England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Rawcliffe St James

The Parish

Rawcliffe was a chapelry of the large West Yorkshire parish of Snaith, It is located in the southeastern part of the West Riding of Yorkshire not too far from its border with neighbouring Lincolnshire. Rawcliffe is a large village located about 3 miles west of the port of Goole and sitting astride the A614 road which connects Goole with Snaith. Rawcliffe provided marriage services prior to the introduction of Hardwicke's Act but was unlicensed between 1754 and 1826 when marriages resumed, marriages would have taken place at Snaith in that period. Rawcliffe would have largely earned its living from a mixture of arable and pastoral farming, it sits on the southern banks of the River Aire and the floodplain being fertile would have provided a good living if at the risk of flooding. Much of the area has been drained in modern times and is almost flat for some distance. Modern communications traverse the parish, from earlier times runs the Aire & Calder Navigation whilst more modern development is the M62 motorway which passes just south of Rawcliffe. The Aire drains eastwards to reach the Humber Estuary and thence to the North Sea. Rawcliffe is sited at just 2 metres above sea level and one has to travel many miles before encountering a contour (other than at 0 metres). Rawcliffe chapelry covered an area of over 4,200 acres and its population would have numbered in the region of 1,500 parishioners. In Domesday times Rawcliffe was held directly by King William and whilst not inventoried specifically it was taxed at 2.8 geld units making it a medium sized holding.

The Church

St James' church sits on the southern side of the A614, here Rawcliffe's High Street. The church is a relatively modern building having been erected in 1842, with the stone spire being a later addition. The church uses the lancet style of the Early English Gothic period. Despite its Victorian creation it has been modified on two occasions, not only the spire being added but the chancel of red brick was also added or replaced an earlier version. The building is clearly of little architectural excitement as Pevsner passes over it in a mere handful of lines. St James is sheltered from the road by a row of large trees and surrounded by a railed fence. The church is somewhat hemmed in from the east making the views best from the broader part of the churchyard to the southwest.