England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Long Preston St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Long Preston lies in northwestern West Riding of Yorkshire, in Ribblesdale and high in the Pennine Mountains. Long Preston is just south of the large village of Settle (about 4 miles) and northwest of the market town of Skipton (about 10 miles). Long Preston is placed at an important junction of Pennine routes where the A65 (between Skipton and Kendal) meets with the A682 coming north from Nelson & Colne. Despite its Pennine location Long Preston is sited in the Riddle valley and is only 150 metres above sea level although hills rise to over 300 metres close to the north. The parish is an extensive one as befits a hilly area and covers 13,214 acres, the village is compact with most of the population which over the whole parish was around 1,600 parishioners. The area around is a mixture of land use with fertile pasture land in the valley of the Ribble but poor sheep country on the limestone hills. Long Preston is not mentioned (in common with much of northern England) in the Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church is sited to the east of the main settlement of Long Preston in a position overlooking the confluence of Long Preston Beck with the River Ribble. The church was largely rebuilt in Victorian times - tower, nave, aisles and chancel all being new which doesn't leave much trace of the original building. What survives indicates a date in the Decorated period of the early 14th century. There was clearly an earlier occupation as the font shows evidence for an 11th century origin but nothing remains in the church for that period.