England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cossall St Catherine

The Parish

The parish of Cossall lies on the western boundary of Nottinghamshire toward the southern end of the county and forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Derbyshire. Cossall is located less than 2 miles east of the town of Ilkeston in Derbyshire and sits a half mile south of the A6096 road which links Ilkeston with the bust A610 & thence to the nearby M1 motorway. Cossall is a small village sitting on the eastern valley-sides of the River Erewash's valley, most properties lie along a rather serpentine lane that parallels the river course toward nearby Trowell. The Erewash valley is much developed by industrial growth but this eastern area remains deceptively rural despite the plethora of infrastructure that surrounds this small village. At the time of this transcript Cossall would have been a farming community with pastoral farming dominant, mainly supporting the raising of cattle for both the dairy and meat markets for both nearby Nottingham & Derby. Modern developments crowd around the village, the first to arrive was the Nottingham Canal, its serpentine course matching that of the lane as it sought to avoid using locks, also arriving between Cossall and the Erewash was the railway line London to Chesterfield whilst the modern M1 motorway, further east, narrowly avoids trespassing onto Cossall's acreage. The Erewash drains the parish southwards to meet the Trent in a mass of filled gravel pits just east of Long Eaton, the Trent then passes through to the Humber Estuary where it meets the North Sea. Cossall is sited at 80 metres above the sea, some 30 metres higher than the river's course, further away from the river a local high point of 134 metres may be found at Swingate to the northeast. Cossall was one of its county's smaller parish with an acreage of just under 1,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 300 parishioners. In Domesday times Cossall was a relatively inconspicuous place, shared between one Ralph, a son of the equally obscure Hubert, and William Peverel it could muster just 4 ploughs together with a small meadow & woodland.

The Church

As Church Lane passes through the village it performs a sharp right-angled bend from running eastwards to running to the south, it is at this bend that St Catherine's church sits. The church whilst of medieval origins does not retain much from that period as it was largely rebuilt in 1842, albeit reusing much of the original masonry. The exception to this rebuild is the church's main attraction, its spire-topped western tower, this remains from the 13th century where it was first constructed in the Early English Gothic style of that period. The tower is topped by its inset spire which Pevsner believes is a 14th century addition from the Perpendicular period, the western window is an unusual feature being lenticular, it was re-worked in the 19th century. The main body of the church dates from the rebuild, which not only rebuilt the original church but enlarged it too. During excavation an earlier church of unaisled nave & chancel was located with only its footprint remaining. As the church sits on a sharp bend, one of many in the village, it is better to park somewhat away from its entrance area. At the bend a neat lychgate grants entry to a rather crowded churchyard, several banks of trees limit the views available and that medieval tower almost overhangs the lychgate making the better views of that feature from outside, the churchyard is something of a challenge to the photographer.