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

The Parish

The chapelry of Tong, its mother parish being Birstall, lies in western Yorkshire roughly midway between the twin conurbation of Leeds and Bradford, it is 6 miles southwest of the former and 5 miles southeast of the latter. Tong has a hilltop setting just under a mile north of the A58 road which links Leeds with Halifax. Whilst all land was held by the Tempest family, with their seat of Tong Hall, an early 17th century house of brick unusually so high in the Pennines, there was still sufficient inbound migration to form a small linear village built eastwards from Hall & church along the crest of the hill. It was the rich resources of the area which drew industrialisation during the Industrial Revolution as the chapelry held both coal and ironstone which were widely exploited. In addition to these extractive industries Tong's workforce were also engaged in pastoral farming, wool-combing and the manufacture of rope and twine. All of thus activity raised the population of the chapelry yet Tong village stayed rural and serene atop its hill. Both Tong and Pudsey Becks drain the chapelry eastwards eventually disappearing under the asphalt of suburban Leeds to arrive at the River Aire, the Aire joins with all of the many Dales rivers to pass through to the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. Tong is sited at around 160 metres above the sea in hilly countryside with deeply cut valleys in the fore-slopes of the Pennine Range, the ridge on which Tong sits rises steadily to 220 metres at Westgate Hill and several more spots breach the 200 metre contour. A little over 2,600 acres of Birstall parish were assigned to Tong and that acreage supported a population of around 2,500 parishioners. Whilst Tong has a Domesday entry it is one of the many in the north suffering from the suppression of the rebellion of northern lords, it had no recorded population or assets and was described as "waste".

The Church

St James church acts almost as gate-house to the hall which sits to its rear, both stand at the higher, western end of the village and on the northern side of Tong Lane. The present church is a relatively modern one albeit built prior to the start of this transcript period in 1727. A tiny Norman 12th century chapel of ease stood here before being removed to make way for the creation of Sir George Tempest's cash. The rebuild utilised some of the fabric from the old church notably the 12th century Norman tower arch, some 15th and 16th century windows and some stonework within the northern aisle. The remainder of the church, 3-bay nave,2-bay  chancel and western tower is all 18th century work with the notable exception of the east window added in c1882. A broad pavement usually provides parking for the services and visits, with 3 steps to the iron gates a ramp is helpfully provided for the less mobile. For the photographer the church is something of a challenge, the entire norther area is a wood and trees dotted about to the south of the church make finding a good aspect tricky, some scouting is required to find acceptable views.