High Country History Group

Regarding ‘Ongar’s First War Memorial’, it seems that the town was not alone in commemorating those of the Great War. At Stondon Massey, the Revd. Edward Reeve wrote in his ‘Notes for a Parish History’: 14 August 1918.
“A Roll of Honour, including all men who have joined from the Parish since 1914 has been framed and placed in the Church”.

Andrew Smith

I read the article on Leverton Charities, Waltham Abbey, in the High Country History Group Journal (June 2015), with considerable interest. As President of Waltham Abbey History Society, I gave a lecture on Thomas Leverton and George Fawbert several years ago and was aware of much of your information.

George Fawbert (1756-1824) came to Essex from Yorkshire and seems to have been at Burnt Mill, Netteswell, before moving to Waltham Abbey where he traded as a victualler from about 1794. He moved several times and spent his last years at Cheshunt, where he died on 22nd April, 1824. Although a memorial slab in Waltham Abbey records him and his wife, Sarah, he was apparently not buried there, although Sarah was.

The executors of his Will were Thomas Augustus Jessopp and John Barnard, a maltster of Harlow. After paying various legacies to relatives - he and his wife left no children - the executors purchased a property in Waltham Abbey for the Leverton School, as you state.

Sarah Fawbert, the widow, died on 19th April, 1828, and also left a Will, naming several beneficiaries including James Bell, maltster of Harlow, her husband's nephew.

Thomas Augustus Jessopp died leaving John Barnard as the sole executor of George Fawbert's Will to distribute the remaining funds, and this was unsuccessfully contested in H.M. High Court of Chancery by James Bell.

As a result, £8,000 was transferred to John Barnard (maltster of Harlow), William Barnard (maltster of Sawbridgeworth), Richard Barnard (miller), and William Barnard (farmer) to establish a charity "for the express object and purpose in the first place of forming and maintaining a weekday school for the education of children of both sexes". The school was built with two classrooms in Harlow and opened on 20th April, 1836, as Fawbert & Barnard Charity. My wife has been a governor of the school for over forty years, chairing the governing body for more than half that period. The full name of the school is Fawbert & Barnard's (Undenominational) Primary School. From the outset, it was laid down that no child could be excluded on religious grounds.

A similar school was established as Fawbert & Barnard Charity in Sawbridgeworth in 1839 and this, too, is still flourishing.

All good wishes.

Stan Newens.

During the Great War temporary Red Cross convalescent hospitals were established in the Ongar area. Blake Hall, Bobbingworth, was used by officers, whilst the Budworth Hall, Ongar, was used for other ranks. The workhouse infirmary at Stanford Rivers also took in 10 convalescent soldiers ‘in pale blue uniforms’ during the war.

In December 1918 a public meeting was held at Ongar, during which it was decided to build a cottage hospital to commemorate those who had given their lives during the Great War and to celebrate the peace. A local G.P., Dr G.R. Wilson was actively involved in this. However it would be another 10 years before a site in Shelley was purchased, the money needed having taken this long to collect.

However another G.P., Dr Henry Charles Couts Hackney and ‘a few local gentlemen’ acted unilaterally and opened the Ongar and District Cottage Hospital in September 1928. It was to be mainly financed by annual subscribers, individual donations, various benevolent societies and the Hospitals Savings Association. A bungalow was rented and adapted to take 6 beds and an operating theatre.

Soon after ‘owing to the long list of sufferers seeking admission,’ the adjoining semi-detached bungalow was added, providing a further 8 beds and accommodation for nursing staff. In September 1930, a nearby house was rented for the use of nursing staff and the space used by them in the bungalow was adapted for the use of out-patients. A further house was rented in 1932 for use as hospital annexe, increasing the in-patient beds to 22 and 2 cots.

The nearby Ongar War Memorial Hospital was opened in 1932, but Dr Hackney refused to become involved with it (his practice already provided care to most of the patients in the area.

Dr Hackney led an interesting life. In January 1940, he was fined £10 at Epping Magistrates Court, for wearing the uniform of a Major in the British Army.
He was arrested in January 1941 for failing to attend court to answer charges of ‘communicating information useful to an enemy.’
At this time he was described as being 57 years of age and living at The Auberies, Blackmore. He was subsequently committed to stand trial at the Assizes.

Dr Hackney, described as a chronic alcoholic, was again arrested in May 1944, and imprisoned for 15 months for issuing forged cheques stolen from one of his patients. He was struck off the Medical Register but his name was restored in December 1950. In 1951 he was employed as a casualty surgeon at the Royal Portsmouth Hospital, but in July of that year he was again convicted of obtaining money under fraudulent pretences and imprisoned for nine months. His name was again removed from the Register.

The story of the hospital and Dr Hackney is based on an article by Michael Leach in the ‘Aspects of Ongar’ and various newspaper articles.

I am indebted to Michael for additional information he has supplied regarding Dr Hackney.

Where in Ongar would you go to find a connection between the Suffragette movement, Oliver Cromwell and Boodles Gentlemen’s Club in London? No this is not a question from the quiz show Only Connect – the answer: they all have connections with the parish church of St Martin in Ongar.

The Ongar Millennium History Society has just published the first complete guide to the church in over 1100 years. Written by Keith Snow with the assistance of Stan Ball and Dr. Michael Leach, this 28 page guide will take you on a journey around the church and churchyard. The authors are to be congratulated on the research and effort that has gone into producing a fascinating insight into ur heritage. It is beautifully illustrated throughout with many colour photographs.

And the answers to my question at the beginning. Well why not buy the booklet, which is very reasonably priced at £3 and find out the answers for yourself!

In the June 2015 edition of the High Country Journal, Martyn Lockwood wrote a summary of the Petre family’s association with Stanford Rivers. One paragraph refers to a dispute – which ended up in the Chancery court – between Lady Mary Petre and a farmer called William Keep over the custody of the young heir, John Petre. This article looks at the human story behind the legal facts.

The Petres were a well-known Essex landowning family based at Writtle Park and Ingatestone Hall. They remained staunch Roman Catholics throughout the religious turmoils of the 16th and 17th centuries. When William Petre – a younger son of the main branch – was given the manor of Stanford Rivers in 1628, he chose to live there with his wife Lucy in a mansion called Bellhouse. It appears on a map of 1777 about halfway between Murrells and the Old Rectory, approached by two avenues of trees, one leading to Murrells and the other down to the main road opposite the Woodman.
Sir William’s son, also William Petre (1666-1728), and his wife Penelope were so keen to support the Catholic cause that six of their daughters became nuns in France and Belgium, and two of their sons became Catholic priests, leaving the eldest, yet another William, as the heir, and the youngest, Edward, as the ‘spare’. The story of these two sons and both their families is one of romance, religion, kidnap and tragedy.

The Keeps and the Petres

In 1725, a yeoman farmer called William Keep leased the 211-acre farm and farmhouse of Stanford [Rivers] Hall from the old Lord Petre (the one with all the nuns and priests as children), at an annual rent of £130. Several of the farm buildings, it was later alleged, were 'out of repair' due to neglect. The main barn in particular was said to have been 'ruinous and…ought to be pulled down'. Lord Petre had promised to rebuild it but never actually did. It wasn't that the estate was short of money, because three years earlier Lord Petre's eldest son William had married a wealthy heiress, Lady Mary Tudor Radcliffe, daughter of the Earl of Derwentwater. She had brought with her a dowry of no less than £4,000. In 1728, the old Lord Petre died and William inherited, but for some reason his much younger brother Edward, though only 23, was appointed as their father's executor. Sir William and Lady Mary had two children, a girl and a boy, but both died young and there seem to have been no further pregnancies. This was always worrying for landowning families, who wanted to ensure the succession. Hopes were resting on Edward, the only brother who wasn't a celibate priest, to marry a good Catholic girl and produce at least one healthy son.

