England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Maplebeck St Radegund

The Parish

The parish of Maplebeck lies in central Nottinghamshire roughly 5 miles north of the market town os Southwell. Maplebeck sits about 1 mile west of the A616 road which links Newark on Trent with Ollerton. Maplebeck is set around a "T" junction of lanes with its main street running from northwest to southeast but for less than a quarter of a mile. Maplebeck sits in rolling countryside which was mainly used for farming, both arable and pastoral methods would have been present but today the weight has switched to arable. Maplebeck also sits on a reasonable quality sandstone which was quarried for local building and road upkeep, the stone is also alleged to have been used to bridge the Trent at Newark. The stream which drains the parish is known simply as "The Beck", it takes a curving course eastwards to meet the Trent at Carlton on Trent, the Trent is here headed northwards to the Humber Estuary and the North Sea. Maplebeck is sited on rising ground from 50 to 70 metres above the sea, to the west the land rises gently to a spot height of 117 metres in Redgate Wood to the south of Eakring. By Nottinghamshire standard Maplebeck parish was towards the smaller end of the scale, covering 1,200 acres it would have supported a population of around 150 parishioners. Domesday Maplebeck was still recovering from the "harrowing of the north" but its landholder Gilbert of Ghent could benefit from 5 ploughs backed by meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Radegund's church sits at the main junction in the village where Church Lane becomes The Hollows, it stands on a little knoll above the village green. As with many such churches a doorway, that to the south, is the oldest fabric present with traces of 12th century Norman Romanesque styling, the eastern end of the church, the chancel, shows lancet styled windows on both northern and eastern walls which confirm its original construction in the 13th century Earl English Gothic style. It is likely too that the nave was also built in the same period but most of its windows were replaced in the 17th century. The arcade is a poor example of work from the short Transitional era between the 13th and 14th centuries. To the west sits a distinctively topped western tower from the early 14th century, Decorated in style. Like most churches there was a Victorian restoration which has masked much of the dating detail, it also rebuilt the southern porch. The Hollows carries little traffic and so is suitable for on-street parking, the entrance is reached by crossing the green. Even Pevsner commented upon the ancient yew tree which graces the churchyard and which must be avoided to obtain any adequate views for the photographer.