England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Emley St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Emley lies in southwestern Yorkshire about 8 miles southwest of the industrial town of Wakefield. Emley is a large village, a lapsed market town with a market charter granted in 1253, which sits almost 2 miles south of the A637 road which connects Barnsley with Huddersfield. Most of Emley is concentrated either upon a long east to west running lane or its offshoot heading northeast, on which sits the church, forming two sides of an open triangle. Whilst Emley is the main settlement of the parish, it only held 60% of the parish population with the remainder spread across its area. Emley is perhaps best known today for its television mast which sits high upon the moor and stands 900 feet tall, which made it the tallest free-standing structure in the UK at the time of its construction in the early 1970s. The economy of the parish was diverse, the land a little high for arable production was nevertheless extensively cultivated whilst the coal stocks of the area were also mined, whilst to the east of Emley extensive iron workings can be found. The traditional woollen manufacture was also present although its setting away from the fast-flowing rivers saved it from the industrial sprawl of the valley towns. Modern developments largely passed by, the light railway constructed as a branch line from the Huddersfield to Barnsley line has now become a heritage line the Kirklees Light Railway. Emley is drained southeastwards by small streams heading for the River Dearne, this eventually joins the Don at Doncaster before meeting the Aire and the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Emley is sited at almost 200 metres above the sea with land rising steadily westwards to top out at 264 metres in Emley Moor, one of the fore-hills of the nearby main Pennine range. Upland parishes are often extensive, Emley covered a little over 3,100 acres and would have supported a population of around 2,600 parishioners with 1,600 in Emley, itself. In Domesday times Emley was a semi-developed holding of King William, himself, it offered 13 ploughs but with potential for many more but only a small wood being described as partial wasteland.

The Church

St Michael's church sits on that northeastern spur of a lane, headed for Flockton. Whilst there undoubtedly has been a church on this site little remains of that early version. Pevsner detects mostly reused Norman Romanesque style material in the nave but speculates that this was part of a 14th century rebuild. Certainly documentary evidence records a consecration by one Archbishop Scrope which places that event between 1398 & 1405. This date accords with the largely Perpendicular style described by the remainder of the church. Whilst the main body dates from this 14th century reconstruction there are later additions, the western tower, a striking local landmark, is from the late 15th century whilst the chancel chapel is from 1632. Pevsner, for once, does not mention any Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light and sensitive. Church Street is sufficiently broad as to permit easy street parking, the churchyard has a low and rather neatly blocked local stone wall with wooden gates for entry. Whilst the churchyard is relatively open there is a line of trees flanking the pathway to the church which somewhat interfer with the favoured southeastern aspect.