England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Whitchurch St Alkmund

The Parish

The parish of Whitchurch lies in the extreme north of Shropshire forming not only an extensive stretch of the border with neighbouring Cheshire but also with neighbouring Flintshire, hence also Wales. Whitchurch is located roughly 20 miles north of the county's capital, Shrewsbury, and about the same distance east of the Denbighshire industrial town of Wrexham. Whitchurch is a large market town sitting at the fork of the A41, Shrewsbury to Chester road, and A49 which links it all the way to the M56 and to Warrington in Lancashire, to add to the status the A525, Newcastle under Lyme to Wrexham road, also crosses at the town. Whitchurch has a long history, proven by mid 1960s excavations to be the site of the principal Roman fort of the northern Marches, Mediolanum; the town's High Street still follows the line of the principal street of that Roman fort. Whitchurch grew through the granting of its market in the 14th century to become the principal centre for trade and specialist services not only serving northern Shropshire but also southern Cheshire & adjacent Flintshire. Within the wider parish earl gazetteers list no fewer than 14 townships within what is an extensive area dominated by arable farming. As well as supplying the market for the local arable and pastoral produce, Whitchurch specialised in the manufacture of shoes as well as producing oak acid from the numerous surrounding forests, malt & hops underpinned the market as the main traded crops making Whitchurch a noted brewing centre. Modern developments arrived in abundance, the extension of the Ellesmere canal allowed produce to join the canal network allowing trade all the way to the industrial centres of the Northwest, the Midlands and to the capital; railways arrived from Crewe as part of the line to Shrewsbury, granting Whitchurch its station which survives even to today, further lines to Chester and to Oswestry have, however, been dismantled. The routing of the town's A41 bypass has also improved the health & well-being of the town centre allowing it to remain the principal market town for its district. A rather confusing local drainage pattern eventually resolves into a discernible trend northeastwards to join the River Weaver which turn water northwards to eventually meet the Mersey estuary to the west of Runcorn and hence to the Irish Sea. Whitchurch sits on fairly gentle terrain at around 100 metres above the sea, land only rises gently within the close distance with several "high" spots of almost 130 metres. Whitchurch parish, as already indicated, is very extensive, almost like a northern upland parish in extent, covering over 15,000 acres it would have supported a population of almost 6,400 parishioners, of whom slightly more than half would live within the town. In Domesday times Whitchurch, held by William de Warenne was already one of the largest 20% of settlements by population, its assets were small by comparison, 12 ploughs  and some woodland, 2 further townships within the wider parish also merited an entry, Edgeley and Alkington, adding 2 further ploughs to the total.

The Church

St Alkmund's church occupies a prominent position at the roundabout marking the junction of Bargates & Yarlington. The site has had a mixed history and today's church is the 4th such edifice to sit on this position, the 3rd church collapsed in July 1711, its tower collapsing into the main body. so the dating of this church is rather precise as it was consecrated no more than  2 years later in 1713. The church is built in the local pinkish sandstone, which sadly has taken stain rather readily, giving the rather mottled appearance we see today. Dominated by its 4-stage western tower the design is medieval but with Doric influences in the form of that style's columns. The church takes motifs from other similarly dated churches, the architect having recently completed St Ann's church in Manchester, has reused some of those designs whilst the shape of the porch mimics that of Wren's St Paul's Cathedral. A large church with its main body consisting of 6 bays augmented by a semicircular apse at the eastern end, appropriate to a large market town. The apse rather confusingly has pilasters of the Corinthian style a curious juxtaposition with the remaining Doric. A small car park fronting properties along the northern side of Yarlington is the most convenient for the church which stands with its western end looming over the adjacent roundabout, views from the eastern end of Church Street perhaps offer the most complete landscape setting.