tower in the Decorated style of the first half of that century. That styling is maintained throughout the rebuilt structure of the main body with the arcades and chancel definitely dating from that time whereas the nave may have merely been restored. Church Lane ends in a hemispherical parking space with room for several cars to safely park, the churchyard is open and unobstructed with fine views from virtually every angle for the photographer.