Edward and Sarah

In November 1735 Edward married Sarah Keep. This ought to have been a cause for family celebration, but it probably wasn't – the young bride was one of the three daughters of their grumbling tenant farmer William Keep of Stanford Hall. Not only was she just a farmer's daughter, socially far below Edward, she was also a Protestant, not a Catholic – her father and grandfather had both been churchwardens of St Margaret’s. There was something of an age gap between Edward and Sarah. He was 30 and she had only just turned 19, but this was not necessarily unusual. The wedding took place in London by licence, at St Andrew's-by-the-Wardrobe, rather than locally. This would have avoided the need to call the banns in St Margaret’s. Did they secretly elope like Romeo and Juliet in a romantic love-match? Was it a shotgun wedding? Or both?

At some time in 1736 (the Petre records are uniquely silent on the exact date), Sarah gave birth to a son Edward, but he died as a baby. In July 1737 a healthy son John, the longed-for heir, was born, followed a year later by a daughter Sarah. The couple also had a fourth child Penelope, who died as a baby in 1742. That same year of 1742, more shockingly, their father Edward Petre died. He was only 37 and had made a very brief last-minute will: 'To my wife Sarah Petre all my estate whatsoever, except my silver watch which I give to William Keep of Stanford Hall, gent, and 3 guineas to my friend Frederick Hartcup.' He was described as 'Edward Petre of Chipping Ongar, gent'. They had evidently lived in Ongar during their brief time together, and Edward seems to have had some affection and respect for his father-in-law. He didn’t even mention any of his Bellhouse relations.

Sarah was supposed to execute his will but never actually did so and she died herself in January 1745, at just 28. The orphaned children, John and Sarah, were placed in the guardianship of their grandfather William Keep. Later that same year their childless uncle, Sir William Petre of Bellhouse, also died, leaving the eight-year-old John as heir to the title and the Bellhouse estates. John thus became his own grandfather's landlord.

Lady Mary v William Keep

The widowed Lady Mary was definitely not a woman to allow the next Lord Petre and his sister to be brought up in a mere farmhouse by Protestants whom she despised. So she 'got into possession and secreted' young John, 'with intent to breed him up a Roman Catholic' according to the court case which followed. She was ordered by the court to disclose his whereabouts. She refused, saying that the Petre family was Roman Catholic and that William Keep was unable to keep John 'in the manner accustomed'. It emerged later that she had secretly sent John to the Catholic college in Douai. Sarah, however, had not been sent to France and was still with Lady Mary at Bellhouse. She was ordered to return Sarah to William Keep and receivers were appointed to administer the estate.

Nearly ten years later, when John would have been 18 or 19, William Keep pursued Lady Mary in Chancery again. He described himself as 'only a Farmer in the Country [who] rents part of…John Petre's estate', who paid his rent regularly and had been 'very much Incumbered by keeping his Granddaughter Sarah'. He had never been able to find out where John was, 'so as to get at the Custody of him, or to have any allowances' for his maintenance which he believed would have included an allowance for his sister's maintenance too. He complained at the cost of the hearing, the legal fees for passing the receiver's accounts, and ended by stating that it 'can't be discovered where John is concealed' and that he was 'supposed to be in some of the Popish Countrys'.

Obviously thoroughly disgruntled, William also complained about the cost of his farm buildings at Stanford Hall. He produced an affidavit from John Archer, a prosperous landowner from Coopersale, who confirmed the former ruinous state of the barn through neglect and the late Lord Petre's broken promise to rebuild it. He stated in 1755 that the barn had recently been wholly taken down and rebuilt, using the old materials. (The barn survives, converted to a house, and has the date 1752 carved on one of the main posts, confirming Mr Archer’s statement. Many of the timbers are visibly re-used.) Other buildings and fences had also been repaired where 'absolutely necessary', the total cost to Keep being £211 15s 2d, which Archer considered reasonable. The hard-pressed William Keep was evidently trying to recoup some of his costs from the Petre estate. The outcome of the case, though, is not known.

John and Frances

The following March Lady Mary died, leaving 'all the family pictures' at Bellhouse to her young nephew John. He must have returned from France around this time or soon after, because in early 1760 he married Frances Manby, daughter of a good Catholic family from South Weald and Pilgrims Hatch. Lady Mary’s scheme to ‘breed him up a Roman Catholic’ had worked. By then he was 22, so his grandfather's guardianship (with potential allowances) had lapsed. Poor old William Keep, by now 77 and a widower, died a few months later and was buried in Stanford Rivers churchyard. The parish register described him as a yeoman rather than a gentleman, as he was called by his son-in-law.

John and Frances had less than three years of married life together at Bellhouse, because at the age of 25 John also died, leaving a daughter Catherine but no male heir. The Bellhouse estate had to be administered by a steward or agent. John’s widow, Frances, his sister Sarah and his daughter Catherine were all entitled to draw generous sums from the estate, which often didn’t generate enough income to cover its costs. By 1819, mounting debts forced the later Petres to sell the Bellhouse estate to the Smiths of Suttons in Stapleford Tawney, and the mansion was pulled down in about 1840.

For nearly 200 years the Petre family and the Bellhouse estate had dominated Stanford Rivers, but falling in love with the ‘wrong’ girl and a series of early deaths eventually led this branch of the Petres, and its link with Stanford Rivers, to die out.

The Essex Review: An Illustrated Quarterly Record Of Everything Of Permanent
Interest In The County ran for 258 issues, 66 volumes, from 1892 to 1957.
The Essex Society for Archaeology and History, of which the High Country History Group is
a member, has decided to publish as many issues of ‘The Essex Review’ as it can online for
the first time. Also to be published online will be the original indexes, the text of which can
be found from Internet search engines.
There are three general indices to the Essex Review as follows:
1. Vol. 1 (1892) to the end of Vol. XXXVI (1927), edited and published by Benham in
1930 – original copies are very scarce, but there was one in the Local Studies
Section of Colchester Central Library.
2. Vol. XXXVII (1928) to Vol. LXI (1952) – compiled by Kenneth Walker and published
by Benham in 1953. 
3. Vol. LXII (1953) to Vol. LXVI (1957) – compiled by Kenneth Walker and printed in
April 1967.
These indexes are very rare, but the key to locating items in the thousands of pages of ‘The
Essex Review’. In sorting copies for digitisation I came across an advertisement regarding
the pending publication of the ‘New General Index 1928-1950’. In June 1950 it was indicated
that work would proceed subject to there being sufficient subscribers. The cost of each copy
would be ten guineas (£10.50).
The project, which Andrew Smith as Honorary Archivist of the Society is leading, involves
the sending of old books to a firm for digitisation. This will convert paper copies to pdf and
Word versions of the document. Subscribing members of the Society will receive copies of
the files for download immediately as they become available. In due course the files will be
uploaded onto the Society’s website: www.esah1852.org.uk
This is a major release of books owned by the Society.
Digitisation also provides an opportunity to reproduce articles relating to the four parishes
covered by the Group: Greensted, Stanford Rivers, Stapleford Tawney, Theydon Mount.
Starting this quarter is a new series: ‘References to our High Country parishes in past Essex
journals’.
The Essex Review: Indexes, 1930, 1953, 1967.
GREENSTED (near Ongar): church, i. 64; church restoration, 139; 189; church, 191; 230; ii.
250; registers, 267; old stained glass note, G F Barlow, iii. 135; Drawings by Wykeham

