England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ansley St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of Ansley lies in northern Warwickshire roughly 4 miles west of the industrial town of Nuneaton. Ansley sits about a mile south of the B4114 road which links Nuneaton with Coleshill, the church, however, sits on the B4114 some distance from the main village at the subsidiary settlement of Church End. Whilst Ansley grew from the mining of coal during the early 20th century, the pattern of the village was set in early times. The main village is a linear settlement lining the B4112, another B-road headed back to Nuneaton by a differing route, for roughly 3/4s of a mile, standing apart is the smaller settlement of Church End, a hamlet at a crossroads. Further east towards Nuneaton sits Ansley Common where most 20th century growth occurred. At the time of this transcript Ansley was a farming community with almost equal parts arable and pastoral according to the estimates of early gazetteers, some variety was in place with some folk involved in weaver of ribbon. There was always awareness of the local coal measures but these were not exploited until Ansley Hall colliery opened in 1874, the pit operated for 85 years before finally closing in 1959 leaving the village and local area a legacy of miner's houses.  Modern developments have come to the parish, a railway line connecting Nuneaton through to Birmingham passes through to the south without granting Ansley a station. Ansley is drained southwestwards and then west by small brooks which feed into the River Tame whence water heads north to the Trent, a long journey through Nottingham and Newark follows before the Trent enters the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Ansley is sited at around 160 metres above the sea, the church some 20 metres lower, this being the highest ground for some distance. Ansley parish was typically sized for this area where larger parishes occur, covering 2,700 acres it would have supported a population of close to 700 parishioners. Domesday Ansley was a much smaller place, held by the notorious Lady Godiva it offered merely 5 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits on the southern side of the B4114, Nuneaton Road, in Church End and just west of the junction with the B4112. The impressive western tower immediately draws the eye but it is by far amongst the later element of the church which has fabric dating back to the 12th century. A host of feature in both nave and chancel are cited by Pevsner as well as both northern and southern doorways and the chancel arch. Both nave and chancel have, however, been altered in the later medieval periods, the nave has a Perpendicular clerestory inserted to improve the internal lighting whilst the chancel was extended in the mid 18th century and was given classical features such as the coved ceiling and new furnishings. The western tower which stands tall to the west capped by pinnacles was added in 1790 once again following the Perpendicular style despite its late date. A typical Victorian restoration of 1875 largely tidied up the chancel arch whilst further work in 1913 added the aisle. Passing the church the B4114 is straight and fast, the church has a small parking spot set into the side road of Church End to avoid using the busy road. The churchyard is relatively open and uncluttered with no significant obstacles for the photographer.