England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Winestead St German

The Parish

The parish of Winestead lies in the extreme southeast of Yorkshire within the Holderness peninsula and roughly 14 miles southeast of the port of Hull. Winestead sits immediately north of the A1033 road which links Hull with Withernsea. Winestead is a small and linear village with most properties lining a narrow lane running northwards from the A1033 for a half mile or so, the church sits within a broad curve of the main road a half mile or so to the south whilst the hall is a similar distance to the north of the village. The area has rather rich and fertile soils making it highly suitable for arable agriculture which, today, dominates the local landscape, at the time of this transcript early gazetteers estimated almost 1/3rd was set to pasture. Modern developments have come and gone from the parish, a branch railway line linking Hull with Patrington having closed and been  dismantled. Winestead is drained the short distance to the Humber Estuary by Winestead Drain through a landscape where drainage is almost totally man-influenced, the drain soon turns southeast to meet the estuary as Patrington Channel crossing the feeding grounds of wading birds to reach open water just west of Spurn Point. Winestead is sited at around 15 metres above the sea on gently rising ground which reaches 27 metres before falling away to the Holderness coastline. Winestead parish covered 2,000 acres and supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Whilst Winestead has an entry in Domesday Book it is a regional entry and not specific to this tiny manor.

The Church

St German's church sits immediately west of the A1033 and has a narrow and easily missed entry directly from that road and an access track which crosses fields to its densely wooded surroundings. Superficially the church appears to be modern as a consequence of work done during the Victorian restoration of 1888 - 1890, however the church has origins significantly earlier than that. Built into the chancel's southern wall is a length of 12th century corbel table, that being the earliest fabric remaining. Much of the remaining medieval fabric is, however, 14th and 15th centuries in origin, the southern arcade coming from a date close to 1347 whilst the nave was reconstructed at the expense of the rector William Retherby who died in 1418, the donation marked by a brass inscription. Early in the 17th century the former southern aisle was replaced by a southern chapel for the Hildyard family and in the 18th century a brick mausoleum was also added to the southern side of the chancel. The substantial restoration not only removed the mausoleum it added back a southern aisle, rebuilt the southern chapel, increased the height of the chancel and re-roofed and re-seated the church. Visitors to the church may be taken aback by the tight and narrow entrance to the access track which is little wider than a farm gate and unsigned from the A1033, the track crosses a field to the parking area. The churchyard sits within an enclosing swathe of trees but is generally clear of obstacles once through this bordering shade.