England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
South Cowton St Mary

The Parish

The parish of South Cowton lies in the northernmost part of Yorkshire, in the North Riding and only a few miles from the birder with neighbouring County Durham. South Cowton is a deserted mediaeval village and the parish has no defined village as such merely a scatter of farms and cottages arranged around the church and the castle. South Cowton is located about 5 miles northeast of the military town of Catterick adjacent to the B1263 road which connects Richmond with the A167 Darlington to Northallerton road. With its neighbouring parishes of North and East Cowton South Cowton lies in the broad plain which separates the Yorkshire Dales from the North Yorkshire Moors. South Cowton's main livelihood would have been pastoral farming although a little arable has crept in in recent times. South Cowton stands at about 60 metres above sea level on land that gently undulates around that mark. Most drainage in the parish is headed southwards to join The Stell a tributary of the River Swale which heads southwards on along journey to eventually reach the North Sea through York and the Humber Estuary. At around 2,1000 acres South Cowton parish was a fairly typically sized parish for the area, it would have supported around 160 parishioners. In Domesday times South Cowton was recorded as part of a much wider area controlled by one Count Alan of Brittany, whilst it was named its assets were not separately recorded.

The Church

St Mary's church stands in splendid isolation in open country and almost a half mile from any road, it can only be approached in a vehicle from the northwest otherwise access is by footpath. The church, and the nearby castle, was constructed in the 15th century almost as a complete Perpendicular piece at the behest of the Conyers family resident in said castle. The church doesn't merit much more than a rudimentary commentary from Pevsner who suggests that this construction may have incorporated an earlier building. The easiest way to visit the church is to park at the nearby Arden Arms from where a footpath leads across the wheat fields to the church. The site is almost totally open and unrestricted for photography. The building is now maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust and rarely used for worship.