England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Long Marton St Margaret & St James

The Parish

The parish of Long Marton lies in northeastern Westmorland not to far from both county borders, those with Cumberland and with Durham. Long Marton is located about 4 miles north of the market town of Appleby and sits a miles northeast of the A66 (Trans- Pennine link) road which links Appleby with Penrith in Cumberland. Long Marton is a mid-sized village largely built around a square of lanes, it is intersected by the Settle to Carlisle railway line. In addition to the main village there is, within the parish, the smaller village of Brampton to the southeast and the village of Knock sitting at the base of the Pennine range to the northeast. There also 2 main threads to the parish, a large oblong sits within the lower land of the Vale of Eden whilst a thin strip of upland rises northeastwards encompassing some of the highest land in the Pennines and almost reaching the border with County Durham. Within the vale a mixture of both pastoral and arable farmland pertains with pastures dominant, the Pennine content has the typical upland grazing for sheep but was also important for the lead mining trade which lead the London Lead Company to base its operation from Long Marton. Today tourism from outer pursuits brings many to the parish, the Pennine Way passing close by Knock en route to the summit of Cross Fell, the highest point of the Pennines. Modern developments include that Settle to Carlisle railway line which passes through the village without granting a station, a branch line from Appleby to Penrith also passed through the parish but has since closed, the A66 is in the process of upgrading to become a fast dual-carriageway highway carrying much heavy traffic across the Pennines from the Great North Road to the M6 motorway. The small tributary of Trout Beck drains northwards into the River Eden which continues northwestwards to Carlisle from where it enters the Irish Sea through the Solway Firth. Long Marton is sited at between 120 & 140 metres above the sea, the long strip of upland, however, rises to 794 metres at its tip on Knock Fell, the whole Pennine range forming a great barrier to the northeast of the Vale. Like most upland parishes that of Long Marton was very extensive covering over 6,900 acres which would have supported a population of close to 800 parishioners. This far north in western England Domesday Book has no coverage consequently Long Marton is not mentioned in that book.

The Church

St Margaret & St James' church sits a quarter of a mile south of the village across the Trout Beck and sitting at the junction of lanes in the hamlet of Broom. This is a very early church dating back almost to pre-Conquest times and largely built in a mixture of Saxon and Norman styles. The nave & western portion of the chancel date from the earliest times with Pevsner placing a date of c1100 on the enormous Saxon quoin stones some in a long-and-short motif. Both of the southern and western doorways are contemporary with these dates. The western tower is later than its adjoining nave being from the late 11th or early 12th century, the bell-openings have been renewed to a Norman style so clearly must be earlier than late 12th century. Of more certain Norman Romanesque style is the now-blocked northern doorway. Whilst the western portion of the chancel is from the earliest times it was lengthened in the early 14th century such that the eastern portion is in the Decorated style of that era. A southern transept in Perpendicular style was added to complete the medieval content, it was known as the Knock Chapel and dedicated to the citizens of that smaller village, a 2 mile walk away. A typical Victorian restoration of 1880 completes the history of the church, it was mainly focussed on the interior fittings with some refreshing of the main fabric. Both lanes passing the church area narrow so on-street parking should be careful and considerate, the main entrance is from the east and apart from the trees which shade that entrance there are no obstacles whatsoever for the photographer.