Chancellor, ib; vi. 115; Rev. F Rose, vicar, vii. 138; wooden church, viii. 40; registers, 203;
xii. 47; xiii. 158; xvi. 6; church, xviii, 7-9; testamentary directions, re. Greensted Hall, xix.
102-3; stained glass from church, xxii. 45; Greensted Church by A V Phillips, xxii. 141-2;
King Edmund the Martyr, 142; timber-work of church, xxxv. 26, 27; timber church, xxxviii,
166; xlvi, 153; The Picture of St. Edmund at Greenstead Church, by Sir W G Benham,
xlvii, 78-82; St Edmund, 79; Church, 80; 167-8; early clergy, l. 239; li. 60, 213; lii. 43; lx. 4,
25; church, lxii, (245)15; (246)11; church, 38; lxiii. 218.
STANFORD RIVERS: i. 68; Chrysom Child brass, 1492, vii. 46; Grevile Arms (brass), 47;
Issac Taylor at, 105, 107, 112; registers, x. 38; 93; xi. 103; xiii. 60, 158; Livingstone at
Independent Chapel, xxii. 90; Bell-house, xxvii. 46; Toot Hill windmill, xxxvi. 99; parish
registers, xxxvii. 8; xxxviii. 41; Churchwardens’ Accounts, by H Smith, xli. 198-9; xliii. 136;
scratch-dial, xliv. 135; surplice, xlv, 89; 99; Church history reviewed, xlvi. 128; 153; xlvii. 10,
80, 135, 136, 137, 188-9; xlviii, 90, 192; Issac Taylor, xlix. 151; li. 107, 108; lii. 44; early
clergy, liii. 97-8; 116; liv. 123; lv. 99, 167; lvi. 51, 80, 101; lvii. 66, 171; church, lxii. (245)16;
48; church, (246)40; (248)19n; vagrants certificate, 20; lxiv. 183; (258)67.
STAPLEFORD TAWNEY, ii. 267; registers, x. 39; bell broken, xv. 46; Overseer’s Book of,
xx. 49; notes on Overseer’s Book 1723-1823, by C B Sworder, 111; xlvi. 27, 153; xlvii. 12; li.
107, 198, 217; liii. 29, 63; early clergy, 99; liv. 123, 165; lv. 96; lvi. 87; church, lxii. (245)16;
Scott family, 44-51, (246)47, 48, 50, 51, 53, (247)38, (248)40; church, (246)40; (258)67.
THEYDON MOUNT: “Its Lords, rectors, registers, etc.,” by Howard Burke and Rev L N
Prance, i. 120; ii. 250, 267; v. 155; Hill Hall, vi. 192; registers, x. 41; visitation, 1611, xv. 46;
church robbed, 47; church marks (terrier, 1621), xxxiii, 165; Queen Mary visits Hill Hall,
1926, xxxv. 224; brick church, xxxviii. 170-1; xlvi. 153; xlviii. 93; li. 217; early clergy, liv. 35-6,
lx. 25; Hill Hall Clock, 182; lxi. 72, church, lxii. (245)16; Hill Hall, 28; 48; church, (246)40; lxiv.
207.

GREENSTED, ONGAR.- The fir roof of this ancient and highly interesting church, which was
constructed about fifty years ago, was recently found to be in a very serious state of decay in
consequence of the defective mode of tiling. A subscription, was liberally started by William
Hewitt, Esq., one of the churchwardens, who is now residing at the Hall, and a new oak roof
has just been completed. As there was no trace or remains of any former roof, and as there
was no record or drawing in existence, and as the presumption was that the architect of the
former restoration adhered, certainly in the main, to the old construction, the architect of the
new work considered it better to adhere strictly to this construction rather than introduce any
new features. At the former restoration a brick buttress had been built against the timber
work of the north wall; it was found upon examination that it had settled away, and was not in
any way assisting in the maintenance of the fabric. This has been removed, and the whole of
the north wall, composed of half oak trees placed upright against each other, is now seen in
its entirety.

1889: Sir William Bowyer – Smijth, Bart., of Hill Hall, Theydon Mount.

Josiah Gilbert, the artist and author, died at his residence at Marden Ash, Ongar, on August
15th. Here he had resided for many years, and was well-known and highly respected; in his
Memorials of Afrs. Gilbert, formerly Ann Taylor, his mother, we read, “ but, perhaps, the
removal of her eldest son from London to the country was even more interesting to her, for it
was to Ongar that he came. Near the 1 three-wants-way,’ where visitors for the old Peaked
Farm used to leave the coach, and which, marked by an ash tree in the middle, was named
Marden Ash, stood a house well bowered in trees. There he made his home, and it became
a favourite haunt of hers for many years. Nor was the cause of the removal less interesting
to her, since it was the association of her son with her brother Isaac, in the artistic
management of his remarkable invention for applying mechanism to the delicate and
complex processes of line-engraving.” An important link with the Taylors of Ongar is now
snapped. Mr. Gilbert’s grandfather, the Rev. Isaac Taylor, was pastor of the Congregational
Church at Ongar for over seventeen years; his uncle, the famous Isaac Taylor, lived at
Stanford Rivers, near Ongar, for many years. It was in the little chapel there that David
Livingstone tried to preach his first sermon - in vain; and the Children's Hymns, and the
poems of his aunt and mother, Jane and Ann Taylor, have delighted many. Josiah Gilbert
was senior deacon and chief supporter of the Congregational Church at Ongar for
considerably over thirty years; he was a liberal supporter of many other local institutions, and
will be much missed in that neighbourhood. One year he was chairman of the Essex
Congregational Union. He was joint author of The Dolomite Mountains, and later of Cadore,
or Titian’s Country. More recently he wrote his History of Landscape Painting. When he died
he had reached the ripe age of seventy-eight; his remains were removed to his native
Nottingham for burial, the Rev. T. Chisholm, late pastor of the Ongar Chapel, officiating.

The London and Bury St. Edmund’s Road - Riding to the meet nearly twenty years ago, at or
near Dunmow, an old friend of my father’s, long since dead, told me that the original road
from London to Bury ran through Ongar and Dunmow. What evidence is there of this beyond
the fact of St. Edmund’s body having rested one night at Greensted and one at Stapleford
Abbots? I admit this is pretty strong for that period, before the Conquest, and I know the road
from about High Roothing [High Roding] Street to well above [Great] Dunmow is in parts at
all events known as Suffolk Way. When, therefore, did this road give way to that through
Chelmsford and Braintree? That it did many years ago is evident from the following. In Moll’s
British Atlas (1753) the road is shown in the Essex map through Ongar, High Roothing,
Dunmow, Thaxted, and up to Clare, and also the road through “Braintry” [Braintree] and
Halstead. When I turn up, however, the map of Suffolk I find no road whatever from Clare to
Bury [St Edmunds], only one from Sudbury to Bury. Then several road books (Ogilvy, 1804,
Paterson, 1785 and 1822, and Cary, 1802), give the road between Ongar and Dunmow as
Moreton, Matching Green, and Hatfield [Broad Oak]; while Owen (1796 and 1827) adds:
“There is another road to Dunmow through the ridings four or five miles nearer, but being a
bye-road is very bad.” When did this Suffolk Way give place to the road through Braintree?
and when did this “ bye-road ” through the ridings ” give place to one through Hatfield ? The
“bye-road” appears to have been the one in use in Moll’s time between Ongar and Dunmow,
but even then was not the main road to Bury.

