England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Corbridge St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Corbridge lies in southern Northumberland not too far from its border with neighbouring County Durham. Corbridge  is located roughly 4 miles east of the market town of Hexham and sits immediately south of the A69 road which links Carlisle with Newcastle upon Tyne. Corbridge , itself, is a small market town complete with market cross at its centre, rather surprising given the close proximity of its larger neighbour. Fairs granted in early medieval times have lapsed, however. Corbridge parish is wide in its extent and incorporated the chapelry at Halton which was licensed for marriages and will have its own page within this project, in addition the wider parish included the townships of Aydon, Aydon-Castle, Clarewood, Corbridge, Dilston, Halton-Shields, Thornborough, and Great and Little Whittington such that less than 2/3rds of the parish population actually lived in Corbridge, itself. Corbridge sits on the banks of the River Tyne, its course traversed by an ancient arched bridge of the 17th century. Besides pastoral farming on the rich pastures adjacent to the river, some cereals typically oats were grown and coal, limestone and lead were extracted as major employers, the clays of the area were also suitable not only for bricks but also for earthenware which took place on a small scale. Today Corbridge remains a small market town with all facilities available and also it is a tourism centre with its Roman remains a major draw, a 3rd century garrison town forms the ultimate predecessor to today's town. Modern developments have come to Corbridge, the Carlisle to Newcastle upon Tyne railway line passing through and granting Corbridge a station, albeit south of the Tyne, whilst the A69, which formerly passed through the town, is nowadays a busy dual carriageway highway across northern England. The Tyne drains the parish eastwards the short distance through the port of Newcastle upon Tyne to the North Sea. Corbridge is sited at on a rising valleyside site, at around 40 metres by the river the northeastern suburbs rise to above 100 metres whilst to the north the iconic Hardrian's Wall reaches 258 metres at Milecastle 23. As already mentioned the wider parish was extremely extensive, covering just over 13,000 acres and stretching for 8 miles from north to south, within this extensive area it would have supported a population of around 2,100 parishioners. North of the River Tees Norman influence is negligible and like most of this area Corbridge is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits just west of the Tyne bridge at the southwestern corner of the town, with a nod to the Romans it stands on the eastern side of Watling Street. As one of the earliest churches in the land St Andrew is rightly revered and Pevsner calls it the most "important surviving Saxon monument in Northumberland" only Hexham's crypt being a qualifier. The basal stages of the western tower are believed to date from 786, as documented by the monastery of Corbridge and it formed the western porch of an aisleless nave for said monastery. By St Andrew's standards the upper stages of the 11th century are quite late despite being Saxo-Norman in style and surprisingly slender. Saxon masonry survives in many places within the church, Pevsner notes it on the side walls of the nave and above the arcades whilst 12th century Norman Romanesque is found in the southern doorway. The 13th century and Early English Gothic period saw major changes with today's chancel, northern transept and priest's residence, a curious feature formerly a  western bay to the northern aisle. Of course later changes may be found, the bell stages of the tower being early 18th century, some windows are Victorian and the porch is 20th century but the core church is of the greatest order and a fine survivor of early monastic times. The usual entry is from Watling Street, where street parking may be found, the street has the western tower looming above the pavements. For the photographer, however, the church is frustratingly confined within masses of foliage which markedly restrict the views that may be had and cause much scratching of heads trying to adequately record this magnificent icon of the area.