England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
West Markham All Saints

The Parish

The parish of West Markham lies in the northern portion of central Nottinghamshire roughly 6 miles south of the town of East Retford. West Markham sits about a quarter mile west of the A1 road, the Great North Road, linking London with the northeast of England and onward to Edinburgh. West Markham is a small village built around a triangle of lanes with their apex at the northern end wherein sits the parish church. The parish in historical times was also known as Markham Clinton. Like most parishes in this gentle part of the county West Markham is an arable farming parish with cereals predominant in the crop mix, today oil-seed plays a significant part too. Modern developments have come to the parish, the A1 used to follow a route much closer to the village, now downgraded as the B1164 but has been upgraded and moved eastwards as a fast dual-carriageway highway taking much heavy traffic. West Markham sits on the edges of the flood-plain of the River Maun which drains the parish northwards, within a mile or two the Maun merges with the Meden to be renamed as the Idle, after passing through Retford the Idle makes a broad loop eastwards to meet the Trent and complete that river's journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. West Markham is sited between 50 and 70 metres above the sea on rising ground to the southeast, a few spots to the south breach the 80 metres contour in relatively gently rolling terrain. West Markham was a small parish of just under 1,100 acres and would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. Domesday West Markham was a modest holding of Roger de Bully offering 10 ploughs backed by meadows and quire extensive woodland.

The Church

As already mentioned All Saints' church sits at the apex of the triangle of lanes forming the village, where Main Street meets Parson Lane. Whilst the great majority of these marriages were performed in this ancient building from 1832 the Milton Mausoleum usurped the role of parish church. All Saints is a church which clearly was loved by Pevsner for its sheer eccentricity, a jumble of differing materials and styles and ages. There is fabric back to the 12th century, the piscina being of that Norman period as is the round-arched southern doorway and the southern chancel doorway. 13th century Early English Gothic lancets are also found. The mixture of materials is eclectic, brick, herringbone masonry, lumpy render, timber framing to the western gable and a turret complete with weatherboarding, a veritable hotch-potch but charming nevertheless. The 17th century porch is dismissed by Pevsner as "botched", it being that last early piece to be added. The construction of the Milton Mausoleum left the former parish church to decay but a restoration of 1930 restored the church and from 1949 it was also restored as the parish church.As the church sits on a junction it is best to park a little away from that pinch-point. The churchyard is raised well above road height requiring a flight of 13 steps to reach it, once within there are no major obstacles for the photographer.