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

The Parish

The parish of Waldringfield lies in eastern Suffolk forming stretch of the its intricate creek laden southern coastline with the North Sea. Waldringfield is located roughly 3 1/2 miles southeast of the port & market town of Woodbridge and stands on the southern side of the Deben Estuary a little over 2 miles east of the new route of the A12 which once connected Woodbridge with Ipswich and which now forms Ipswich's bypass. Waldringfield is a village which has grown inland from its origins a waterside village, spreading west towards the parish church which once sat well away from its congregation. Waldringfield's growth came largely through the establishment of a cement works on the banks of the Deben exploiting its water in the manufacturing process, the works closed in 1906 leaving its workers cottages, of course built in cement. Prior to this 19th century mini-boom Waldringfield would have earned its living from a mixture of arable farming, fishing & shell-fishing and river transportation. Today it is sailing which brings visitors to the Deben and to Waldringfield which has a sailing club and a riverside inn for afterwards. As a coastal settlement there are numerous exits into the estuary draining the parish. Waldringfield is sited between sea level and 20 metres, the height of much of the land on the Felixstowe peninsula. Waldringfield was a small parish covering barely 976 of land-based acreage which would only have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Equally small Domesday Waldringfield was shared 3-ways despite only offering 5 ploughs and a mill.

The Church

All Saints church sits inland from the village on the eastern side of Mill Road and a quarter of a mile southwest of the village's foreshore. This is a church which has received so much restoration as to have almost lost its original identity. Under the later changes there is a main body of nave and chancel dating back to the 14th century but the cement even found its way here coating both northern and southern walls in a septaria cement stucco finish. The contrasting western tower is in brick and dates from the 16th century. Much of the restoration fell in a campaign of 1864-1865 when both the main body and the tower were restored, Pevsner clearly states "over-restored". Just north of the entrance is small car park, roughly surfaced but with room for several vehicles allowing a relaxed visit. The churchyard is something of a challenge for the photographer, nicely open from the west but from every other angles crowded by thick tree cover, only a few aspects are available.