England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Chedburgh All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Chedburgh lies in southwestern Suffolk roughly 6 miles southwest of the town of Bury St Edmunds. Chedburgh sits on the A143 road which links Bury St Edmunds with Haverhill. Chedburgh has a substantial presence on the main road but the bulk of properties lies on the lane headed northwards from it, it soon forks into two but both remain within the village. It is unusual for such a large village to reside with what was a tiny parish and the acreage assigned to the parish now barely encompasses the size of the settlement. Like most Suffolk parishes Chedburgh was and is an arable farming parish but given the village's expansion fewer field remain. Chedburgh sits on a minor watershed, water falling to its north takes the infant River Linnet to the Little & Great Ouse and thus to The Wash, water falling to its south joins the Chad Brook and the Stour before heading east to the port of Manningtree, thus ending up in a totally different part of the North Sea coastline. Chedburgh is sited therefore, as you would expect on some of the highest ground in its county at 120 metres above the sea. Chedburgh parish covered barely 566 acre yet supported a population of close to 300 parishioners. Domesday Chedburgh was held by Ely Abbey and offered just 4 ploughs, some meadow and woodland as a relatively minor rural manor.

The Church

All Saints' church sits as almost the most easterly building in the village, on the southern side of the A143 and almost a half mile from the junction with the main village street. This is church which has much modern fabric added to a medieval core. The nave is dateable to c1300, the short Transitional era, despite being very much restored, enough remains of the original lancet to place it to this date. Both northern and southern doorways date to the middle of the 14th century at a time when Decorated was evolving into Perpendicular style. Much else is from Victorian work, the chancel and southern vestry are from early Victorian work of 1839, the old medieval east window being reused. The northwestern tower followed shortly after built between 1840 & 1842 complete with its battlemented parapet and recessed octagonal spire. The final restoration of 1872 added today's southern porch to complete the rebuild. The A143 is rather busy so it is helpful that a parking area can be accessed within the churchyard at the western end of the site. The churchyard is relatively uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.