England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Heveningham St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Heveningham lies in northeastern Suffolk roughly 5 miles southwest of the market town of Halesworth. Heveningham sits on the B1117 road which connects Halesworth with Stradbroke. Heveningham village is a small tiangular settlement largely sitting on and north of the B1117 but it is the eponymous hall which dominates the parish. Described by Pevsner as "the grandest Georgian mansion house in Suffolk". Built in 1777 for Lord Huntingield the parkland and house are nowadays a major visitor attraction & events venue for the area. At the time of this transcript it would have been the affairs of that estate which drove the parish economy, like most Suffolk parishes this would have been underpinned by arable farming. Heveningham sits in a shallow valley of the upper River Blyth & its tributaries which drain the parish eastwards through Hales worth to reach the nearby North Sea through the port of Southwold. Heveningham is sited at around 20 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where local heights rise into a plateau at or close to 50 metres. Heveningham parish was fairly typically sized for a Suffolk parish, covering close to 1,700 acres it would have supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Heveningham was a small and obscure holding of one Roger Bigot and could muster just 3 ploughs and the usual meadows & woodlands.

The Church

St Margaret's church sits on the northern side of the B1117 as it passes through the small village. The earliest parts of the church date from the 14th century where both chancel and southern arcade show the earlier Decorated style of the first half of that century. The western tower is the next oldest piece and dates from the 15th century and the Perpendicular style. Whilst the nave is undoubtedly medieval in origin it was so extensively restored in 1857 as to be effectively uncertain as to its origin, the presence of a mid-16th century brick clerestory above is confirmation that it was not rebuilt entirely. As suggested the nave and also the southern aisle received extensive restoration in 1857, the remainder of the church had similar treatment some 12 years subsequent. The is a small section of verge which careful parking can utilise, the church is really screened from the road by both hedging and mature trees with a shady entrance denoted by a path passing a post & rail fence. Once within, however, the churchyard is open and uncluttered with good sight angles for the photographer.