England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kneeton St Helen

The Parish

The parish of Kneeton lies in south central Nottinghamshire roughly 8 miles southwest of the town of Newark upon Trent and sitting on the eastern banks of the Trent, too. Kneeton sits roughly 2 miles west of the A46 road, which here follows the ancient Roman route of Fosse Way, which connects Newark with Leicester. The Trent has a marked river-cliff on its eastern banks, here, and the small and compact village of Kneeton sits at the top of that slope some 55 metres above the river below. Kneeton, like so many parishes in lowland England, was a farming community with arable farming forming the main leg of the economy. The Trent drains the parish northwards to eventually meet the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Kneeton is sited at around 70 metres above the sea and this and nearby Toot Hill are the highest ground for many a mile. Kneeton was one of the smaller parishes within Nottinghamshire, barely covering just over 900 acres it would have supported a population of not many more than 100 parishioners. In Domesday times Kneeton was an equally small place, yet shared by King William and 2 other landholders; despite this varied set of landholdings the parish could only muster 5 ploughs, some small meadows but did possess a mill.

The Church

St Helen's church sits at the very brink of the drop into the Trent on the western edge of the village. This is a church which has been significantly remodelled over the centuries with very little of the medieval left by which to date its origins. Pevsner notes only the western tower as a medieval survivor and with the lower portion in a Decorated style topped by a Perpendicular top stage it is a 14th century example. The remainder of the church is the product of two significant campaigns of rebuilding and restoration, major work in the 17th century, probably in the 1660s following the restoration, has left a legacy of flat headed windows from that period whilst in 1880 much of the main body was rebuilt sponsored by the 4th Earl of Carnarvon. A short lane, becoming a footpath, leads off the old road to the ferry across the Trent, the church sits within this junction above road height and banked by a rough, local stone wall. Parking and the main entrance are at the aouthern end of the site which is open, uncluttered and without obstacles for the photographer.