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

The Parish

The chapelry of Liverton subsidiary to nearby Easington, lies in northeastern Yorkshire, just north of the boundary of the North York Moors National Park and close to Yorkshire's coast with the North Sea. Liverton is located about 7 miles east of the market town of Guisborough and sits on the B1366 road which connects Loftus with the Guisborough to Whitby road. Liverton is a small village with most properties lying on the B1366. Liverton would have earned its income from farming, the land, rising to the south onto heather moorland was only really suitable for sheep being of a poor soil quality and exposed to the weather. Liverton is drained northwards by a side stream of the Kilton Beck, the latter reaching the nearby coast at Skinningrove. Liverton is sited at between 130 and 160 metres above the sea, the road rising steadily southwards, land continues to rise onto the North York Moors to the south reaching local heights of 250 metres at the Whitby road. The chapelry's acreage was small for so far north, it covered only 2,400 acres and would have supported a population of around 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Liverton was on the northern edge of the Norman's influence and was held by Earl Hugh of Chester despite only offering a single plough.

The Church

St Michael's church sits to the north of the village, accessed by a gated and roughly surfaced lane to the west of the B1366. Outwardly the church appears to date from the early 20th century restoration but once inside the details reval a much older building. Pevsner is quick to note the chancel arch which he describes as a "quite spectacular Norman piece" and is highly decorated with biblical scenes. Other pieces of masonry remain from the Norman Romanesque style which places the church into the 12th century. That restoration of 1902/3 was, however, extensive and much does date from that period. Once through the gates the tarred lane leads to a small parking area outside the churchyard which is enclosed by a rough local stone wall, the churchyard itself is free of photographic obstructions.