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

The Parish

The parish of Blundeston lies in the extreme northeast of Suffolk forming a short stretch of the border, here formed by the River Waveney, with neighbouring Norfolk. Blundeston is located about 2 1/2 miles northwest of the port of Lowestoft and sits roughly a mile west of the A47 road (formerly numbered A12) which links Lowestoft with the Norfolk port of Great Yarmouth. Blundeston is a rather expanded village, its original centre lying east of the church is now augmented by new suburban developments as commuters from nearby Lowestoft sought rural locations. Blundeston's farming economy would have been typical for that of the Broads, drier land would be arable whilst the grazing marshes and reed-beds of Blundeston Marshes would have provided pastures as well as opportunities for wildfowling, reed-thatch harvesting and river-based transportation by the iconic local wherries. Modern developments have come to what was once a rural backwater, the railway line from Norwich to Lowestoft crosses Blundeston Marshes en route whilst the coastal A47 has been upgraded to a fast dual-carriageway improving Blundeston's links. A more obvious "benefit" to the community is HM Prison Blundeston which stands a half mile to the south but does provide employment for the village. The Waveney drains the parish, forming, to the north, part of the extensive inland water-body of Breydon Water before reaching the North Sea through Great Yarmouth. Blundeston is sited at just 10 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where 20 metres is something of a novelty. Blundeston parish was fairly typically sized for its region, covering almost 1,600 acres it would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners. In Domesday times Blundeston was wholly insignificant; despite being shared by both Count Alan of Brittany and Roger Bigot it could not muster a single plough just a meadow & some woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits a little away from its village, a quarter mile to the southwest on the northern side of Church Road. The presence of a round tower in this region immediately alerts to an early church and St Mary does not disappoint, the tower being 12th century and Norman Romanesque in style even preserving untouched some of the original windows. Also from that era are the northern & southern doorways, albeit both have been altered over the years in particular the southern. Whilst the main body of the church undoubtedly existed from the 12th century, the 14th century saw a major change when the nave was almost doubled in width, here the nave shows the Decorated style windows of the earliest half of that century. Unlike many East Anglian churches the Perpendicular period only saw the battlementation added to the tower rather than extensive change. The usual Victorian restoration, in this case there were three phases, occurred, a general refresh of 1850 was followed by a rebuilding of the chancel in 1867 & re-roofing in 1899. Whilst Church Road is rather narrow for parking, there is a pavement so it can be carefully done, the churchyard is surrounded by a typical flint wall which is brick topped with iron gates for entry. As the church sits tightly to the southern edge of the churchyard the best landscape aspect is from outside the uncluttered churchyard.