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

The Parish

The parish of Huntingfield lies in northeastern Suffolk about 4 miles southwest of the small market town of Halesworth. Huntingfield is a rather linear valley-lining settlement which sits just north of the B1117 road which connects Halesworth with Stradbroke & Eye. A stream's shallow valley runs from northwest to southeast towards the B1117 with properties lining that valley from the church at the northern end through to a crossroads with the major grouping at the south. The parish is dominated by the grounds of Huntingfield Hall sitting on the opposite side of the stream, an 18th century house set in parkland. Like most Suffolk parishes arable farming formed the mainstay of the local economy with cereals dominating, little has changed today. The stream that runs through the village is one of many tributaries of the River Blyth which gathers strength once seaward of Halesworth and reaches the North Sea through the port of Southwold. Huntingfield is sited at just 20 metres above the sea in gentle terrain typical of the county, local heights rise just to 50 metres. Huntingfield parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering close to 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In contrast to its modest aize at the time of this transcript and, indeed, today, in Domesday times Huntingfield had sufficient population to place it amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded. A holding of one Robert Malet the assets of an impressive 33 ploughs together with substantial meadows and woodland made it a valuable holding indeed.

The Church

As stated St Mary's church sits at the northwestern end of The Street close to the small stream that runs through the village. The church has 12th century origins with the former northern wall cut through to make an aisle in later changes. That Romanesque piece is, however, swamped by a typical Perpendicular style medieval rebuild which is shown well in the southern aisle. As is also typical an extensive Victorian restoration, in this case through an extended campaign running from 1848 - 1892, saw much change to result in today's church. Whilst externally there is little to wax lyrical about in St Mary it is internally that the church shows its real character. The painted ceilings of both nave and chancel, work carried out by the rector's wife Mildred Holland, are rightly described by Pevsner as "a glorious achievement, skillfully and attractively executed". The work is stunning and makes a visit to St Mary a delight. The Street is rather narrow but the verge outside the broad wooden gates has been regularly used for parking and has space for a car or two to carefully get off-road. A short gravelled path leads to the church which sits within a churchyard where the enclosing trees are a little too close for perfect viewing but sufficiently far to permit most angles for the photographer.