Weddings of Nazeing Villagers

Many Nazeing residents were married in London between the 1790s and the 1880s, recording more than 40 at this time. St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch was a favourite site for the marriages of the Nazeing tenant farmers and their children, the names including Church, Dean, Ford, King, Nicholls, Pegrum, and Standingford. As the couples lived in the village before and after their marriages, one wonders why they weren’t married in Nazeing. The most likely reason is that they were non-conformists, attending Nazeing Congregational Church, (founded in 1795), and were perhaps refused a marriage ceremony at the Parish Church. This theory is supported by the fact that The Chapel was solemnized for marriages in 1888, which could explain why the practice of marrying in London ceased about that time. One noted vicar at St Leonard’s, Rev. Henry Plimley, presided there from 1801-1841, and was ” kind and courteous to all denominations”.