England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Airmyn St David

The Parish

The parish of Airmyn lies in the extreme south of Yorkshire not too far from the border with neighbouring Lincolnshire. Airmyn was a chapelry of Snaith parish until 1728 when granted parochial status. Airmyn is a large village sitting on the southern banks of the River Aire close to its confluence with the Ouse which marks the start of the Humber Estuary. Airmyn is located about 2 miles northwest of the port of Goole and sits a half mile west of the A614 road which connects Goole with Howden. Modern communication also pass through the parish as the modern M62 motorway passes between Airmyn & Goole. With its riverside setting commercial traffic on the navigable waterways was important to Airmyn's economy, the wider land being flat, almost at sea level, and often waterlogged was largely used for pastoral farming. The Aire drains the parish to the nearby Humber Estuary thence to the North Sea. Airmyn is sited at sea level, a levee is needed to protect the village from the river, and land is at or close to that level for many miles. Airmyn parish carved out an area of around 3,500 acres from Snaith parish and would have supported a population of almost 600 parishioners. In Domesday times Airmyn was held by one Ralph Paynel and was a small place offering just 3 ploughs and a small area of woodland.

The Church

St David's church sits at the heart of Airmyn on the eastern side of the High Street. The church has its origins in the 17th century although Pevsner is quick to point out that little remains to convince of that date. He places the appearance of the building to the cusp of 18th into 19th centuries and speculates that any earlier date is masked by that rebuilding. The church is a simple structure of combined nave and chancel with a bellcote at the western end and is clearly of little architectural interest as Pevsner's account is short. St David sits back from the High Street where a small triangular pull-in allows parking, a simple lychgate grants access to the long walkway leading to the church. Sadly the churchyard has many trees which do somewhat limit the angles available for photography.