England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hilston St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Hilston sits in the extreme southeast of Yorkshire roughly 14 miles east of the port of Hull. Hilston is a tiny place, little more than a hamlet, which sits a mile east of the B1242 which forms the coast-road for the Spurn Peninsula, Hilston being at the base of that peninsula. A group of farms and cottages gather around the church but otherwise there is no defined village. The crumbling sands of this stretch of coastline threaten to make Hilston part of Yorkshire's North Sea coast but it is still separated by a narrow strip of Tunstall parish, for now. Hilston would have earned its income largely from arable farming, the light soils being easily workable and little has changed into modern times. Despite being less than a mile from the sea, which lies to its east, the parish is drained westwards towards the nearby Humbleton Beck to eventually reach the sea through the outer Humber Estuary. Hilston is sited at a little over 10 metres, land is gentle hereabouts with few places significantly higher for some distance. Hilston parish was one of Yorkshire's smallest rural parishes, covering just under 600 acres it would have supported a population of fewer then 50 parishioners. Hilston is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of one Drogo de la Beauvriere but is described as "waste".

The Church

The church at Hilston has had a varied and chequered history. Originally a small church with largely Early English Gothic style and some Norman features, this edifice was demolished and rebuilt in 1862 following a fire. In turn the church of 1862 was destroyed by enemy action during World War 2 when a bomb, destined for Hull was jettisoned on the return flight. Finally today's church was erected in 1956 to replace these previous incarnations and a fine piece of modern architecture it is too. In a style copied from examples from Denmark and free-Romanesque in style it is a welcome addition to the local landscape. The church sits on the eastern side of Tower Road and has a broad grassy verge for convenient off-road escape from the limited traffic. There are no obvious difficulties for the photographer in a neat well-manicured churchyard.