England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Lindsey St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Lindsey lies in southern Suffolk about 4 miles west of the market town of Hadleigh. Lindsey sits about 2 miles south of the winding A1141 which runs from Hadleigh through Monks Eleigh & Brent Eleigh to reach Lavenham. Lindsey is a curiously dispersed settlement, there is more cohesion about Lindsey Tye to the north than the "village" containing the church. Most properties lie along the lane leading from the A1141 southwestwards towards Edwardstone. Lindsey, like most Suffolk parishes, would have largely earned its living from arable farming but here this would have been supplemented in earlier times by the production of woollen goods earning them the name "Linsey Woolsey". A small tributary of the nearby River Brett drains the parish eastwards, the Brett turns south to join the Stour and thus to the North Sea through the latter's estuary and Manningtree, Lindsey is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in rather gentle terrain where local heights rise to 80 metres a little toward the northwest. Suffolk has a lot of rather small parishes and Lindsey was one of these, covering a little over 1,200 acres it would have supported a population of almost 300 parishioners. In Domesday times Lindsey was also a relatively small place offering just 7 ploughs, 5 to Bury St Edmunds Abbey with the remaining two controlled by Count Gilbert's son Richard.

The Church

St Peter's church sits towards the southwestern end of the straggle that is Lindsey and some 3/4 of a mile southwest of the grouping of properties at Lindsey Tye. The church dates from the early 14th century and in the Decorated style of that period. The windows of both the southern aisles and the chancel reveal the detailing that determines that period. Also 14th century is the timber porch that graces the southern face and the same period is illustrated by the octagonal piers within the arcade. St Peter formerly came with a western tower, but threatened collapse resulted in removal in 1836 and replacement with the wooden bellcote that tops the western end today. A typical Victorian restoration of 1865 completes the picture albeit roofing repairs were ongoing when I made my own visit. The Church Hall sits next to the churchyard and allows short-term parking enabling a visit. The churchyard is surrounded with a low picket fence with a graveled path leading to the church, the surroundings have few, if any, obstructions for the photographer.