England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Foleshill St Laurence

The Parish

The parish of Foleshill lies in northeastern Warwickshire about 2 miles northeast of the city of Coventry. Foleshill, formerly a separate village has now been absorbed into the growing city and the urban area is contiguous with Greater Coventry. Foleshill sits just to the east of the B5113 which connects Coventry with Bedworth. Foleshill is surrounded by modern transport developments, the Coventry and Oxford Canal passes through the west of the parish and the modern M6 motorway lies just to its north. Foleshill would have had a mixed economy at the time of this transcript; ribbon manufacture was the major employer with up to 2/3 of the population engaged in that activity, the remainder would have been spread between agriculture and coal mining there being good quality coal hereabouts. The population of Foleshill would have grown rapidly thanks to the industrial revolution from an agricultural settlement of less than 1,000 folk to a major town gradually absorbed into a wider conurbation. Foleshill is drained by the infant River Sowe which heads off southwards to join the Avon and thence the Severn before reaching the Irish Sea through the Severn Estuary. Foleshill is sited at around 90 metres above the sea and sits on a gently undulating area with little notable local heights. Foleshill parish was of a typical size for Warwickshire, it covered around 3,000 acres and would have supported a population growing to reach over 7,000 parishioners by the end of the transcript period. In Domesday times Foleshill was held by the notable Countess Godiva and was a relatively small place offering just 14 ploughs.

The Church

St Laurence's church sits just north of Old Church Road but is shielded y facing properties and is accessible by footpath. The earliest parts of the church are the western tower and parts of the northern arcade which are in the Perpendicular style of England's main church-building era. Much else is 19th century and Victorian in particular. The vestry dates from 1812 and additions were being added right through to the 20th century when the southern transept was added. The church clearly has little to excite Pevsner as his description is limited to just a few lines of description with no comments acerbic or otherwise. The footpath leads off Old Church Road to a large parking area, the churchyard being open to that western side. Unfortunately there are many trees which do somewhat limit the available photographic angles.