I find in Morant's Essex that at Great Yeldham a house near the church was anciently
appropriated and used for dressing a dinner for poor folk when married, and had all utensil s
and furniture convenient for that purpose; this house has since been converted into a school.
At Matching, near Harlow, a house close to the churchyard was designed for the
entertainment of poor folk on their wedding-day; it seems to be very ancient, but ruinous. At
Therfield, as at Braughing, there was till lately a set of kitchen furniture lent to the poor at
weddings. Mr. Glasscock tells us that a "Church House" existed at Stortford, probably used
in a similar manner. In The famous history of Sir Billy of Billericay, published in or about
1687, I found an account of such a wedding festivity of that date.
“Now in most parts of Essex (where this wedding was kept) it is a common custom when
poor people marry to make a kind of dog hanging, or money gathering, which they call a
wedding dinner; to which they invite tag and rag, all that will come ; where after dinner, upon
the summons of the tiddler, who setteth forth his voice like a town crier, a table being set
forth, and the bride set simpering at the upper end of it; the bridegroom standing by within a
white sheet overthrown his shoulders, as if he did penance for the folly he had committed
that day whilst the people invited to it, like the soldiers of a country train band, march up to
the bride, present their money and wheel about. After this offering is over, there is a pair of
gloves laid on the table, most monstrously bedecked about with ribbons, which by way of
auction is set to sale, at who gives most, and he whose lot it is for to have them, shall withal
have a kiss of the bride.”
Such a pair of gloves, bedaubed with ribbon, hang from the ceiling of the church at Theydon
Mount.

On May 4th, 1847, Mr. Samuel Ruggles-Brise married Marianne Weyland, fourth and
youngest daughter of Sir Edward Bowyer-Smyth, of Hill Hall, Theydon Mount, who survives
him, with their family of eleven sons and daughters. The eldest son, Mr. A. W. Ruggles-
Brise, who has lately resided with his parents at Spains Hall [Finchingfield], and as ‘ the
young squire ’ has become very popular among his tenants and neighbours, in whose
welfare he takes a practical and personal interest, is well-known throughout the county in
connection with church and political matters. Mr. Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, C.B., the second
son, is chairman of Her Majesty’s Prison Commissioners. The hearty and joyous golden
wedding celebration of the late Colonel and his esteemed wife are still within the memory of
many.

Jane Luther bequeathed a sum of 5s. annually, to be paid to the clerk of the parish, for
weeding the gravel path from the high road to the church-porch at Stapleford Tawney

Theydon Mount.
gard. lbm.: that they want a strong cheste or box for the almes for the poore.
George Mott warden. For deteyning a chest in his custody belonging to the church
alleged that the chest was broken open when their church was robde, and that it was
cast broken into a field.

Stapleford Tawney

Notes on the Overseers’ Book of Accounts for the years 1723–1823

In the year 1723, Edward Luther was Rector of this Parish and signed the book at the Vestry as such. E. Smyth, of Hill Hall, also signed.

At this vestry meeting a document was drawn up and signed by those present. This stated that whereas Thomas Luther, late of Suttons in the parish of Stapleford Tany (sic) in the County of Essex, Esqre., deceased, did in and by his last will and testament in writing, duly executed, bearing date the thirtieth day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eighteen, give and devise the sum of five pounds per annum to the poor of the parish of Stapleford Tany for ever and charged several lands in the said parish with the payment thereof.

Now know ye that we, the Churchwardens, etc., in vestry assembled on Monday the eleventh day of April, one thousand seven hundred and twenty-six.

In consideration that Jane Luther, of Suttons aforesaid, widow, the mother of the said Thomas Luther, deceased, having promised to give four pounds per annum towards the school to be sett up in the said parish of Stapleford Tany, for the instructing the poor children of the said parish...

Doe hereby agree and consent as much as in us lyes that the ffive pounds per annum so devised unto the poor of Stapleford Tany aforesaid, in and by the said Thomas Luther, be applyed and paid annually for ever hereafter to some honest schoolmaster or mistress that shall hereafter reside in the said parish of Stapleford Tany, and instruct the children of such poor persons that are or hereafter shall be, chargeable or likely to become chargeable to the parish aforesaid, in Reading, writing and Accounts, and also in learning them the Church Catechism and bringing them up in the Religion of the Church of England.

Which said schoolmaster or mistress after the death of the said Jane Luther, to be chosen by the proprietors of the several mansion houses hereinafter named: that is to say the proprietors of the mansion houses called Suttons, Miles, Tany Hall and Bells; and the Rector of the said parish for the time being, etc.

Signed

E. Smyth
Mary Haddon
Wm. Nicholson
Charles Haddon
P. Parkes, Rector
Hen. Mott Junr.
David X Trevice, his mark

Charles B. Sworder, Epping

ADD. MS. 36792 at the British Museum contains a list of appointments to benefices and
ecclesiastical preferments throughout the country by the Lords Commissioners of the Great
Seal of England (Bulstrode Whitelocke, esquire, Serjeant-at-Law; Richard Keeble, esquire,
Serjeant-at-Law; and John Lisle, esquire) from October, 1649, to March, 1653-4. This is
especially important, as other records fail just for this period. Bishops' Certificates and
entries in the Lords' Journals break off at the end of January, 1649; the certificates of the
Triers do not begin till April, 1654.
It is regularly stated how the benefice is void, by whom the minister is recommended (by
parishioners, or by members of Parliament, sometimes named, e.g. Sir Henry Mildmay or Sir
William Masham; or by various divines, sometimes named), and by what right the
Commissioners appoint. …
In a number of cases the minister appointed had been already for some years in the
sequestration, but was now legally appointed to the benefice on the death (or cession) of the
sequestered minister. This was the case at Aldham, Little Burstead, Danbury, Hadstock,
Purleigh; also Debden. … The entry suggests a similar case at Chadwell, where, however,
there seems no other evidence for a sequestration. There was clearly some mistake about
Witham, as the sequestered vicar, Francis Wright, survived the Restoration. I have noted a
few cases of past or future Essex incumbents:
ST. ALPHAGE, LONDON. 15 December, 1650. Andrew Harward, B.D. Formerly of
Greensted by Ongar. The records of the Plundered Ministers Committee show that he also
held Tring, in Hertfordshire; was turned out from there by the Earl of Manchester, but
allowed to keep Greensted; articles against him there were finally dismissed on the ground
they were only the old charges. He, however, resigned Greensted in 1646 ; in 1647,
parishioners of Tring petitioned for his restoration there, alleging that the Earl of Manchester
bad allowed him his choice of the two parishes, and he had now resigned the other. (Add.
MS. 15,669, 161, etc ; 15,670, 15, 89, 143 ; 15,671, 168, 7 July, 1647)

By kind permission of the Mayor (Councillor C. C. Smallwood), an evening meeting was held
at the Town Hall, Colchester, on Wednesday, 26 January, when Mr. Wykeham Chancellor,
M.A., F.R.I.B.A., gave a lantern lecture on "Some Essex Churches" to an appreciative
audience. The churches of St. Peter-on -the-Wall, at Bradwell-on-Sea, Greensted-by-Ongar,
and Langford, were among those dealt with; reference was also made to the six Essex
churches with round towers, Mr. Chancellor expressing an opinion that these towers were
generally earlier than the dates assigned to them by the Hist. Monuments Commission. A
cordial vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer on the motion of Mr. Duncan Clark,
A.R.I.B.A., seconded by Mr. A. W. Frost.

