England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Newark on Trent St Mary Magdalene

The Parish

The parish of Newark on Trent lies in southeastern Nottinghamshire roughly 20 miles northeast of the city of Nottingham. Newark sits at the intersection of two major highways, the A1, Great North Road, from London to Edinburgh and the A46, following the Roman route of Fosse Way, from Leicester to Lincoln, thankfully both routes are now moved beyond the town relieving the town's once notorious traffic problems. The area has ancient history, the terraces to the south of the Trent carry much archaeological evidence of human occupation from Upper Paleolithic times through the Iron Age and, of course, to Roman times, they built the first permanent settlement within the town's area as a way-station for Fosse Way. The town's castle is reputed to have been first built in the reign of King Egbert but was expanded considerably in the 11th during Norman  occupation. The 12th century saw the town landscape planned by the Norman Bishops of Lincoln and the Trent successfully bridged. Newark's early wealth, and it was indeed wealthy, came from trade between the sheep farmers and Flemish clothiers whereby they acted as middle-men taking, of course their cut, the Trent giving access as an inland port. It is reported that in 1377 Newark was 34th in size of towns in England and almost comparable in size with Nottingham. It was Newark's hinterland that lead to further prosperity as an important trading centre for flour and malt, its corn market was one of the largest in England. Further industrial development lead to iron & brass foundries as well as more traditional weaving and bleaching. Local supplies of gypsum and limestone lead in an important trade in "terra alba" a preparation used in paper making. The town was also the most important regional market for eastern Nottinghamshire and adjacent Lincolnshire. Newark's position on the Great North Road lead to much coach traffic and the development of coaching inns to meet the needs of the travelling public. Within the wide parish arable farming dominated by the time of this transcript. Modern developments have helped Newark stay vibrant, the Trent was canalised early to provide wharfage and when railways arrived both London to the North and lines to Nottingham and Lincoln soon developed resulting in the oddity of the town having two stations, further lines to both Bottesford and to Gainsborough have now closed, however.  Both the A1 and A46 were modified to modern highway standards as part of the relief of the town's traffic, where they meet close to Winthorpe is one of the land's busiest road junctions. The Trent drains Newark northwards headed towards the Humber Estuary where it meets with the Yorkshire Dales' rivers to flow into the North Sea. Newark is sited between 10 metres, at the riverside, to around 40 metres in the eastern suburb at Coddington, that height being the highest land for some considerable distance. Newark parish was more of a typically sized rural parish covering just under 1,800 acres but within that acreage a population rising to almost 10,000 parishioners was accommodated, nowadays it is closer to 30,000. Even by Domesday times Newark was large enough to be comfortably in the top 20% of settlements recorded by population assets of 38 ploughs, a mill and fishery made it a wealthy holding for the Bishop of Lincoln.

The Church

St Mary's church stands a short distance north of the town's market place on Church Street. Pevsner opening essay states explicitly that it is one of "two or three dozen grandest parish churches of England" and it has the dimensions to impress along with its grandeur, its length of 222 feet is just over-topped by the height of its splendid western tower complete with spire which stands at 232 feet in height. The church has both aisled nave and chancel, transepts and eastern chapels making a formidable statement of the wealth of the mercer's and merchants whose wealth contributed to its grandeur. The church is a typical blend of styles from the various centuries of architecture, the earliest fabric being the crypt which is 12th century Norman Romanesque. The basal area supporting the crossing tower carries a mixture of 12th and 13th century fabric, the story is that King Henry III gave 6 great oaks from Sherwood Forest to build the basal stages of the tower. It took until the early 14th century to complete the mighty bespired-tower which dominates the townscape by which time the chancel had almost reached it conclusion too. Documentary evidence places the chancel as commenced in 1308 and it is Decorated in style. The nave arcades, clerestory and northern aisle re Perpendicular additions from the mid to late 15th century whilst the church's transepts were finally finished in the early 16th century. At least 4 major phases of both Georgian and Victorian restoration are documented by Pevsner, the spire being partially rebuilt in 1818, the roofs restored or replaced in 1848 which was followed by a major restoration between 1852 & 1855, finally further work was needed by 1879 to complete today's magnificent edifice. For the photographer it is the church's site and dimensions which create almost insurmountable problems, the close proximity of nearby commercial property and sheer height and length making a challenge to adequately document this splendid building, needless to say a town car park is a requirement for an extended visit.