England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Clapham St James

The Parish

The parish of Clapham lies in the far northwest of Yorkshire, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Lancashire. Clapham is a substantial village located about 6 miles northwest of the market town of Settle. Clapham sits just off the busy A65 road which connects Skipton to the Westmorland town of Kendal. Clapham sits at the base of one of Yorkshire's iconic hills, Ingleborough, and is a base for hikers and offroad cycling as well as caving in the extensive caverns formed within the regions limestone hills. Clapham would have largely earned its living from pastoral farming at the time of this transcript. The lower land to the south of the village would have been dominated by cattle whilst the hills to the north were sheep runs. The parish of Clapham would also have included the substantial settlements of Austwick, a couple of miles to the east and of Newby, a mile west and much smaller. Clapham Beck & Austwick Becks drain the parish south to form the River Wenning which makes its way the River Lune and reaches the Irish Sea through the Lancashire port of Lancaster. Clapham is sited at around 160 metres above the sea but land rises sharply to the north to top out on Ingleborough at 724 metres (Ingleborough is one of Yorkshire's famous "Three Peaks" challenge walk). Clapham parish was very large in acreage as befits a northern upland parish, it covered over 24,000 acres most of which was moorland, the parish would have supported a population of around 1,900 parishioners across its 3 main settlements. In Domesday time Clapham was held directly by the King, the parish was not specifically enumerated as to its assets but taxed at just over 3 geld units it was in the medium income category.

The Church

St James' church sits at the northern end of the village of Clapham, alongside the Clapham Beck and close to where the most popular walk in the area (to Ingleborough Cave) commences. Much of the church is a rebuild of 1814, only the western tower shows signs of earlier centuries. Pevsner states that it was either from the Perpendicular era of the 14th to early 16th centuries or was substantially altered at that time to its present configuration. The remainder of the church of the 19th century is substantial as befits a parish with a substantial population. The church sits at the end of a narrow lane and is backed by superb hill views, the site is bordered by a chest-height local stone wall and metal gates grant access to a flagged access path. The site is almost totally open to the south but hemmed in by tree-lined Clapham Beck to the west and north somewhat limiting access for photography from those directions.