England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Skipwith St Helen

The Parish

The parish of Skipwith lies in southern Yorkshire, within the East Riding but close to its border with the West Riding. Skipwith is located about 5 miles northeast of the market town of Selby and sits, in lanes, about 2 miles north of the A163 road which connects Selby through to Holme upon Spalding Moor. Skipwith is an extensive parish and the village which grants its name is not the main settlement within the parish, that title goes to the township of North Duffield which sits upon the A163. Skipwith parish is dominated by the Common, one of the last remaining areas of lowland heath in the county and now a National Nature Reserve and a wonderful resource for hiking and wildlife watching for the local area. The heath, in late-mediaeval times, constituted almost half of the area of the parish and would have enabled a variety of activities to supplement the normal mixed farming regime of these lowland areas of the county. Skipwith is drained eastwards into the nearby River Derwent which heads south joining the Ouse before reaching the sea through the Humber Estuary. Both Skipwith village and, indeed, North Duffield are sighted at close to 10 metres above the sea, land is at or even below that level for many miles in what would have been a vast fenland in mediaeval times. As mentioned Skipwith parish was rather extensive, covering over 5,600 acres it was more reminiscent in area of an upland parish, the parish would have supported a population of close to 600 parishioners albeit only 250 would have been resident in Skipwith village and its immediate area. In Domesday times Skipwith was a tiny place, a holding of Hugh the son of Baldric it could muster just 4 plough and some extensive woodland.

The Church

St Helen's church sits at the western end of Skipwith village, on the northern side of Main Street close to a Norman moated site and Skipwith Hall. The church is ancient and probably one of the older within its area. The earliest portion is the western tower Pevsner notes that it began life as a porch to a short nave in the Anglo-Saxon period of the 10th century. The tower became a tower in the 11th century when the upper stages were added. Other Saxon features include the archway to the nave which also dates from similar pre-Conquest dates. The church was given by King William to the Bishop of Durham in 1084 and much building work dates from the century subsequent as the church was developed into a major structure of the late 13th century. The clerestory of the post-Reformation period and the rebuilt southern porch from the restoration of the 1870s are the only significant addition from later periods to what is a splendid building seemingly too splendid for the village setting within which it sits. Main Street peters out beyond the church and carries little traffic enabling parking on the verge without difficulty, the church sits behind a low brick wall with metal gates granting entry, the churchyard is open and without obstacles impeding photography.