England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Burton Fleming St Cuthbert

The Parish

The parish of Burton Fleming lies in the eastern part of the East Riding of Yorkshire. Burton Fleming is located about 7 miles northwest of the port and seaside resort of Bridlington. A compact village Burton Fleming is located within the Yorkshire Wolds a ridge of chalk upland which runs across the East Riding. Burton Fleming sits in lanes well away from numbered roads, the closest being the B1253 which runs from east to west between Bridlington and Malton and lies some 3 miles south of the village. At the time of this transcript sheep farming on the grassy chalk slopes would have been the principal economic activity although weaving of the resultant wool would have undoubtedly occurred. The area has largely porous chalk underlying but a small brook the Gypsey Race drains eastwards to reach the North Sea through Bridlington. Burton Fleming is sited at around 40 metres above the sea and slopes rise to both north and south of the valley of the Gypsey Race to local heights in the region of 150 metres. Burton Fleming parish was of a fairly typical size for the area, it covered around 3,600 acres and would have supported a population of just over 450 parishioners. In Domesday time Bishop Fleming was held directly by the King and offered just 8 ploughs.

The Church

St Cuthbert's church sits at the heart of the village on a triangular site bordered by two lanes running northwest and northeast out of the village. The church with its massive western tower is a rarity in seemingly being untouched by Victorian restorers. The earliest periods shown today are 13th centuries but there are reused features which are Norman and probably a century earlier. The church shows a normal evolutionary history with additions and modifications from most styles and periods. A low waist height wall surrounds the site and is broken by multiple gateways, the principal one leading up a gentle slope from the junction to a metal gateway. The southern portion of the churchyard is dominated by trees which somewhat restrict the angles at which adequate photographs can be taken.