At the close, the Mayor apologised for his unavoidably late arrival, which had prevented him
from taking the chair as he had hoped to do; and in a few well -chosen words of welcome
alluded to the close connection there had always been between the Society and Colchester,
its birth-place, the Museum being a further bond of union between them. The Hon. Secretary
then thanked the Mayor for his support, and for the use of the-Grand Jury Room; thanks
were also rendered to Mr. Vernon Marshall for helping with the lantern. Fourteen new
members were elected.

Although rain fell heavily early in the afternoon, a fair amount of sunshine favoured this excursion, which was attended by upwards of 250 members and friends.

Motor-coaches left Chelmsford Station at 11 a.m. and proceeded to Writtle Church, where the party was welcomed by the Vicar, Rev. J. H. Upton. The building, which is spacious and dignified, dates from about 1230, but very little work of this period remains, and its later architectural history is somewhat involved.

Greensted Church

Greensted Church was next visited. This primitive little sanctuary is the sole surviving example in this country of a pre-Conquest timber church of a type which must have been common at the period.

“There is every probability”, according to the Historic Monuments Commission, that the nave “is the chapel built in 1013 to receive the remains of St. Edmund on their journey from London to Suffolk, and though drastically restored, this almost unique survival of a building of split oak logs of so early a date must always render it a structure of extreme interest.”

With a population of only 86, the burden of upkeep fell heavily on so small a parish, and under the present rector, the Rev. R. W. Doyle, visitors were asked to pay a fee of 6d. per head. As the Hon. Secretary objected on principle to a fixed charge, he was kindly allowed to invite members to contribute a voluntary offering instead.

Over £5 10s. was raised in this way, and the rector later wrote to express his warm thanks “for this very kind and generous contribution towards the upkeep and repair of the church”.

Luncheon was afterwards taken in the grounds of the adjoining Hall, by kind permission of Mr. and Mrs. Howel Price, who, although away from home, had made detailed arrangements for the reception of their visitors.

At a subsequent meeting 21 new members were elected. The Hon. Secretary also spoke at some length about the rules regulating excursions, and emphasised the fact that owing to the continued growth of the Society it would be absolutely necessary in the future for all such rules to be strictly adhered to.

Theydon Mount Church

A hearty vote of thanks having been accorded Mr. and Mrs. Price, the party left for Theydon Mount Church, which stands, embowered in trees, within the park of Hill Hall.

This church is said to have been struck by lightning in 1611, and was completely rebuilt by Sir William Smyth between the years 1611 and 1614. It is an “unusually complete example of the period, with mixed Gothic and Classic detail”, and contains a remarkable series of alabaster monuments, with effigies, to the Smyth family.

The earliest of these tombs commemorates Sir Thomas Smyth, 1577, who was Secretary of State to Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth, four times Ambassador to the Court of France, Chancellor of the Garter, Provost of Eton, and held several other offices. He was born at Saffron Walden.

On the north side of the nave, immediately in front of the combined pulpit and reading desk, is a pew with “Parish Officers’ Pew” inscribed on the door. At the north-west and south-west angles are brass standards surmounted by a mitre and a crown respectively.

It presumably dates from 1837, when the church was repaired and a west gallery, now removed, was erected for the use of the Hill Hall servants and musicians.

Hanging from the nave roof are two eighteenth-century maidens’ garlands, fragile relics of an old-time custom:

To her sweet memory flow’ry garlands strung
On her now empty seat aloft were hung.
— Gay

An account of these garlands, or crowns, one of which has a glove or gloves hanging inside, will be found in The Essex Naturalist, vol. vi., pp. 99 and 105.

Hill Hall

On leaving, members made their way to Hill Hall, where they were received by Sir Robert A. Hudson, G.B.E., and Lady Hudson, G.B.E. After listening to a description of the building, they were entertained to tea in a marquee erected on the lawn.

This house is beautifully situated in one of the most picturesque parts of the county and, to quote the early historian Holman, has “a very fair and delightful prospect all ways”. Parties were subsequently conducted over the ground floor by the host and hostess.

Hill Hall is said to have been built by Sir Thomas Smyth, who died in 1577, and the main quadrangle was probably set out at this period. Additions were made in the seventeenth century, and early in the eighteenth century the east front was rebuilt and the upper part of the north front remodelled.

In the great hall there is an original fireplace of brick, and on it are painted the quartered arms of Smyth and Charnock, the latter arms referring to Sir Thomas’s mother, Agnes Charnock. These quarterings are repeated, and in one instance they impale those of Wilford, Sir Thomas having married as his second wife Philippa, daughter of John Wilford and widow of Sir John Hampden, with whom he acquired Hill Hall.

In the pediment is a bust thought to be of Sir Thomas Smyth. A contemporary portrait of him, said to be by Holbein, hangs on the opposite wall, while another portrait attributed to Titian is to be seen in the library.

The eighteenth-century Chinese wallpapers, with their soft colourings, are also an attractive feature, though, with one or two exceptions, they did not originally belong to the house, but were collected and introduced some years ago by Mrs. Charles Hunter.

A set of three tapestries hanging in the music room and great hall, purchased only a week or so prior to the Society’s visit, were also noteworthy. They were woven in Brussels circa 1680 by H. Reydams, and all bear his signature and the Brussels mark. For a very long time they were at Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, the property of Lord Craven’s family.

It is remarkable that this house should have remained in possession of the descendants of Sir Thomas Smyth’s brother until 1925, when it was purchased by Sir Robert Hudson. Lieut.-Col. Sir Alfred John Bowyer-Smyth, the 13th baronet, had only recently died on 4 August.

An earlier member of the family is referred to in the Domestic State Papers of 1624, in a letter to Lord Denny, Sir Francis Barrington and Sir Thomas Fanshawe, requiring them to examine Sir William Smithe junior and others concerning a riotous assembly of armed men held near the house of his father, Sir William Smithe of Hill Hall, Essex, either to destroy the King’s game or to execute some other unlawful action.

Illustrated articles on Hill Hall by Mr. H. Avray Tipping appeared in Country Life on 5, 12 and 19 May 1917, but this house, with its memories of a notable statesman and scholar, and one who is among the greatest of Essex worthies, deserves a separate monograph.

The Hill Hall Bell

Canon Galpin was able to throw light on the history of the bell which stands in an oak frame on the western lawn, where it was placed to serve as a fire-bell. It was formerly the clock-bell of Hatfield Broad Oak Church, and was purchased by the late Mr. Charles Hunter about 25 years earlier.

It is listed in Church Bells of Essex under Hatfield and bears the following inscription:

PATRICK & OSBORN OF LONDON FOUNDERS 1783.

