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

The Parish

The parish of Ightfield lies in the extreme northeast of Shropshire where it forms a short stretch of the border with neighbouring Cheshire. Ightfield is located roughly 4 miles southeast of the market town of Whitchurch and sits within a broad area devoid of significant numbered roads, the closest such road being the A41 which runs around 3 miles west of Ightfield connecting Whitchurch with Newport. Ightfield is a small and compact village which sits at a crossroads of lane within a topography much impacted by the previous glaciations. The map shows a series of small lakes or pingos to the east of Ightfield, remnants of melting ice beneath layers of moraines resulting in circular pits which filled with melt-water. The area is a farming district with pastoral farming in dominance with dairy production a significant element. Through the broken terrain water trends southwards to merge into the Bailey Brook, the latter joins in turn the River Tern and Severn to make a long journey southwards reaching the sea through the Bristol Channel. Ightfield is sited at around 110 metres above the sea on something of a local high point, land does rise a further 20 metres or so to the northwest but is otherwise fairly gently undulating. By Shropshire standards Ightfield parish was fairly small, covering just under 1,600 acres it would, nevertheless, have supported around 350 parishioners. In Domesday times Ightfield was towards the western edge of Norman influence, held by Gerard de Tournai it was a sleepy rural place with just a single plough and a small woodland producing pork.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church stands on the northern edge of the village accessed by the dead-end lane of Church Street. The church is a tribute to the Perpendicular style of the late 14th and 15th centuries, at its core is a three-bay nave to which a western tower, a northern aisle and a southern porch were added around the turn of 15th into 16th centuries. Pevsner is much taken by the elegance of the building calling it a "handsome Perpendicular church". The Victorian restoration, to which most churches were exposed, saw the demolishing and rebuilding of the eastern end, the chancel. This was rebuilt in a sympathetic style between 1865 and 1867 at which time the roofs were replaced. Continuing work right to modern times saw further replacement of roofs as recently as 1961 when the northern aisle received similar treatment. Church Street ends in an extensive car park allowing an extended visit. A low, local stone, wall broken by wooden gates allows entry to a churchyard which has no obstacles for the photographer.