England
& Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index |
The ParishThe parish of Coverham lies in northwestern Yorkshire, forming an extensive stretch of the border between North & West Ridings. Coverham parish is an extensive area of mainly upland with Coverham village, itself, situated roughly 3 miles south of Leyburn forming just a small village, little more than a hamlet which grew up alongside both the abbey and the crossing of the River Cover. Coverham sits in an area largely devoid of major roads being closest and south of the A684 which connects Bedale through Leyburn to upper Wensleydale. The wider parish covered an extensive area of the eastern Pennine range and that acreage saw a substantial population spread through the district such that Horsehouse in upper Coverdale became licensed for marriages as a chapelry to the mother parish and has its own page. Coverham came to prominence with the transfer of Premonstratensian Canons who moved here in the early 1210s and founded the abbey which lasted until the reformation, the remains of the abbey lie just east of today's church. In an upland parish within the Pennines, pastoral farming and extractive industries were the major source of employment, sheep on the uplands and cattle in the valleys whilst lead mining and similar activities dominated in the upper Dales. Today Coverdale and Coverham is dominated by tourism, the picturesque Dales scenery attracting hikers, bikers and scnic tourism in abundance. The River Cover drains the parish eastwards soon joining the Ure it turns south through the Vale of York and eventually reaches the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Coverham village is sited at around 150 metres above the sea but land rises dramatically into the Pennine range westwards and higher parts of the parish and reach almost 600 metres on Melmerby, Carlton and North Moors. Coverham parish was one of the most extensive in the country covering just over 22,000 acres it would have supported a population, scattered throughout, of close to 1,300 parishioners. In Domesday times Coverham gets a brief mention as a holding of Count Alan of Brittany but is largely described as "waste". |
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Register No | Covering Dates | Deposited With | Register Style | Quality Standard | Comments |
1 | 18th April 1754 - 28th November 1812 | North Yorkshire Record Office - Northallerton -
Reference - PR/COV 1/4 |
Plain, ruled book containing combined Banns & Marriages | Grade 4 Register - there are notable quality issues with this register which may have resulted in many misreads | The early part of this register is badly faded and the handwriting is also trying making for a likelihood of some misreads, later entries are a considerable improvement |
2 | 11th February 1813 - 24th June 1837 | North Yorkshire Record Office - Northallerton - Reference - PR/COV 1/5 | Standard Rose style preprinted and prenumbered Marriage register | Grade 2 Register - not a perfect read but with a low likelihood of misreads | None |
Aysgarth
St Andrew
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Aysgarth
St Andrew
West Witton St Bartholomew Wensley Holy Trinity |
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Aysgarth
St Andrew
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Middlesmoor
St Chad
Kirkby Malzeard St Andrew |
1760 1770 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830
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