England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Whissendine St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Whissendine lies in the extreme northwest of Rutland forming a lengthy stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Leicestershire. Whissendine is located roughly 4 1/2 miles northwest of the county town of Oakham and sits just over a mile east of the A606 road which connects Oakham with Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. Whissendine is a large village in parts as it is bisected by the infant River Eye, the main part of the village, including the parish church & Main Street, lies to the east of the river whilst a larger and more modern portion sits westward, both areas are gathered around respective main crossroads of lanes. Whissendine is primarily a pastoral economy set within a rolling landscape of hedged fields and copses that epitomises what is known as "hunting countryside" where traditional fox hunting was a prominent element of the local culture. Most fields were grazed by sheep and cattle with the wool of the former used primarily in home-based cottage weaving. Modern developments have come to the parish, the railway line between Oakham & Melton Mowbray passing through to the east without granting Whissendine a station. Whissendine is drained initially northwards by the River Eye which then turns westwards to pass through Melton Mowbray being renamed as the Wreake, water's convoluted course turns back northwards on reaching the River Soar on the edge of Leicester before meeting the Trent and turning east and again north to reach the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Whissendine is sited between 110 and 130 metres above the sea the latter height being the general height of most of the local hills in rolling countryside. Whissendine parish was substantial in extent, covering a little over 4,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 850 parishioners. Already by Domesday times Whissendine was large enough to be recorded in the top 20% of settlements by population with 67 households, held by Countess Judith it mustered 13 ploughs backed by substantial meadows.

The Church

St Andrew's church stands in the eastern portion of Whissendine on the northern side of Main Street as it rises towards the eastern edge of the village. There is reputed to have been a church of simple design here as early as the 12th century but nothing survives of that early version, The core of today's church was created in the 13th century and has nave, chancel, narrow aisles and a north transept chapel, of this Early English Gothic structure only the southern doorway remains substantially intact. The church's stand-out feature is its western tower, standing 100 feet in height it is a landmark for many a mile, this complex tower (parts of it failed Pevsner's ideas of symmetry) was constructed in the 1st half of the 14th century in the Decorated style. In the same era the southern aisle was widened, a southern transept was built and the nave was also expanded westwards. During the later Perpendicular era, in the 15th century here, clerestories became fashionable as they increased internal lighting. St Andrew was following that fashion by adding such a feature which doubled the internal height of the roof, unfortunately that extra stress caused the nave's pillars to buckle outward requiring immediate structural reinforcement, the leaning columns remain a feature of the church. Like most churches St Andrew received the near compulsory Victorian restoration, here in 1865 - 1870, the work was overseen by the famous architect Sir George Gilbert Scott who was simultaneously restoring the chapel of St John's College Cambridge. The 16th century medieval screen of that chapel was rescued and reinstalled within St Andrew between the southern aisle and transept. In addition to that rescue mission the restoration also rebuilt the chancel. Main Street is of ample width for on-street parking outside the churchyard which has few obstacles to concern the photographer.