England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Misson St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Misson lies in the extreme north of Nottinghamshire and forms part of the borders with both neighbouring Yorkshire and also with Lincolnshire. Misson is located about 8 miles south east of the Yorkshire town of Doncaster and sits on the northern banks of the River Idle. Misson is a substantial village which sits, in lanes, about 2 miles east of the A 614 road which connects Bawtry with Thorne. The area surrounding Misson is flat and hugely modified by man's drainage attempts, the result of all this activity is vast fields, recovered from former wetlands and mires, with arable and market gardening in the dominating position within the local economy. The Idle drains the parish eastwards but soon joins the Trent and runs to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Misson is sited at just 5 metres above the sea and land is at or even below that height for some considerable distance. Benefiting from tracts of reclaimed land Misson parish is one of Nottinghamshire's largest in extent, covering almost 5,800 acres it would have supported a population of just over 800 parishioners. In Domesday times Misson was a relatively small place, despite this 2 other landholders shared the parish with King William, himself. A small place offering 6 ploughs, a small woodland but did possess a fishery amongst land also described as waste.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits at the heart of the village on the northern side of the High Street and barely a hundred yards from the levees of the course of the Idle. The church is designed on the classic layout of nave, chancel & western tower with that basic structure augmented by both northern & southern aisles, the whole decorated with pinnacles and battlements. The church is largely 15th century and Perpendicular in style. In 1894 the church suffered a major blow with a lightning strike destroying much of the building so that which we see today is reconstructed from the remains of that catastrophe. The church sits in a slightly elevated site, banked by a low local stone wall, a protection against the likelihood of flooding from the Idle. Entrances are numerous but the churchyard is rather compact so the best views are obtained from outside it, a few scattered trees only inhibit slightly.