Although Sir Robert Hudson was convalescing after a serious illness, both he and Lady Hudson did not spare themselves to make the visit a delight, and on the motion of the President a hearty vote of thanks was accorded them for their kindly welcome and hospitality.

It should be added that all the buildings visited were described by that constant friend of the Society, Mr. Wykeham Chancellor, F.R.I.B.A.

Sir Thomas Smith at Cambridge

The following note was

Britain before the Norman Conquest 871 to 1066AD. Ordnance Survey Map (two sheets)
and text. This completes the coverage of the first thousand years of British history in the
Christian era. Greensted is stated to be the only one among all the 400 odd churches
existing today which show greater of lesser evidence of pre-Conquest construction, which
shows any surviving wooden structure above ground. A strong red line emphasises the
Thames Lea boundary of the Danelaw. Of comparatively few Essex places mapped there
are Shoebury and Benfleet, two out of the only thirteen Danish campaign forts known;
Colchester, Harwich, Thaxted and West Bergholt – findspots of Scandinavian objects; and
Witham and Maldon, two out of only eleven forts built by Edward the Elder.

… at Greensted, Essex, the staves are stout halved tree trunks set in a continuous line
and mortised into a sill beam set on or into the ground (Smart Lethieullier described this
arrangement and had elevations drawn in 1748; VCH, Essex, IV, 61) thus the staves
themselves, through a wall plate, would take the roofload. The church at Greensted was
possibly built c. 1013 (RCHM, 11, 112) although the church leaflet recently on sale gives a
dendrochronological date of AD 845.

The booklet section of the 1983 Church Guide Competition run by the British Association for
Local History has been won by Greensted-juxta-Ongar church, out of a total of 753 entries
for the booklet and leaflet sections combined. The church members who show
visitors round the church wrote the booklet; and received their prize of £125 from the
Archbishop of Canterbury in October.

It is clear that the ecclesiastical visitation, made to each church in the archdeaconry of Essex
in 1638, was intended to ensure conformity to the doctrines favoured by Charles I and Laud.
The following injunction is written at the beginning of the visitation book:
I pray you, sett down in the latter end of evry order that the congregation bare both in
service and sermon tyme, that the people stand up at the creed and the gospelI and that all
people come up to kneele at the rayle to receive the Communion and the minister shall
publish the order in church”.
In this context “bare” means to remove one’s hat, certainly nothing more radical! Puritans,
especially the extreme fringe represented by the Quakers, refused on principle to doff their
hats in church, or indeed in the presence of any authority. Puritans were accustomed to
receiving the sacrament standing, often in the body of the church where the communion
table would be placed in defiance of Laudian doctrine.
The entry for Stanford Rivers starts by issuing instructions for the proper arrangement of the
communion table and altar rails, and suggest that the rail at that time ran round three, or,
possibly, all four, sides of the altar. Chancel and nave were to be provided with ceilings (so
presumably both were still open to the rafters) and various books were to be provided
(including the Book of Homilies, a collection of “model” sermons). The church lacked a table
of the degrees of marriage (a painted board listing the relatives you were not allowed to
marry), a font cover (usually lockable, as there were concerns about the possible theft of
holy water) and a hood for the minister. Both the chancel and nave were already pewed, as
there are instructions that some of the higher pews were to be reduced to the level of the
rest. Similar instructions are to be found in the visitation records of most of the neighbouring
churches but there was one which appears to be unique to Stanford Rivers:
“the churchwardens to place the parishioners, the men on one side of the church, the
women on the other, the better sort next unto the chancel and the rest according to their
quaiiitye".
Segregation by social class was, of course, entirely normal and it was customary to allocate
the pews that were near the chancel to the better houses. It is easy to forget that
seventeenth century society was highly hierarchical and that the position of the occupant’s
pew was a visible demonstration of his or her social position. There was even a visible
hierarchy amongst the servants, who stood by the pew door of their master or mistress.
Transgressions of the traditional seating arrangements led to bitter and vituperative disputes
in the church courts. By the eighteenth century the normal arrangement in parish churches
was for particular pews to be allocated to particular properties, so that everyone from one
household sat together, though segregation by sex continued to be common in
nonconformist chapels.
Though segregation of men and women was commonly practised in the early Christian

church, it was steadily abandoned in the face of social pressures and the desire for
household pews by the 17 th century, in spite of opposition by some divines who wrote of the
“promiscuity” of allowing the sexes to mix in church. What was being insisted on at Stanford
Rivers was an attempt by Laudian divines to return to the practices of the earlier church,
even though they were swimming against the inexorable social pressures for families to sit
together. Why was there an attempt to segregate the congregation in Stanford Rivers?
The rector at this time was John Mainwaring who was ultra loyalist to the establishment. In
1627 (before he came to this parish) he had asserted that the king was not bound to observe
the laws of the realm, that the authority of Parliament was not necessary for raising taxes
and that those who refused to pay what the king demanded (with or without Parliamentary
sanction) offended against the laws of God. He was summoned to appear before the House
of Lords, fined £1000, imprisoned during the pleasure of the House and suspended from the
ministry for 3 years. Instructions were given that his printed sermons were to be burnt.
Charles I’s response was to prorogue Parliament (which annulled this sentence) and to
present him to the well endowed living of Stanford Rivers. This action provoked a tart and
ominous comment from Oliver Cromwell. “Mainwaring, so justly accused for his sermons by
this House, was preferred to a rich living. If these are the steps to church preferment, what
may we not expect?" it seems very probable that Mainwaring would have supported
anything in line with strict Laudian doctrine in his parish. Perhaps the church authority hoped
that, by establishing segregation in Stanford Rivers, a precedent could be established which
could be used to persuade adjoining parishes to conform. If this was the plan, it was to be
thwarted by Laud’s imminent downfall, and the social pressures of the time would have
regained the upper hand in Stanford Rivers.

Local saints are poorly represented. St Edmund, the king of East Anglia martyred by the
Danes at Hoxne in 870, has only two Essex dedications. Even Greensted juxta Ongar,
where his body is said to have lain overnight on its way to Bury St Edmunds, is dedicated to
another saint. St Ethelbert, king of the East Angles, murdered in 794, also has two. However
it is possible that St Ethelbert of Kent (died 616) was intended, as his cult was promoted by
St Paul’s cathedral. The few saints with closer Essex connections, St Cedd, St Osyth and St
Aylott, had no mediaeval dedications in the county. The reasons for Essex not honouring its
own - or, indeed, how the choice of dedicatory saint was originally made - are
undocumented and likely to remain obscure, though the mother cathedral of St Paul's
probably had a strong influence in the later Middle Ages. Much work remains to be done on
this fascinating and complicated subject.

A trunk which once belonged to Nellie Louisa Dawes (1902-1991) of Kiln Road, North Weald, has been donated by my family to the village station where her father was employed. Nellie left school at the age of 14 in 1916 to go “into Service”, at the same time as the Battle of the Somme raged and an aerodrome was being built nearby to bring down the Zeppelins.

We do not know to which large house she was employed but in all probability Nellie passed through the Station with her possessions on that day. The trunk was donated to the Epping and Ongar Railway in July and will be used in ‘dressing’ the booking hall of the station. In many senses the item has come home.

Nellie Louisa Dawes was my maternal grandmother.

