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

The Parish

The parish of Pipe Ridware (the middle & smallest of 4 Ridwares) lies in eastern central Staffordshire roughly 5 miles east of the town of Rugeley. Pipe Ridware sits a half mile north of the A513 road which links Rugeley with Tamworth. Pipe Ridware is a tiny place, little more than a hamlet gathered around the former church and sitting upon the northern banks of the River Trent, a few farms and cottages dotted across the river's floodplain. That location alongside the Trent gave Pipe Ridware access to rich and fertile grazing which supported a largely pastoral farming regime. Pipe Ridware is drained eastwards by the Trent, the river is relatively youthful here, on its long journey through the East Midland to Nottingham, Newark and thence northwards to reach the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Pipe Ridware is sited at around 60 metres above the sea, to its north sits the knoll of Hunger Hill reaching 96 metres whilst further north the 100 metre contour is regularly breached. Pipe Ridware parish was one of the smaller in its county covering only 700 acres which would have supported barely 100 parishioners. Whilst Pipe Ridware has a Domesday Book entry as a holding of the Bishop of Chester the assets recorded refer to a region rather than the 54 household settlement that was so similar to today.

The Church

The former church of St James, it closed for worship in 1983 and is today a privately owned wedding venue, stands on the eastern side of the only lane which heads through the settlement. The church is, however, a Victorian replacement for the prior medieval church completed in 1842 and thus not the venue for these marriages even if it serves that purpose today. The church was designed in a mixture of Norman Romanesque and Early English Gothic styles and has the usual nave, chancel and western bellcote typical of such small churches. Even though completed in 1842 there has been time for restoration in 1879 the chancel was restored and a stepped triple arcade inserted. Following closure the former church was adapted for use as a theatre and then as a cafe before resuming its current role as a venue for weddings. The verge outside the churchyard is well worn from customers vehicles allowing easy parking on this very quiet lane, the entrance is shaded by thick tree cover but a pathway leads into the more open space around the former church, trees do prevent use of some angles but enough survive to suit the photographer.