England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kirby Misperton St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of Kirby Misperton lies in eastern Yorkshire close to the border between the North & East Ridings. Kirby Misperton is located roughly 8 miles north of the town of Malton and sits almost 2 miles west of the A169 road which links Malton with Pickering. The parish of Kirby Misperton is quite extensive and the village of Kirby Misperton is by no means the only settlement of size within it, indeed early gazetteers estimated that less than 20% of the population lived in that village. Kirby Misperton is a crossroads village built around a reversed C-shape of lane close to the course of the Costa Brook, to the west lies the hamlet of Little Barugh and the largest settlement Great Barugh, again a crossroads village but on the eastern banks of the River Seven; the south of the parish, bordered by the course of the River Rye has the 3 small settlements of Little Habton, Great Habton & Ryton, all small riverside villages little bigger than hamlets. Whilst Kirby Misperton village sits upon a raised area of the parish most of the acreage was low-lying and watery, often prone to flooding and dominated by pastoral farming of chiefly cattle. Today Kirby Misperton is best known as the site of Flamingoland theme park, home to roller coasters and similar attractions as well as a golf course, spa & leisure centre. The River Rye is formed from the Rivers Dove & Seven, it drains eastwards, is met by the Costa Brook and then joins the River Derwent, that river reverses the flow to head southwest and then south before eventually meeting the Ouse for the final few miles east into the Humber Estuary and the North Sea. Kirby Misperton is sited at around 30 metres above the sea, its knoll rises a little to the west reaching 41 metres at the highest ground, most of the parish is at or even below 20 metres. The whole parish covers 7,000 acres, with Kirby Misperton township being close to 1,800 of that, and would have supported a population of close to 900 parishioners. All of the main settlements were recorded in Domesday Book, the Habtons and Ryton were recovering from the "harrowing of the north" but Great & Little Barugh could offer 7 ploughs for King William whilst Kirby Misperton, itself held by Berengar de Tosny offered 3 ploughs some meadow and a mill.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits on the northern edge of Kirby Misperton from where it backs onto Flamingoland. There are records of a church here as early as the Saxon era but nothing remains of that church today. The earliest fabric identified is the core of nave, southern aisle, vestry and basal stages of the western tower. The principal sources, Pevsner & Historic England, differ in the century in which they place the core, Historic England placing it to the 14th century with Pevsner saying 15th, regardless it is all Perpendicular. Of the core Pevsner singles out the southern aisle for special mention for its battlementation, straight-headed windows and octagonal piers. Early in the Victorian period, possibly in 1838, the topmost stages and belfry of the tower were rebuilt to house newly cast bells, the southern porch was similarly rebuilt during the same episode. Further changes came in 1875 when the chancel was entirely rebuilt from the foundations being essentially modern in structure. St Lawrence sits on a prominent right-angled bend in Kirby Misperton Road, the apex of the bend is extended to create a layby for church parking, Sadly for the photographer the classic southeastern aspect is removed by thick tree cover but all other angles are readily available.