England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
South Kilvington St Wilfrid

The Parish

The parish of South Kilvington lies in northern central Yorkshire within the North Riding and roughly a mile and a quarter north of the market town of Thirsk South Kilvington sits on the old A61 road, nowadays bypassed by the modern expressway of the A19, which links Thirsk through to Teesside, now running to its east. South Kilvington is a compact small village with most properties lining the main road through the village, a lane heading east carries the remainder. At the time of this transcript South Kilvington would have primarily been a farming village, its position on the eastern banks of the Cod Beck giving it access to rich pastures whilst drier land would have been utilised to grow the hardier grains common to northern England. Today the village's close proximity to Thirsk makes it attractive as a dormitory, diminished somewhat by the infrastructure of roads and junctions that sit around it. The modern development of the A19 removes much traffic from the village's streets but creates considerable traffic noise within the village. The Cod Beck drains the parish southwards, passing through Thirsk to reach the Swale to the east of Topcliffe, the Swale like most Dales rivers makes its way eventually to the sea through the Humber Estuary. South Kilvington is sited between 30 & 40 metres above the sea in fairly gentle terrain where the distant outlier of the North Yorkshire Moors, Mount St John at 190 metres dominates the eastern skyline. Like many northern agricultural parishes South Kilvington was large by the typical standards, covering a little over 2,600 acres it would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. South Kilvington is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book whilst its near neighbour North Kilvington, a holding of the King was described merely as undeveloped "waste".

The Church

St Wilfrid's church sits at the main road junction at the heart of the village and on the eastern side of the Stockton Road as the A61 is known in the village. Like many small churches St Wilfrid has ancient credentials with both nave and chancel being readily dated back to the 12th century and in the Norman Romanesque style of that century. Evidence is lead by a Norman style window on the southern face of the nave and an equivalent on the northern face of the chancel, the doorway is also remodelled Norman in date too. The chancel's southern wall shows later windows where pointed trefoiled lights and quatrefoils in the plate tracery indicate the 13th century Early English Gothic style. For once Pevsner fails to mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light and sensitive, however at some point the external surfaces where rendered in an unattractive cement which was thankfully removed in 2017 revealing the stonework beneath. There is no parking on the main road which as a busy access to the expressway of the A19 carries much traffic still, it should be sought in side turnings. The churchyard has a low local stone wall, below knee height in most places and the churchyard has few obstacles for the photographer.