Member Doug Burton loaned me some WWI items concerning his great uncle, Victor Albert Burton, who lived with his parents at Foster Street, Harlow.

Victor who worked as a gardener joined the 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment. After his basic training at Warley Barracks, near Brentwood, (which was the depot for the Essex Regiment), he was sent with the 1st Battalion as part of the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France and Belgium.

Victor sadly died of wounds on the 25th September, 1917, aged 23 years of age, and is buried in Dozingham Military Cemetery. His name also appears on the Harlow Old Town War Memorial.

His brother Bert also served in the 1914-18 conflict, but survived the war.

When the speaker did not show at our June meeting, we had what turned out to be an impromptu history discussion among all present. It was one of those evenings you could not plan. As you know, the best impromptu talks take two weeks to plan. It was good to share our diverse taste in history. Our group discussion began with Copped Hall’s archaeological excavations and ended, I believe, with Michael Portillo and the cow that urinated on his shoes at the Padfield’s during the filming of ‘Great British Railway Journeys’

Conversation moved from the Battle of Waterloo and the Duke of Wellington, to Winston Churchill. On the way ‘Never Mind the Dovecotes’ was mentioned, being the National Trust album of Punk Rock tunes.

Dovecotes were used as a source of food – meat and eggs – as well as dung. A number of examples remain in Essex. The one at High House, Purfleet, dating from the late seventeenth century retains its nest boxes as well as the revolving ladder called a portence.
Donald Smith photographed and drew a number of Essex dove houses for his book 'Pigeon Cotes and Dove Houses of Essex', published in 1931. The original photographs are in storage at Colchester Museum.

Epping Guardians Minutes - Minute of 21-8-1846
The following letter relating to the Case of Mary Ann Reid - received
from the Poor law Commissioners having been read to the Board was
ordered to be entered upon the Minutes.

Poor Law Commissioners Office. Somerset House.
1st August 1846

Sir,
I am directed by the Poor Law Commissioners to inform the Board of Guardians of the Epping Union that the Commissioners having received a Report from their Assistant Commissioner Sir John Walsham in which he has communicated to the Commissioners the facts as ascertained by him on the 10th ult when he in pursuance of their instructions held an enquiry into the circumstances of the case of Mary Ann Reid, who whilst an inmate of the Epping Union Workhouse was stated to have become pregnant and to have
given birth to a bastard child, which child died, and was buried in the
churchyard at Matching on the 22nd of April last without having been previously baptized - the main facts of the case as gathered from the witnesses examined by Sir John Walsham are the following

Mary Ann Reid aged about 32 years, who ‘tho deaf and dumb, has not any appearance of being an Idiot as alleged, was sent into the Workhouse between five & six years ago by her parents because according to her Mother's statement they could do nothing with her, from her being deranged in her mind after a bad fit of illness.

In the Workhouse Mary Ann Read was generally employed in household work from the time of her admission until it was known
that she was pregnant. Up to the 28th of April 1845 it appears to have been the custom in the Workhouse to ring a bell at 6 o'clock. p.m. in order that an inmate from each ward should go to the mouth of the coal cellar and receive the supply of coals required for consumption in each ward from that time until a similar hour on the following day. On the 28th of April and for some time previously, William Robinson who is above 60 years of age and who had been a Gentleman’s Servant, was employed in the Workhouse and amongst other duties he was required to hand up the coals from the cellar to the persons who came for them when the bell rang. Sir John Walsham informed the Commissioners that the coal cellar in question was in the Females Yard not at all out of the way, immediately accessible from the Union building and that the Master and Matron were continually in the habit of superintending the delivery of the coals themselves, and that the Inmates who had to fetch the coals were generally all together at such delivery. On the 28th of April however the Matron being engaged in the Kitchen, Mary Ann Read, who had to fetch some coals, and who happened to be the last person to whom coals were to be given out, was induced by Robinson to get down into the cellar and have connexion with him - She consequently became pregnant - and was ultimately delivered of a Bastard Child.

As regards the omission to baptize this child - a complaint which involves the conduct of the Chaplain as well as of the Master and Matron /in as much as it was alleged that the child had been long enough dangerously ill to have been baptized. Sir John Walsham reports that the Medical Officer was himself ill and could not attend the Enquiry when it was made, but it was shewn that the Medical Officer had seen & prescribed for the child on a Saturday for diarrhoea & that the child died on the Sunday Morning, there having been no previous reason to apprehend any danger at least not until 3 o'clock on the Sunday morning & then only by the Nurse /a relative/ who did not communicate with the Matron until after the death had occurred.

On a review of these circumstances the Commissioners have merely to observe that in the case of Mary Ann Read, her pregnancy took place under such circumstances as to warrant the Commissioners in acquitting the Officers of any blame on the ground of a want of ordinary vigilance: and in the case of Mary Ann Reeds child, the Commissioners likewise acquit the Officers of the Workhouse of any blame, because it seems that the Child died somewhat suddenly, that no danger was apprehended except at a short period before its decease and then no communication on the subject was made to the Matron or other Officers, who seem to have been aware what their duties are as regards the baptism of a Child who is known to be dangerously ill – the Commissioners have only to add that they think the Master may very properly request any Clergyman who baptizes a child in the Workhouse to give a certificate to the effect that the child has been so baptized, which should be produced at the funeral for the satisfaction of the Clergyman performing the service for the Burial of the Dead.
I am Sir
Your most obt Servant
E. Chadwick
Secretary

John Windus Eq
Clerk to the Guardians
Epping Union Secretary
From the Greensted Registers

A search of the registers for St Andrew’s, Greensted for Births, Deaths and Marriages can often reveal some interesting entries.

Nathan Lacy, the son of Nathan Lacy, Rector, and Sarah, his wife, was borne the seventh of March, Tuesday, about seven a clock in the morning, in Candlewick Street in London, and baptized the seventeenth in his Grandfather Hawes his house, by his father in the
yeere 1653.

Zachariah Shrapnel, son of the Revd W. Hamilton Warren, Rector of
this Parish, & Elizabeth, his wife, was born in this Parish April 2nd, 1796, five minutes after eight in the morning, upon a Saturday, & was afterwards baptiz'd at Bradford, in the County of Wilts, where his name is register'd.

Mother Milton, of ye age of 105, was buried 1 maij.1600.

John Gray & Zachee Pigot, drowned together, were buried together, 10th August, 1606, 4th Ja.

Richard Sweeting, of the parish of Greenstead, in the county of Essex, maketh oath that Susan Sweeting, of Greenstead, in the county of Essex, lately deceased, was not put in, wrapt, or wound up, or buried but in sheeps wool only, according to the act dated the 28 of may, in the two and thirtieth of yeare of the reign; &c., and was buried the same weeke anno dni 1680.

Thomas Piggot, who was unfortunately killed by an unruly Horse on the first was buried on the third day of July, 1735. And Affidavit made & brought in due time of his having been buried in woollen only.
The Rev' M' William-Tredwell Bull, late Rector of this Parish, died October y 19th, & was buried Oct. 21, 1738, in the South Side of the Chancel (not far from the Door) in the Church-yard.

Samuel King, an Infant (from the Foundling Hospital), was Buried the
Thirtieth Day of January, 1760.

Sarah Warren, Daughter of the Revd W. H. Warren, Rector of this Parish, & Sarah Sindry, his Wife, was buried in the Chancel under the communion Table, April 5th, 1799, died April 2nd, aged 8 months.

