STAPLEFORD TAWNEY, which has this adjunct from a family of Tany, who owned it in the reign of Henry III, is a parish, on the north side of the Roding, opposite to Stapleford Abbots, 4 miles west from Theydon Bois station on the London and North Eastern railway, 5 south-west from Ongar, 5 south-east from Epping, 7 north from Romford and 17 from London, in the Chelmsford division of the county, Ongar hundred, petty sessional division and rural district, Romford county court district, rural deanery of Chigwell, Archdeaconry of Southend and diocese of Chelmsford.
The church of St. Mary is a small and ancient structure of flint in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch and a western belfry with spire, containing 2 bells, dated 1611 and 1630: an organ was presented in 1873 by Reginald II. Prance Esq.: there are mural tablets to the Smith family and many flat stones to that of Luther from 1619 and later: in the chancel is a tomb with a brass inscription to a member of the Scott family, dated 1510: the church was restored in 1861, and during the progress of the work two stone coffins were discovered in the chancel: a new panelled roof was added in 1884: there are 200 sittings.
The register dates from the year 1558. The living is a rectory, with that of Theydon Mount annexed, joint net yearly value £800, with residence, in the gift of Lady Edward Hay, and held since 1913 by the Rev. Sidney Margetts Stanley M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin.
Charities amounting to about £25 derived from interest on Consols, are yearly distributed. Suttons, the seat of Sir Drummond Cunliffe Smith bart., is a modern building of stone, picturesquely situated in a finely wooded park through which the river Roding flows. Mrs. Battye and Mrs. Stafford Northcote are jointly ladies of the manor and principal landowners. The soil is mixed; subsoil, heavy clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley, beans and oats. The area is 1,650 acres of land and 7 of water; the population in 1931 was 192 in the civil, and of the ecclesiastical parish in 1921, 357.
PASSINGFORD BRIDGE, 1 mile south, is a place in this parish on the road from Ongar to London.
Post, M. O., T. & T. E. D. Office. Letters through Romford.
(Marked thus * receive their letters through Epping.)
PRIVATE RESIDENTS.
(For T F s see general list of Private Residents at end of book.)
*Galloway Arthur Kenneth, Mount farm
Hillier Harley H. S. Talbot house
Smith Sir Drummond Cunliffe bart., Suttons, & Glenleigh, Hankham, Sussex.
Stanley Rev. Sidney Margetts M.A., (rector), The Rectory
COMMERCIAL
Marked thus + farm 150 acres or over.
*Galloway Arth. Kenneth, farmer, Mount farm. T N North Weald 27
+Gemmill Jas. farmer, Howfields
Green Stanley, farmer, Suttons farm. T N Ongar 1Y1
Knight Arth. G, shopkpr. Post office
Lamb Wm. farmer, Great Tawney hall. T N 227
Padfleld John George, farmer, Little Tawney hall. T N 303
Parker Horace, blacksmith & shoeing smith
Pittam Edward, shopkeeper
*Power Rd. farmer, Wood Hatch
*Smith Jas. Wm. beer retlr. Common
*Stubbings Thomas, farmer, Common