England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kirklington St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Kirklington lies in northern Yorkshire where it sits within the North Riding but on the border with the West Riding. Kirklington is located about 7 miles west of the market town of Thirsk and sits just a mile west of the A1, Great North Road, which connects London with Edinburgh. Kirklington is a medium sized and compact village which sits grouped around a large oblong of lane enclosing extensive village greens, a valuable asset to the village. Kirklington's economy would have been underpinned by farming, pastoral farming in the main albeit with some arable. Numerous small becks and streams drain the parish into the nearby Swale which flows just across the busy A1 and then heads southwards through the city of York and to the North Sea through the Humber Estuary. Kirklington is sited at around 40 metres above the sea, something of a local high point in the rather gentle terrain of the Vale of the Swale, land falls to that river to the east but local heights rarely exceed the 40 metre contour for many a mile. Kirklington parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering around 3,7000 acres it would have supported a population of around 500 parishioners. Unusually for this far north Kirklington is mentioned in Domesday Book as part of the holdings of Count Alan of Brittany it could offer just 4 ploughs.

The Church

St Michael's church sits on the southern edge of Kirklington on the western side of the lane leading to Wath. Three main ages and styles are represented in this church, the earliest portion being the chancel which has the Early English Gothic windows, albeit with some replaced later, of the early 13th century. The aisles & arcades come a century later and are in the Decorated style of the early 14th century. Finally comes the western tower which is later still and Perpendicular in style This is likely to represent periods of rebuild and restoration rather than a long single build across the fashion periods. An interesting feature of the church is the head stops with their representation of grimacing faces. The church sits behind a low local stone wall with the entrance through an unusual double sized lych gate at the northern end of the site. Some trees are grouped around the western tower which does somewhat restrict the best angles for photography.