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

The Parish

The parish of Corley lies in central northern Warwickshire about 4 miles northwest of the city of Coventry. Corley is a small and compact village which sits on the B4098 road which heads northwestwards from Coventry towards Tamworth in Staffordshire. Corley has an unusual and ancient location, it sits on an outcrop of resistant Permian desert sandstone which stands high above the Midlands plains, the strategic location carries an ancient Iron Age hill-fort, as well as signal beacons from the Napoleonic Wars and modern transmitter masts. Most of Corley is sited around the crossroads at the heart of the village but some properties are strung along the B4098 in both directions. Modern developments have come to the parish, the modern M6 motorway is carved along the foot of the hill and Corley has donated its name to the service area which lies below it. At the time of this transcript Corley would have been a largely arable farming parish and little has changed beyond a few modern developments as commuters seek rural locations away from Coventry's bustle. Small streams head eastwards to join into the River Anker at Nuneaton, this heads northwestwards joining the Tame and then the Trent on a long journey to the east coast and the North Sea through the Humber Estuary.As mentioned Corley sits atop Burrow Hill, a unique outcrop in this largely low-lying area, the village is sited at between 150 and 180 metres and sits on the highest point for many a mile with extensive views across the Midlands in all directions. Corley parish was on the smaller side for its area, covering just under 1,400 acres it would have supported a population of just under 300 parishioners. Equally small in Domesday times, too, held by one Godwin it could muster just 3 ploughs as well as the usual meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the main crossroads of the village where Church Lane meets the B4098. Built using that local Permian sandstone it is of ancient origins with the majority of the fabric dating from the 12th century. The nave with aisles and arcades and a central crossing turret are all in the Norman Romanesque style of that century. The chancel comes from the following century and its ashlar facing is distinctively different and with its window tracery showing the style of the Decorated period it clearly represents a medieval partial rebuild. Restorations from the Victorian and modern periods followed with work on the roofs in 1865, the rebuild of the turret maintaining its original stylistic features in 1884 and modern work adding a vestry in 1967 to arrive at today's church. The churchyard sits right at the junction with a narrow pull-in for car parking to the left of the entrance lychgate. The churchyard is extensive and whilst decorated with some trees they are avoidable by the photographer.