Church Dedications

I have recently read The Church Dedications and Saints’ Cults of Medieval Essex by Dr Janet Cooper, editor of the Victoria County History of Essex, and it showed some interesting facts about the church dedications in the High Country.

For much of the Anglo-Saxon period pastoral care was provided by priests based in monastic or minster churches. The modern parish system developed between the Tenth and Twelfth Centuries as new churches were built by landowners to serve their tenants and perhaps to display their wealth. Almost all churches and chapels were dedicated to a saint. What I had not comprehended was that some changed their dedications as other saints became more fashionable, or records were lost or not documented at all.

Greensted was originally dedicated to an English saint, St Edmund. His body rested at Greensted on its way back to Bury St Edmunds in 1013. The dedication is recorded in 1300. However from 1504 it changes dedication to St Andrew. This may have been an error in recording as Greensted near Colchester is also dedicated to St Andrew.

Stanford Rivers was originally dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, documented from 1500 to 1710, but from 1768 to St Margaret; again this could be due to documentary confusion with Stanford -Le-Hope. In 1537 there was an image of the Assumption of St Mary in the chancel. A light of Mary the Virgin is recorded in 1432 and later referred to in a will ‘the light of our Lady of Stanford’ written in Ongar in 1517.

Stapleford Tawney has always been dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and it is documented from 1583.

Theydon Mount is interesting as it had a double dedication to St Michael and St Stephen in 1400, only one of two churches in Essex to have a double dedication. However by 1487 it had reverted to just St Michael. A fair for the Feast of St Michael, on September 29th, was granted in 1225 and another in 1239.

This book is a scholarly investigation with much detailed research.