England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Nunnington All Saints & St James

The Parish

The parish of Nunnington lies in the southern part of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Nunnington is located about 7 miles northwest of the market town of Malton and a similar distance southwest of the smaller market town of Pickering. Nunnington sits, in lanes, about a mile north of the B1257 road which connects Malton with Helmsley. Nunnington is a mid-sized village sitting on the southern banks of the River Rye in pretty rural countryside. Nunnington would have largely earned its income, at the time of this transcript, from pastoral farming on the rich soils of Ryedale, today more arable has appeared due to the use of heavy machinery. The River Rye drains the parish eastwards, joining the Derwent just east of Malton it turns back southwestwards to make its way to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Nunnington is sited on a sloping aspect, the lower reaches being at 35 metres by the Rye whilst the upper part, by the church, reaches 60 metres above the sea, local heights rise almost to 100 metres on the ridge of nearby Caulkley Bank. By Yorkshire standards Nunnington parish was small, covering around 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of just under 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Nunnington was held by Count Robert of Mortain and was a relatively small place offering 7 ploughs and a small meadow, part of the parish was allegedly "laid to waste".

The Church

All Saints & St James' church sits in the higher part of the village on the eastern side of Church Street. The church's origins lie in the 13th century, both nave & chancel being of this date and showing the style of the period namely Decorated Gothic. A single lancet shows an earlier feature namely Early English Gothic and places the commencement in mid-13th century. The western tower is later and probably rebuilt from the original, showing the style of the Perpendicular period Pevsner, however, gives it a date of 1672 and post-Reformation with the style representing something of a hark-back to earlier periods. The church sits in an elevated site protected by a low local stone wall, Church Street is narrow and with little room for parking. Entrance is at the northwestern corner and the site is relatively free from photographic obstructions.