Mary Smith Ord, Wife of Craven Ord, Esc'', of Greensted Hall, aged 39, was buried March 7*, 1804, in the Chauncel, close to the Door, in a Wall Grave, died March 1st.

Member Martin Cearns found the following poster in the effects of his late father. It was issued during 1940 and gave advice to residents as to the action they should take if this country was invaded by the Germans.

It really conjures up images of Captain Mainwaring and the Warmington on Sea Home Guard.

Two books closely related to the history of Blackmore have recently been purchased for the Library of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History. ‘Bessie Blount, Mistress of Henry VIII’ (told in the title of the book by Elizabeth Norton), a lady in the retinue of Catherine of Aragon, was sent in confinement to Blackmore Priory in 1519 where in the neighbouring house she bore his child, Henry Fitzroy (told in ‘Bastard Prince. Henry VIII’s Lost Son’ by Beverley A. Murphy).

This note unravels the research and establishes whether Henry VIII may have really “gone to Jericho”.

According to Beverley Murphy, the King’s affair with Elizabeth may have been brief and began following the pregnancy of Catherine in April 1518. “It is a sad irony that Katherine’s happy condition was probably the impetus for her husband to seek solace in the arms of Elizabeth Blount” (Murphy, 27). Elizabeth Norton disagrees, because as early as autumn 1514 Bessie had met the King: “without the birth of Henry Fitzroy, Bessie’s own affair would have probably gone unrecorded” (Norton, 119). The birth date of Henry Fitzroy is unclear other than he was six years of age in June 1525. About the time that Bessie was to become visibly pregnant Thomas Wolsey discreetly dispatched her to Jericho House in Blackmore, the home of the prior Thomas Goodwyn (Murphy, 30). “Bessie made her final appearance at court early in October 1518” (Norton, 131).

Wolsey was charged with taking an active interest in Henry’s illegitimate child: Blackmore was “sufficiently quiet not to rouse unwelcome gossip” (Norton, 133). Henry VIII is alleged to have been a frequent visitor to Jericho House and is said to have given orders not to be disturbed hence the expression used in Court, “He has gone to Jericho”. This has entered into local folklore fuelled by Philip Morant who used these words in his ‘History of Essex’ (1768) adding that the Priory was one of the King’s “Houses of Pleasure”. Subsequently historians have suggested that Blackmore Priory was dissolved in 1527 because of its immoral goings-on. From “the records of the dissolution … it does appear that the prior was somewhat more worldly than he should have been” (Norton, 134): its debts ran to one third of the annual income. But then if a future King lived there perhaps the debts were with some justification?

Henry VIII may have visited Elizabeth at Blackmore, contrary to the view expressed by Murphy. Bessie certainly did not resume her duties following the birth of Fitzroy (Murphy, 31) and there is no record of the King staying overnight (Norton, 134). But this should not suggest the King had nothing further to do with Bessie. Blackmore is relatively close to Newhall, Chelmsford, which was renamed Beaulieu in 1523, from where the King “set out to visit her. This is once again evidence that Bessie’s departure from court was not the end of the affair between her and the King” (Norton, 134). It is possible that she later had a daughter by the King around 1520 (Norton, 139) perhaps conceived in Blackmore (Norton, 151). Fitzroy’s biographer disagrees (Murphy, 32).

The King was delighted with the news of the birth of a son and whilst in Essex that summer might have held a formal celebration at the manor of Havering-atte-Bower (Murphy, 31). Cardinal Wolsey was named the child’s godparent, as he had been for his half-sister Mary, the only surviving child born of Queen Catherine, some three and a half years earlier. Although no christening records survive Wolsey’s absence from Court from 19 June to 29 June 1519 may have been due to his attendance at Fitzroy’s baptism probably at Blackmore. Could the font have been the place where the ceremony quietly took place?

Bessie Blount was married off to Gilbert Tailbois (or Tailboys), who hailed from a rich Lincolnshire family. This may not have happened as quickly as historians have suggested: the first record of marriage is recorded in June 1522 (Murphy, 33; Norton, 139). They may have married in April 1522 because “the king began to be conspicuously generous to Gilbert Tailboys” (Norton, 141).

Historians are again divided as to whether Bessie had any involvement in Fitzroy’s upbringing. Her biographer suggests “it seems probable that she would have retained custody of her son … perhaps playing a part in raising both Henry Fitzroy and Elizabeth Tailboys until her marriage in 1522” (Norton, 151).

Much admired and spoilt by Henry VIII, Henry Fitzroy was, by the age of six, created Duke of Richmond with the titles Earl of Nottingham and Duke of Somerset. This placed Henry Fitzroy in an honoured position because the title held precedence over all other Dukes except potential legitimate sons of the King. By doing so, Henry VIII had elevated his son’s position in society such that he would be a more eligible bachelor. By the age of eight Henry Fitzroy was Admiral of England, Ireland and Normandy but died in 1536, aged seventeen of tuberculosis. He was buried at Thetford Priory. Had he survived the course of English history could have changed and Fitzroy crowned Henry IX.

Chelmsford Chronicle 19 March 1794.

William West was executed for breaking into the house of Philip Martin, Esq., of Theydon Garnon, together with three accomplices (not yet apprehended) and stealing 2 gold watches, 70 guineas, 2 £20 and 1 £10 bank notes, with a quantity of silver plate and other goods value near £600.

He would not to the last make any confession tending to a discovery of his accomplices, though ably advised of the injustice respecting his obstinacy here, and warned of his consequent punishment hereafter. In other respects he behaved with decency, composure and seemingly with penitence. To see a man in the prime of youth making so ignominious an exit, shocks the feeling of the humane, but, were not the definitive laws of our county put into execution neither justice, property, or society could be supported.

Stamford Mercury 11 January 1729

On Friday last week Capt. Searle, of Epping, being with his son in the woods adjoining where he kept wild turkeys, heard some persons there, whom he suspected to have come hither to steal them; and in order to discover and apprehend them, ordered his son to go one way, while he searched another: The son was presently set upon, and knocked down by a fellow, who repeated his blows, as the other attempted to rise, and afterwards called to his companion by name, and told him, he had done young Searle’s business. The father was in hearing at this time, having drawn that way by his son’s outcry; both the rogues had made their way off, and Mr Searle carried his son home, whose skull was so fractured, that he died that evening. Capt. Searle knowing the person whose name he heard, got him secured, and he discovered the person who committed the murder, who is apprehended and sent to Chelmsford Gaol.

Ipswich Journal 21st February 1730

On Monday night, a gentleman coming from Ongar in Essex, was attacked by a single highwayman on Epping Forest, who took from him a watch, five guineas, and some silver, and after having cut his horses girts, he made off.

The same evening about seven, o’clock, a person whose wife is housekeeper to the Lord Vise Castlemain, going to see her, was attacked in his Lordship’s park, near his Seat in Epping Forest, by two foot pads, who robbed him of fifty pounds, and used him in a very barbarous manner, and went off undiscovered. It is remarkable, that he received the money but the day before, which gives great reason to suspect that the rogues were apprised of their booty.

Chelmsford Chronicle 17 January, 1783

Yesterday fortnight, in the morning, a farmer at Greensted Hall, near Chipping Ongar, in this County, was robbed of two £20 bank notes and near 80 guineas, at Holloway Down, near Woodford, by two footpads well armed.