England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Beadnell St Ebba

The Parish

The parish of Beadnell is located on Northumberland's eastern, North Sea, coast. The parish was created from the large parish of Bamburgh of which it was previously a chapelry, the parish was only licensed for marriages for a short time during the coverage of this transcript. Beadnell is located about 11 miles north of the market town of Alnwick and sits on the scenic Northumberland coast where it stretches northwards from its small harbour northwards to the B1340 road which forms the coastal road in the area. Beadnell would have had a diverse economy, the soils were fertile and led to a mixed farming regime, there was coal present in the area leading to mining and the local sandstone was also quarried. In addition the sea provided employment in particular in the catch and supply of shellfish such as crabs & lobsters. Beadnell is located right on the rocky shoreline at between 1 and 5 metres above the sea any drainage being short lived becks running to the sea. Beadnell parish was created from around 700 acres of land contained within Bamburgh and covered barely the village itself, the population would have been around 320 parishioners. Domesday Book has no specific mention of Beadnell as coverage in this area is rather poor.

The Church

St Ebba's church sits at the heart of the village just south of the B1340 and alongside a lane known as The Haven. The church is a recent one being 18th century in origin. Built in 1740, enlarged in 1792 and modified in 1860 it is clearly of little architectural interest as Pevsner covers the building in a mere handful of lines. The church is tightly enclosed within its oblong site, separated from The Haven by a knee-high wall of local stone. The southern and eastern ends of the sight have many trees restricting views at that quadrant but other angles are satisfactory for photography.