England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
LIversedge Christ Church

The Parish

Liversedge was created a parish in 1817 from the large West Yorkshire parish of Birstall, it lies in southwestern Yorkshire about 4 miles west of the industrial town of Dewsbury and sits on the A648 road connecting Dewsbury through to Halifax. Prior to its erection as a parish Liversedge was a chapelry within Birstall parish but unlicensed for marriages. Liversedge was created from the smaller settlements of Littletown, within the Spen valley, and Roberttown, to the south, as well as smaller hamlets. Growth in population during the industrial revolution was explosive fuelled by both the woollen mills and coal mines of the area. From a series of small pastoral farming communities, today a vast metropolitan area covering many square miles extends across an area encompassing Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and Wakefield. Liversedge is drained by the River Spen which joins the Calder to the southwest of Dewsbury running eastwards to the Aire and thence the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Liver sedge is sited at around 60 metres at Littletown, in the valley, whilst Roberttown is closer to 140 metres. Land rises till further reaching 150 metres within a mile or so. A parish of close to 2,000 acres was carved from Birstall to create Liversedge and population grew rapidly reaching almost 6,000 by the mid-19th century. Despite Liversedge's late creation the manor did exist in Domesday times as a holding of Ilbert de Lacy, a small place offering just a pair of ploughs and some small areas of woodland.

The Church

Christ Church lies within Littletown, close to the Spen and accessed by Church Lane. Built between 1812 & 1816 in a rather severe Perpendicular style the church has a five-bay nave to accommodate a large congregation as well as aisles and arcades. Whilst the building is a typical example of its period it has a rather imposing quality as it sits atop a knoll dominating the packed urban surroundings. From Church Lane a small visitor parking area makes for an easy visit, the grounds are rather wooded and do, when in leaf, restrict the angles available for photography.