England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Middleton on the Wolds St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Middleton on the Wolds sits in southeastern Yorkshire and almost centrally in the East Riding. Middleton on the Wolds is located about 8 miles southwest of the market town of Great Driffield and sits on the A614 road which connects Great Driffield with Goole. Middleton on the Wolds is a mid-sized village with a substantial presence on the A614 and most properties lying within a loop of a lane head out and back to the north, a further run of properties lie between the A614 and the lane which parallels it to the south, a spur head southeast towards the Hall. As its qualifier suggest the parish occupies a large portion of the Yorkshire Wolds, a dissected chalk plateau with many dry valleys, the chalk produces short and sweet grazing for many sheep, it is also quarried to burn for lime and in more modern times has been ploughed for arable crops such as barley & wheat. One of Middleton on the Wolds's historical claims to fame was as the finish point of the Kipling Cotes Racecourse which is said to be the oldest racecourse in the land and stretches for 4 miles in length across 4 parishes. Modern developments arrived in the form of a branch railway line connecting Market Weighton Middleton on the Wolds to Great Driffield, like so many it is now closed and largely disappeared, Sitting on porous chalk there is little surface drainage, a small spring rises in the east of the parish eventually establishing itself as the Kilnwick New Cut and then Watton Beck before meeting the River Hull which takes water south through the port of Hull to the outer Humber Estuary and the North Sea. Middleton on the Wolds is sited at around 40 metres above the sea, billowing chalk downland rises steadily westwards topping out at 162 metres in Nunburnholme Wold. Middleton on the Wolds parish was a fairly large parish covering just over 3,660 acres and would have supported a population of close to 450 parishioners. In the Domesday Book Middleton on the Wolds was shared between Count Robert of Mortain and the Archbishop of York and was barely recovering from the "harrowing of the north" reprisals, only 5 ploughs were recorded and most was described as "waste".

The Church

St Andrew's church sits on the southern side of the A614 just east of its junction with Beverley Road, the Robin Hood Inn occupies the corner and the churchyard is next to the east. Whilst St Andrew was first constructed in early medieval times and some fabric back to that time remains, the majority of the church is the result of a substantial rebuild of 1874 which rebuilt the western tower, the southern porch, the entire south side of the nave and increased both the width and height of the chancel arch. Still retained from the 13th century and in Early English Gothic style is the long chancel showing stepped lancets windows at its eastern end. Also 13th century but restored too are the 4-bay arcades which have mostly rounded piers rather than the familiar alternating round and octagonal ones. The southern doorway of c1180 would have been the oldest fabric but it is questionable as to how much is original and not Victorian work. Confirming the earliest origins of the church is its Norman font. To the west of the Beverley Road is a small parking areas whilst the Robin Hood has a substantial car park and may be amenable for a brief visit. The churchyard is way above pavement height, 6 steps up from the same, with the western tower looming above, many trees hamper the favoured aspects and present a very limited set of angles for the photographer.