England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Saxton in Elmet All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Saxton in Elmet (known simply as Saxton today) lies centrally within Yorkshire in the West Riding and roughly 4 miles south of the brewing town of Tadcaster. Saxton sits about a mile west of the A162 road which links Tadcaster with Ferrybridge and the Great North Road (A1). Saxton is a mid-sized village built around a pattern of lanes resembling an "H" on its side, east to west running lanes forming crossroads at either end of the village and the two joined by the Main Street. Many of the properties are picturesque being built from the local limestone which was quarried nearby. Just north of the village is the site of the 1461 Battle of Towton, a Wars of the Roses conflict won on this occasion by Edward Plantagenot. There area is low-lying but not unduly wet and is therefore very suitable for arable cultivation, a mixture of both cereals and root crops predominate, particularly barley for the Tadcaster breweries. Modern developments have come to the parish the rail line linking York with Leeds passing through to the south without granting a station. Saxton is drained northwards by the Cock Beck which meets the River Wharfe just east of Tadcaster, the Wharfe soon meets the Ouse, turn southeastwards and forms part of the drainage headed into the Humber Estuary and the North Sea. Saxton is sited at around 20 metres above the sea in gently undulating terrain, to the east of the battle site is a spot height of 51 metres, the highest ground nearby. Saxton was a large parish and strangely shaped in curl enclosing a detached portion of Ryther parish, it covered some 4.000 acres and would have supported a population of close to 550 parishioners. Domesday Saxton, held by Ilbert de Lacy, was also a substantial rural manor offering 9 ploughs, some meadows and 2 mills.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the western side of Main Street at its junction with Dam Lane and north of the Greyhound Inn. This is a church which has its origins in the 12th century with much Norman fabric still evident despite extensive later work, particularly in the Victorian era when 3 successive restorations are recorded. The southern doorway has colonnettes carrying rather crude water-leaf capitals and is 12th century. Three windows remain from the same era as well as the chancel arch. The southern nave chapel is a 13th century addition in the Early English Gothic style which is replicated in the 2-bay arcade and the nave's northern wall. The tall western tower is much late and in the Perpendicular style probably from the 15th century rather than the late 14th. The first of the 3 restorations is relatively undocumented but Pevsner places it to c1860 and seems to have focussed on the chancel where it added faux-13th century lancets. Further restorations followed in 1876 and 1907 without details being recorded of their changes. Main Street is easily of sufficient width to allow marking on-street outside the gates, the main entrance is adjacent to the inn. Views from western areas are impacted by the proximity of the village school but otherwise there are few issues for the photographer.