England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Walton on the Wolds St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Walton on the Wolds lies in northern Leicestershire, not too far from its border with neighbouring Nottinghamshire and sits some 4 miles east of the industrial town of Loughborough. Walton on the Wolds sits around 1 mile south of the B676 road which connects Loughborough with Melton Mowbray and stands on rising ground east of the Soar valley, as its name suggests these grounds rise to form the limestone Wolds. Walton on the Wolds is a compact small village largely built around 2 sides of a square of lanes. At the time of this transcript the limestone soils would have been too poor for much arable and sheep pastures would have dominated. That limestone was, however, worked for improving the land and, today, with modern fertilisers the area is much more arable. A small tributary of the Soar drains the parish westwards to reach the latter, turning north the Soar meets the Trent at Long Eaton and makes the long journey to the North Sea reaching it through the Humber Estuary. Walton on the Wolds is sited at around 80 metres above the sea with land rising onto the higher Wolds reaching just over 130 metres at Six Hills. Walton on the Wolds parish is an elongated strip of land running eastwards from the Soar valley onto the Wolds, a device to secure all potential land-types within the parish, the parish acreage was not untypical of the area, covering close to 1,500 acres it would have supported a population of just under 300 parishioners. In Domesday times Walton on the Wolds was a tiny place, held by Earl Aubrey of Coucy it could muster just 5 ploughs and a small meadow.

The Church

St Mary's church sits towards the southwest of the village on the northern side of the lane (New Lane) which forms the southern edge of the above-mentioned square of lanes. Sadly very little of this church would have been familiar to the marriage partners of this transcript, the only surviving early (relatively so) is the western tower constructed in 1736. All else is replacement Victorian work a process which involved rebuilding the 18th century work which was contemporary with the tower. The chancel & vestry were rebuilt in 1856 and the nave in 1877 albeit they reused some of the materials from the 18th century church. Documentary evidence states that a prior church dedicated to St Bartholomew stood here from the early 13th century but that has long since disappeared. New Lane is narrow but fairly quiet so considerate parking should not be an issue, the churchyards carries a head-high brick wall to the lane with metal gates granting entry. The churchyard has many trees surrounding the church some of which remove the favoured southeastern aspect and limit the angles generally available for photography.