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

The Parish

The parish of Hubberholme lies in northwestern Yorkshire high in the Pennine range and in the headwaters of the River Wharfe. Hubberholme was created from Arncliffe parish in 1765 shortly after the start of this transcription period. Hubberholme is located about 14 miles northeast of the market town of Settle. Hubberholme itself is little more than a hamlet, its main centre of population being the small village of Buckden some 2 miles away down the valley. Buckden sits on the B6160 road which runs along the valley from Ilkley eventually crossing the moors to Aysgarth. Hubberholme is very much an upland parish, dominated by sheep farming supplemented by some quarrying and coal-mining at the time of this transcript. Today Hubberholme sits at the centre of extensive grouse shooting estates but also earns a major living from the hikers who frequent Upper Wharfedale in particular along the popular Dales Way hiking trail. The Wharfe drains the parish southeastwards heading eventually for the North Sea through the Humber estuary. Hubberholme is sited at 240 metres above the sea but the land is extremely hilly with local heights rising to over 700 metres on nearby Buckden Pike, the landscape being attractive to all outdoors types. Hubberholme parish, in common with most upland parishes, was large; it covered an extensive area of over 13,000 acres, mostly rough moorland and sheep-run, and supported a population of around 450 parishioners. In Domesday times Hubberholme was held by one Roger of Poitou but its impoverished upland setting saw it taxed to just 0.7 of a geld unit reflecting the area's lack of assets.

The Church

St Michael's church stands in the hamlet of Hubberholme itself and sits on the northern bank of the Wharfe by the bridge. The church is an ancient structure dating from the Norman period of the 12th century. The western tower in particular reflects those Romanesque styles of that period. The church received a major extension in the 16th century, the northern arcade being in the Perpendicular style of that period. The church's main interest, however, is internal, the rood loft (dated by Pevsner to 1558) is one of the few surviving in Yorkshire and the only one in the West Riding; worth a visit on its own. The church is accessed from a small parking area on Stubbing Lane and sits behind a low local stone wall, there are few impediments to photographic angles.