England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Leebotwood St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Leebotwood lies in the southern portion of central Shropshire roughly 4 miles north of the town of Church Stretton. Leebotwood sits on the A49 road which links Church Stretton with Shrewsbury. Leebotwood has a small presence on the A49, itself, and along two lanes, one headed west, the other east which are separated by a few hundred yards. Leebotwood is one of a number of rather small villages which sit in the vale between the Long Mynd, to its southwest, and The Lawley, to its east, the plain so created is largely used for pastoral farming which in the past was supplemented by extraction of limestone both for local building and burning for lime, spread on fields to improve fertility, some local coal fields were also sporadically exploited. Leebotwood is drained northwards by one of many tributaries that form into the Condover Brook, after heading north for a short distance the brook turns east to meet the Severn and join in its long journey south to the sea through the Bristol Channel. Leebotwood is sited at around 140 metres above the sea with The Lawley towering to the east and 370 metres and a little further away and to its southwest looms Long Mynd topping out at 516 metres. Leebotwood was a rather small parish at juts under 1,300 acres it would have supported a population of close to 200 parishioners. Whilst Leebotwood is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of the Earl Roger of Shrewsbury it was even smaller than than now, a mere 2 households had land enough to support a single plough.

 
The Church

St Mary's church sits almost a half mile west of the A49 on the western running lane of Leebotwood's two lanes and on the lane's southern side. Whilst the church has early origins almost all dating evidence has been obliterated by later changes. That the church dates from the 13th century, Early English Gothic in style, is proven solely by the pointed arch of the southern doorway and by the bull-nose moulding on the priest's doorway. Other such styled features are suspect as the restorations of the church in Georgian times may have copied the style in rendering them, lancet style windows, for example, are believed to be later than the style suggests. The major work of 1829, as well as creating the western tower saw major work throughout including the complete replacement of the roof in local slate. Further Victorian work in 1854 saw only minor changes to the Georgian rebuild. The lane is widened sufficiently at the site to enable a single car to park off-road where a flight of steps rises into the churchyard through a lychgate. The church sits tight to the southern boundary of the churchyard with trees also crowding to its east leaving only the northern aspects available and making for a challenge especially on a sunny day,