England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Yedingham St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Yedingham lies in eastern central Yorkshire about 8 miles northeast of the market town of Malton. Yedingham actually sits upon the boundary of North & East Ridings here formed by the course of the River Derwent. Yedingham sits on the B1258 road , a short connecting road linking the A64 (York to Scarborough) road with the A170 (Pickering to Scarborough) road. There is very little to Yedingham, a mere hamlet sat beside the river with Inn, a few cottages & church, a few more properties line the lane heading towards West Heslerton. The origins of Yedingham, however, lie across the Derwent in the North Riding where lies the ruins of the Benedictine nunnery founded in the mid 12th century and marked by Abbey Farm. Yedingham would have largely exploited the flood-plain of the Derwent, the rich pastures resulting from silt deposited during flood events provided good grazing mainly for cattle in a pastoral farming regime. Modern developments, the York to Scarborough railway line, skirt the southern fringe of the parish without granting Yedingham a station. The Derwent drains the parish westwards before turning south to meet the main streams of Yorkshire rivers passing through York to reach the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Yedingham is sited at just 20 metres above the sea and land is at or close to that height until the northern escarpment of The Wolds is reached beyond the A64. Yedingham parish was one of Yorkshire's smallest covering just 700 acres it would have supported a population of only just over 100 parishioners. Yedingham is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church can be found almost at the bridge across the Derwent but is tucked away behind fronting properties. Sadly there is little of the medieval remaining after extensive restoration during Victorian times, indeed little remains of the church that was here when these marriages occurred. Pevsner struggles to find much to comment upon but does note the presence of two late-Norman capitals which is perhaps indicative of the earliest origins of the church. However in the early 1860s the nave, chancel and double bellcote were extensively restored to arrive at today's church. A short dead-end land heads east opposite the Providence Inn and is sufficiently broad to permit careful parking, the entrance can be found after a 100 metres or so, the churchyard is open & uncluttered with no significant obstacles for the photographer.