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

The Parish

The parish of Grendon lies in the extreme north of Warwickshire forming part of the border with neighbouring Leicestershire but also very close to both Derbyshire & Staffordshire.Grendon is situated roughly 6 miles southeast of the Staffordshire town of Tamworth and sits on the B5000 road which connects Tamworth with Atherstone. Grendon is a settlement of two distinct halves, a small group of farms and cottages cluster around the church on the banks of the River Anker whilst just over a mile to the southwest a further settlements sits on the A5, the ancient Roman route of Watling Street. The land is rich and fertile and both arable and pastoral farming were the dominant form of employment, coal could be found locally and some mining occurred nearby whilst the power of the Anker supported a flour mill. Modern developments are rife in the area, the Coventry & Fazeley Canal and the West Coast main railway line cut through between the two settlements of Grendon. The Anker drains the parish westwards before meeting the Tame and turning to the north, meeting the Trent a long journey then follows to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Grendon is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in generally gentle terrain, local heights can be found rising to just over 100 metres at nearby Orton on the Hill. Grendon parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering around 2,300 acres it would have supported a population of just over 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Grendon was held by Henry de Ferrers and could offer 8 ploughs, with potential for a further 8, the usual meadows and woodland and there was, even then, a mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits in the more northern part of Grendon on the banks of the Anker and amongst farms. Much of the church is a product of the 13th century, lancet windows in the chancel as well as the style of the southern doorway to the nave are from that period. Much else is slightly later and Decorated in style from the later part of the 13th century, perhaps a long-running build crossed the style change. Pevsner notes both the southern aisle and arcade as examples of this style. The imposing western tower that dominates the building is, however, later and the work of the resident engineer from the nearby canal, John Sinclair. Built in the mid 1840s in a blue brick and faced with ashlar blocks it dominates the low-slung main body of the church. The replacement of the earlier tower was one of a series of restoration that occurred throughout the 19th century, a major piece in the 1820s being followed by the work above in the 1840s, further work followed in the 1860s to arrive at today's church. Traveling eastwards along the B5000 one crosses, in turn, railway, canal and finally the Anker, immediately after the river a lane heads northwards toward the church ending at a broad car park making for a straightforward visit. The churchyard has no obstructions to photography whatsoever.