England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thorpe Salvin St Peter

The Parish

The chapelry of Thorpe Salvin, its mother parish being Laughton en le Morthen, lies in the extreme south of Yorkshire forming boundaries with both neighbouring Derbyshire and with Nottinghamshire at a 3-counties meet. Thorpe Salvin is located roughly 5 miles west of the Nottinghamshire industrial town of Worksop and sits just over a mile south of the A57 road which links Worksop with Sheffield. Thorpe Salvin consists of a single street where twin lanes meet in an extended scissor junction with most properties lining the combined route. Thorpe Salvin had a diverse economy underpinned by arable farming, early gazetteers estimate about 70% of the acreage as set to arable, in addition brick making from the local rich clays employed a few together with malting & corn-milling operations. Modern developments have proliferated, first to arrive was the Chesterfield Canal linking Worksop to the main navigations, this was followed by a railway line linking Worksop with Sheffield which also follows the same line through the chapelry's area. Thorpe Salvin is drained eastwards by tributaries of the River Ryton which eventually meets the Idle at Bawtry, the latter crosses an area of former fen to meet the Trent just short of its merger with the Yorkshire Dales rivers to meet the North Sea through then Humber Estuary. Thorpe Salvin is sited at around 100 metres above the sea in gently rolling countryside where land rises southwestwards to reach 152 metres to the northeast of Derbyshire's Barlborough. Around 2,200 acres of Laughton en le Morthen parish was set aside for Thorpe Salvin chapelry, that acreage supporting a population of close to 350 parishioners. Whilst Thorpe Salvin is mentioned in Domesday Book as a holding of Roger de Bully the entry is a regional entry with assets far above the requirements of a settlement of a mere 14 households.

The Church

St Peter's church sits towards the western end of the village enclosed between the two diverging lanes that leave the village forming a square churchyard in between. St Peter has ancient origins with much fabric remaining from its inception in the late 12th century, Norman Romanesque fabric being found in parts of the nave, the northern arcade, the chancel arch and the basal stages of the western tower. It is the superb southern doorway and its elaborate carving for which St Peter is renowned, the quality and imagination shown being unequaled in the county. In the early 14th century modifications began to the original church with replacement of the chancel by a Decorated styled version, further work in the later Perpendicular style added a chantry, the clerestory and the topmost stages of the tower as well as replacing many windows throughout. Victorian restoration came in two distinct phases, the aisle was widened in the 1840s and a more general restoration of 1892 added an organ chamber as well as refurbishing much else. The narrow lane passing the church has no parking so east of the churchyard is the better bet. The main entrance is through metal gates from Harthill Road, the churchyard is made tricky for photographer because of the placement of the church within it close to the southern boundary thus removing the favoured aspects, all other angles are available.