England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kingston on Soar St Winifred

The Parish

The parish of Kingston on Soar lies in the extreme southwest of Nottinghamshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Leicestershire, Derbyshire, too, is not far away to the north. Kingston on Soar is located roughly 6 miles north of the Leicestershire town of Loughborough and sits about 1 mile south of the A453 north which links Nottingham with the M1 motorway. As its suffix suggests Kingston on Soar lies within the valley of the River Soar, which here forms the county's border, a small and compact village sitting gathered around the church at a "T" junction of lanes. The valley position gave the parish pastures on the water-meadows to augment the drier land's largely arable farming methods. Modern developments have come to the parish, the Leicester to Nottingham railway line passing through without granting Kingston on Soar a station. The local landscape is also bedecked with power lines running southwards from the Trent Valley power stations to power the cities of the Midlands. The Soar drains northwards for only a little over 2 miles before meeting the mighty Trent where water turns eastwards on that river's long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Kingston on Soar is sited at just 30 metres above the sea, land around rises in distinct low isolated hills reaching around 80 metres including the interestingly name Winking Hill to the northeast whilst West Leake Hills due east is the local high spot at 96 metres. Covering 1,500 acres Kingston on Soar parish was typically sized for its area, that acreage would have supported close to 200 parishioners. In Domesday times much of the manor was still in the hands of local Saxon Saewin, the assets of 7 ploughs together with small meadows indicate a typical small rural holding.

The Church

St Winifred's church, also known on some sources as St Wilfrid, sits at the heart of the small village on the northern side of The Green and almost on the banks of Kingston Brook which runs to its north. Most of this church is modern work, a series of rebuilding events in Georgian and late Victorian times replacing most of the original medieval church at the expense, largely, of the 2nd Lord Belper. Even the chancel & its chancel chapel which were, at least, rebuilt with the original materials remains from medieval times. The presence of a re-seated 13th century sedilia within indicates the time period in which these pieces were originally erected whilst the Babington Chantry of c1540 is the piece de resistance of the church and, as Pevsner rightly points out, of national note. The remaining features of the church are largely of 1900 replacing Georgian work of 1832 and create a church with largely Perpendicular & a few pieces of Decorated styling. There is ample room for careful parking immediately outside the churchyard which sits behind a low local stone wall with a neat lychgate for entry. The churchyard, itself, is open and uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.