England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hook St Mary

The Parish

The chapelry of Hook, its mother parish being Snaith, lies in the extreme south of Yorkshire and also forms part of the border between the West & East Ridings. Hook is located roughly 2 miles northeast of the mainly modern port of Goole and sits roughly 2 miles east of the A614 road which links Goole with Howden and on to Market Weighton. Hook is a lengthy and linear settlement lining the Yorkshire Ouse as its begins to widen into the Humber Estuary, here it performs a very large meander within which Hook occupies the apex. Hook is also a place which has grown in modern times, early maps show a limited stretch of village to both north and south of its main junction, today it has grown as to be almost contiguous with Goole. The area around Hook is flat and largely improved through drainage schemes, the main crops being arable and dominated by the twin cereals of wheat & barley. As a riverside port many were also employed in trnashipment of goods to larger vessels. Modern developments have come to Hook, the Goole to Hull railway line passing through and acting as something of a delineator between the two communities, in addition the modern M62 motorway cuts through to Hook's northwest taking traffic from Hull to the west. As a riverside settlement the Ouse drains the parish supplemented by water from the assorted man-made channels in the chapelry. Hook is sited at just 1 metre above sea level with land below 10 metres for many miles around. An area of around 1,600 acres was delineated as the acreage of Hook chapelry from the vast parish that is Snaith, within that acreage it would have supported around 1,200 parishioners. Hook is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits to the west of Hook on the southern side of the lane, Church Lane, which heads to Airmyn. The church is largely built in a limestone, presumably imported by river given the lack of natural stone hereabouts, and dates largely from the 14th & 15th centuries but is much altered by at least 3 campaigns of Victorian restoration. Given the impact of these restorations there is not too much original fabric remaining to determine exact dates. Pevsner describes the nave as "modest with narrow aisles" and it comes with a 2-bay chancel and topped at the western end by a bellcote rather than a tower. Perpendicular styling can be recognised in a few of the windows but the Victorian work dominates. The first of 1844 not only "heavily restored" the church but utilised a differing stone, a sandstone, whilst later changes in both 1873 & c1896 also added their elements of change. Church Lane is of sufficient width as to allow careful roadside parking, the churchyard, entered by way of broad metal gates through its brick walling is, however, a difficult challenge for the photographer with the church beset by trees except from the east.