England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kendal Holy Trinity

The Parish

The parish of Kendal lies in, and indeed covers, much of central southern Westmorland; such is its size that it forms part of the borders with both neighbouring Lancashire and also Yorkshire. Kendal is the county town of Westmorland and the town is its major population centre. Kendal is located about 22 miles north of the Lancashire county town of Lancaster and 47 miles south of the Cumberland county town of Carlisle. Kendal sits astride the A6 road which runs from London to the Scottish border, albeit the town is now bypassed to its east by the modern M6 motorway. Kendal also sits on the rail link connecting Lake Windermere to the main west coast main line between London & Scotland. Kendal's origins are obscure and disputed, it was undoubtedly a Roman way station on the A6's predecessor and marked the start of the high-level route north across the fells. Kendal, however, was not incorporated until the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first in 1575. Kendal grew steadily as a market town and this process was accelerated by an influx of Flemish weavers who established this business in the town and it became the principal employment. The wider parish of Kendal is devoted largely to hill farming in particular of the hardy Cumbrian sheep, the Herdwick. The town is largely built either side of the River Kent and runs for almost 2 miles down the valley having expanded somewhat in recent times. The River Kent forms just north of Kendal by the merging of the Rivers Gowan, Sprint & Mint and flows southwards to reach the Irish Sea through Morecambe Bay. Kendal is sited at around 50 metres above the sea, higher & more modern part of the town rise to over 110 metres. The wider parish of Kendal covers extensive areas of high ground including peaks from the southern Lake District. Kendal parish if physically one of the largest in England, covering almost 68,500 acres, it includes numerous chapelries many of which will have their own separate pages within this site as they were licensed for marriages. The population of the wider parish would have been just over 14,000 parishioners. In Domesday times Kendal was a rather small and insignificant place, it was held directly by King William, himself, and while not detailed as to assets was only taxed at 20 geld units making it a small place indeed.

The Church

Holy Trinity church sits alongside the A6 as it follows the valley of the River Kent and the church occupies a site between road and river. The church is large as befits a substantial market town like Kendal and almost square in format as the basic design of western tower, nave & chancel is expanded by arcades and aisles. The church undoubtedly had its origins in the 13th century but little remains of that period, Pevsner even questions the veracity of some of his own dating bearing in mind later restorations. Various piers appear to be 13th century in the nave arcades and also the chancel chapels, Much else is 15th century and represents the main build in the Perpendicular design fashionable in that period. However the building received a major restoration (Pevsner calls it "drastic") in the early 1850s and much of the fabric dates from that significant period. The church is best accessed by its car park the entrance being adjacent to the Ring O'Bells pub. The church is such an immense structure that it is difficult to achieve adequate images despite the site being relatively open.

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NB this register is bundled with its predecessor into a single archival deposit