England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Papplewick St James

The Parish

The parish of Papplewick lies in western Nottinghamshire roughlu 7 miles northwest of the county town of Nottingham. Papplewick is a small and rather dispersed village which sits primarily on the B683 road which connects Nottingham with Ravenshead. Much of the village is centred at the junction of the B683 with the B6011 and largely consists of rows of mill workers' cottages built of local stone to support the workers of Grange Mill. Prior to the industrial revolution Papplewick was a farming village, an estate village at that, and farming almost equally arable and pastoral mixed, the affairs of Papplewick Hall largely dictating the economy of the parish. Coal from the nearby mines further west sprouted industrialised factory manufacture of what had previously been an artisanal frame-work knitting cottage industry and leading to Grange Mill. Papplewick is drained southwards by the River Leen which passes almost unnoticed through Nottingham to join the Trent before following the latter to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Papplewick is sited at around 80 metres above the sea in fairly gentle terrain where ground gradually rises westwards to local heights of close to 160 metres near to Annesley. If one includes the associated priory grounds within the parish acreage Papplewick covered a total of close to 1,800 acres within which would have been supported some 500 or so parishioners. Papplewick gets two mentions in Domesday Book but its assets are not detailed with that being retained by King William being described as waste.

The Church

St James' church sits in splendid isolation some half mile northwest of the main village crossroads and is accessed along a lengthy track-way from the B683. Sadly this is not some medieval masterpiece but rather a more recent incarnation having been almost completely rebuilt to completion in 1795, the only remaining medieval piece is the western tower which shows 14th century Decorated style windows to prove its origins. The remainder of the church is an elaborate example of 18th century "Gothick" which was largely built at the expense of Frederick Montagu of Papplewick Hall. The route to the church is signed with a prominent blue sign at the junction of the B683 and the track passes through fields to the churchyard which is a veritable forest of trees dominating the church within. The plethora of enclosing trees makes for a challenging church to photograph with few aspects clear of foliage.