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

The Parish

The parish of West Stow lies in northwestern Suffolk not too far from its border with neighbouring Norfolk. West Stow is located roughly 5 miles north of the town of Bury St Edmunds and sits on the northern banks of the River Lark a half mile north of the A1101 road linking Bury St Edmunds with Mildenhall. West Stow is a small village, a former estate village of its Tudor Hall, most properties lie along the lane leading westwards from the hall & church complex. West Stow sits within Suffolk's portion of Breckland, an infertile area of glacial deposits covering much of western Norfolk and adjacent Suffolk. Whilst early man found these easily worked soils their infertility led to their use solely for the grazing of sheep and, a local speciality, rabbits. West Stow with its valley position also had access to richer grazing alongside the Lark. The extensive poor grazing of the sheep-runs, today carries vast forestry plantations of quick-growing pines. Today West Stow is best known for its re-creation of an early Anglo-Saxon village, excavations have shown the original settlement was used between c420 & c650 AD and the re-creation aims to demonstrate the living conditions of those early villagers. The Lark drains the parish westwards, heading into the Fens to meet the Great Ouse before turning north to reach the sea through the port of King's Lynn and The Wash. West Stow is sited at just 20 metres above the sea in gentle terrain, outside the valley land rises to both north & south reaching local high spots of around 50 metres within the extensive tract of The King's Forest. West Stow parish, at a little over 2,900 acres, was rather extensive for a Suffolk parish, a recognition that greater area was required to support a population of close to 300 parishioners on these poor soils. In Domesday times West Stow, like many parishes in this area, was held by Bury St Edmunds Abbey, a small place offering just 7 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Mary's church, together with the hall, sit at the eastern end of the lane which parallels the Lark, off a north south lane, Ingham Road, which leads to the bridging point. Like many such churches supported small communities there is still something of the earliest periods peft in the church's fabric. A 12th century Norman Romanesque doorway sits within its 20th century vestry whilst a single remaining lancet of the 13th century Early English Gothic period also occupies the northern face. It sits, however, amongst largely Decorated style windows which indicate that the nave & chancel we see were probably largely rebuild during the first half of the 14th century. The later Perpendicular period of late 14th or, more likely, 15th century saw the battlemented topping added to the pre-existing western tower. A typical Victorian restoration of 1840 saw new roofs and internal woodworking whilst that vestry came in 1903 to complete today's church. From the Ingham road a short dead-end gracel track leads to the churchyard, it has roughly worn patches to either side for parking close to the entrance. Once within the churchyard there are no obstacles for the photographer.