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Welcome to the archive

Discover the history of the High Country

The High Country History Group records and shares the stories of Greensted, Stanford Rivers, Stapleford Tawney and Theydon Mount.

We warmly thank the Officers of the Society, members and all the contributors whose research, photographs and memories have built this collection from 1999 to 2026.

Around this day · 26 October 1863

Epping Forest and the Founding of the Football Association

163 years ago

On 26 October 1863, fourteen individuals met in the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, Covent Garden. Find out why this moment matters and discover the fuller story in “Epping Forest and the Founding of the Football Association”.

Read the article

On this day · 27 October

People on this day

Discover the remarkable history of our four parish churches. Explore their guides, monumental inscriptions and articles.

This week’s featured curated collection

Rev. Henry Soames, Rector of Stapleford Tawney

Henry Soames (1785–1860) was an English clergyman and ecclesiastical historian who spent the later part of his life closely associated with Stapleford Tawney and Theydon Mount. Educated at St Paul’s School and Wadham College, Oxford, he entered the Church and held a number of Essex and Hertfordshire livings before becoming Rector of Stapleford Tawney with Theydon Mount in 1839.

Soames was also a respected writer on the history of the Church in England, particularly the Anglo-Saxon period and the Reformation. He delivered the Bampton Lectures at Oxford in 1830 and was appointed Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1842. He remained Rector of Stapleford Tawney with Theydon Mount until his death on 21 October 1860.

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More curated collections

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Curated collectionRev. Henry Soames, Rector of Stapleford TawneyOpen collection → Curated collectionTheydon Mount: Wills during the Reign of ….Open collection → Curated collectionStanford Rivers by H. M. ScottOpen collection → Curated collectionParish RegistersOpen collection → Curated collectionPost Office Directory of Essex 1855Open collection → Curated collectionFor King and Country: Blackmore During the First World WarOpen collection → Curated collectionOn the Buses, Trains and Parish LanesOpen collection → Curated collectionLawbreakers & LawkeepersOpen collection → Curated collectionPlough, Pasture & ParishOpen collection → Curated collectionFields, Woods & Wild ThingsOpen collection → Curated collectionKelly's Directory of Essex 1933Open collection → Curated collectionWhite's Directory of Essex 1848Open collection →

Test your local knowledge

Take a High Country history quiz

Put what you have discovered to the test, or learn something unexpected.

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10 questionsHow well do you know Christmas, 2020?Take this quiz → 10 questionsHow well do you know Christmas, 2022?Take this quiz → 15 questionsEssex QuizTake this quiz → 27 questions27 Questions to test your knowledge of the High CountryTake this quiz → 20 questionsPlace Names QuizTake this quiz →

2000s

34 journals

2010s

40 journals

2020s

24 journals

Open the timeline to load its historical records.

Swipe sideways to explore census years. Tap a point for its value.

Interactive parish census line chart

Line chart comparing population totals for Greensted, Stapleford Tawney, Stanford Rivers and Theydon Mount.

Swipe left to view every parish. The year column stays in place.

Year Greensted Stapleford Tawney Stanford Rivers Theydon Mount

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