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

The Parish

The parish of Garton, also known as East Garton or Garton in Holdernness to distinguish from another on the Wolds, lies in the extreme southeast of Yorkshire and forms part of the county's North Sea coast. Garton is located roughly 11 miles east of the port of Hull and sits on the coastal B1242 road which connects Withernsea with Hornsea. Garton, itself, is rather small, a scatter of farms and cottages with no real village whilst further east, on the coast, lies Grimston an equally small settlement within the parish. Holderness' coastline is fast retreating from the incessant attack by the North Sea a factor being the clay packed loosely consolidated rock type. That rock type, however, lead to rather fertile land and roughly 2/3rds of the parish acreage was set to arable farming, a proportion probably exceeded today. Despite being less than t2 miles from the sea, Garton is drained southwestwards by a small brook which joins the Burstwick Drain, a man-influenced channel reaching the outer Humber Estuary through the port of Hedon. Garton is sited at just 15 metres above the sea in very gentle terrain where local heights only sporadically rise above 20 metres at nearby Hilsdon. Garton parish was fairly typically sized for this area, covering close to 1,800 acres it would have supported a population of just over 200 parishioners. In Domesday time Garton was a modest holding of one Drogo de la Beuvriere offering 5 ploughs and a large meadow.

The Church

St Michael's church sits a few yards north of the lane between Garton & Grimston accessed along a roughly surfaced track, Much of the church is difficult to precisely date such has been the extent of later restorations. Lancet style windows are indicative of a 13th century date to the nave and are in the Early English Gothic style whilst much else which is verifiable date from both late 14th and 14th centuries and are Perpendicular. Pevsner is confident of a late 14th century date for the southern aisle but leaves much else broadly identified purely to style. Restoration in both 1845 and 1887 changed much, the chancel roof being totally replaced along with most of the windows. A small brown sign marks the entrance to the access track, it shares that entrance with a house, at the northern end by the churchyard an area has been flattened for parking. The churchyard, itself, is clear of photographic obstruction but the church sits slightly close to the southern border restricting a full landscape view.