England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Nuneaton St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Nuneaton lies in the extreme northeast of Warwickshire, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Leicestershire. Nuneaton is a large industrial market town which lies roughly midway between Birmingham & Leicester being about 20 miles from each. Nuneaton is a major town for this region of the English Midlands, it expanded from a rural market town following expansion of mining and other related industries and employed many in those extractive trades as well as weaving, in particular of ribbons. The area around Nuneaton was largely mixed farming until the growth of these industries and still retains a largely mixed agricultural economy. Nuneaton was found as a Benedictine monastic settlement hence the reference to "nun" in its name, it stands just south of the ancient Roman Road of Watling Street and sits on the A47 road which crosses England from the port of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk to Birmingham. It still has major transport links through and close by to it, the main rail line from London to the Northwest runs through as well as numerous canals notably the Coventry Canal and Watling Street is now the A5. Nuneaton is drained to the northwest by the River Anker which flows through the centre of town, this joins the Tame and eventually the Trent to exit to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Nuneaton is sited at around 80 metres above sea level in a largely flat or gently undulating area. By the standards of the county Nuneaton parish was a large one, it covered just over 6,000 acres and supported a population of around 7,000 parishioners. In Domesday times Nuneaton was a relatively smaller place, it was shared between two landholders (Thorkil of Warwick & Earl Aubrey of Courcy) and could offer 30 ploughs, meadows, woodlands and a mill so still a respectably sized settlement.

The Church

St Nicholas' church lies in the southeastern corner of Nuneaton adjacent to its central ring-road. It is a big church as befits a market town and largely a mixture of the Decorated & Perpendicular styles placing its fabric in the 14th to early 16th centuries. The standard layout of chancel, nave and western tower is augmented by arcades, chapels and aisles to accommodate a larger congregation. The local stone has weathered to give a very dark grey colour making the building seem rather imposing. As is usual with English churches the Victorian's had their usual restoration and in this case they completely rebuilt the chancel with dates from 1852. Only a short height wall surrounds the churchyard, barely knee-height at that, and access is through gaps therein. There are a few trees around but they are gathered around the eastern end and only partially restrict photography.