England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sutton St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Sutton lies in the extreme northeast of Northamptonshire indeed it formed part of the boundary with neighbouring Huntingdonshire. Following the reorganisation of Local Government in 1974 this part of the county becoming incorporated into the wider county of Cambridgeshire. Sutton is a small and compact village located about 6 miles west of the city of Peterborough. Sutton lies on the northern banks of the Nene valley just a half mile south of the A47 road which links Peterborough with Leicester. Modern and ancient communications pass through the parish, the ancient Roman Road of Ermine Street runs through the eastern portion whilst the modern A1 skirts it to south and west, the Peterborough to Blisworth rail line, now preserved as the Nene Valley Railway ( a steam heritage line) runs through the south of the parish. At the time of this transcript Sutton would have been a farming community with a mixture of both arable and pastoral farming in place. The Nene drains the parish eastwards through Peterborough and eventually reaches the North Sea through The Wash. Sutton is sited at just 10 metres above the sea sitting in the shallow valley with local heights rising to around 50 metres in gently undulating countryside. Sutton parish, formerly a chapelry of Castor, covered a relatively small size for a Northamptonshire parish, its acreage was around 1,400 acres and it supported a population of around 120 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Sutton in Domesday Book as it was probably recorded within Castor's return.

The Church

St Michael's church sits at the western end of the village and close to the banks of the Nene. The church has ancient origins, Pevsner dates its chancel arch (often the earliest feature of a church) to around 1130. He also indicates an early 13th century date for the southern arcade, the bellcote with its lancet window below he also gives to this century. Much else was added during that great church building era of the 15th century when the Perpendicular style was fashionable and even to modern times continuous changes continue to occur, the church being internally modified to function as church hall as well as a place for worship. The church sits on the southern side of Nene Way which terminates just beyond the churchyard into riverside footpaths. A low wall protects the churchyard with metal gates granting access. Once inside the churchyard has few obstructions for photography.