England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Horton in Ribblesdale St Oswald

The Parish

The parish of Horton in Ribblesdale lies in western Yorkshire, high in the Pennines and not too far from the border with Westmorland. Horton in Ribblesdale is located about 5 miles north of the small market town of Settle and sits on the B6479 road which connects Settle with the iconic viaduct at Ribblehead. Horton in Ribblesdale is a drawn out village with properties either side of the crossing of the Ribble and also strung out southwards along the valley to the south. Horton in Ribblesdale parish also contains a number of smaller hamlets across its vast area. This is upland territory including within the parish area some of the Pennines' most distinguished hills, the economy would have been underpinned by pastoral farming, mostly of sheep on the rough upland pastures. Extractive industries were also important with limestone to the west being quarried for building stone and burned for lime spreading, to the east slate was also quarried. Today the economy is based largely on tourism, Horton in Ribblesdale is a centre for the classic "Three Peaks Walk" and also an important stop on the Pennine Way, one of Britain's premier hiking trails. Modern developments have come to Horton in Ribblesdale as the famous Settle to Carlisle railway line follows the Ribble Valley and grants Horton a station. The River Ribble drains the parish southwards eventually passing through the town of Preston to reach the Irish Sea. Horton in Ribblesdale is sited at 230 metres above the sea but land rising spectacularly to both west and east, to the east it reaches 694 metres on the summit of Pen-y-ghent, one of the highlights of the Pennine range.Horton in Ribblesdale was extremely extensive , covering over 15,000 acres it was nevertheless sparsely populated supporting around 500 parishioners, most of whom were in Horton village. In Domesday times Horton in Ribblesdale was held by Roger of Poitou but its assets were not recorded it merely being described as "waste".

The Church

St Oswald's church sits towards the south of the village on the eastern side of the B6479 and opposite the Golden Lion Hotel. A rugged church within a rugged landscape it nevertheless has been here for a long while. The earliest parts lie within the nave and they date back to the 12th century being Norman Romanesque in style. Pevsner points to both the southern doorway and to the arcades as being from this period. Much else dates from the 15th century when the church was clearly largely rebuilt. The western tower is a good example of this Perpendicular style. Like most churhes their was a restoration in Victorian times, in this case in 1879, which is described by Pevsner as "conservative" as it did not markedly mask dating detail. Parking in the village can be tricky in summertime especially at weekends but there is paid parking in the hotel car park for longer visitors. The church sits on a sharp bend in the road behind a low local stone wall, the entrance facing the hotel is highly unusual consisting of a squeeze style next to a gateway topped by a slab of local stone and fairly low. The churchyard is open, uncluttered and has no obstacles for photography.