Place:Essex, England

Watchers


NameEssex
Alt namesESSsource: Curious Fox: UK Counties and Shires [online] (2002). accessed 16 Dec 2002
TypeHistoric county, Administrative county, Modern county
Coordinates51.583°N 0.55°E
Located inEngland
Contained Places
Ancient parish
Belchamp St. Paul
Borley
Foxearth
Gosfield
Great Chishill ( - 1895 )
Great Yeldham
Heydon ( - 1895 )
Little Chishill ( - 1895 )
Pebmarsh
Ridgewell
Sible Hedingham
Sturmer
Takeley
Wendens Ambo
White Colne
Wickham St. Paul
Area
Aldborough Hatch ( - 1965 )
Barkingside ( - 1965 )
Beckton ( - 1965 )
Becontree ( - 1965 )
Canning Town ( - 1965 )
Chadwell Heath ( - 1965 )
Clayhall ( - 1965 )
Custom House ( - 1965 )
Emerson Park ( - 1965 )
Epping Forest
Fairlop ( - 1965 )
Forest Gate ( - 1965 )
Gallows Corner ( - 1965 )
Gants Hill ( - 1965 )
Hainault ( - 1965 )
Little Ilford ( - 1965 )
Manor Park ( - 1965 )
Monkhams ( - 1965 )
Newbury Park ( - 1965 )
Pilgrims Hatch
Redbridge ( - 1965 )
Seven Kings ( - 1965 )
Silvertown ( - 1965 )
Snaresbrook ( - 1965 )
Victoria Docks ( - 1965 )
Wanstead Slip
West Silvertown ( - 1965 )
Borough (county)
East Ham ( - 1965 )
Southend on Sea
West Ham ( - 1965 )
Borough (municipal)
Barking ( - 1965 )
Chelmsford
Colchester
Dagenham ( - 1965 )
Harwich ( 100 - )
Ilford ( - 1965 )
Maldon ( 913 - )
Romford ( - 1965 )
Saffron Walden
Walthamstow ( - 1965 )
Wanstead and Woodford ( 1937 - 1965 )
Cemetery
City of London Cemetery and Crematorium ( - 1965 )
Chapelry
Aldborough Hatch ( - 1965 )
Ballingdon ( - 1896 )
Chappel
Goldhanger
Havering ( - 1965 )
Hornchurch ( - 1965 )
Romford ( - 1965 )
Civil parish
Abbess Beauchamp and Berners Roding ( 1946 - )
Alphamstone
Arkesden
Ashdon
Ashen
Barling Magna ( 1946 - )
Beaumont cum Moze
Belchamp Otten
Belchamp St. Paul
Belchamp Walter
Berden
Birchanger
Birdbrook
Black Notley
Bocking ( - 1934 )
Borley
Bradfield
Bradwell next Coggeshall
Bulmer
Bulphan
Bures
Castle Hedingham
Chickney
Chignal St. James
Chignal
Chrishall
Coggeshall ( 1949 - )
Colne Engaine
Cressing
Debden
Elmdon
Elmstead
Epping Upland
Fairstead
Faulkbourne
Feering
Felsted
Finchingfield
Foxearth
Frating
Frinton and Walton ( 1934 - )
Frinton on Sea
Gestingthorpe
Gosfield
Great Bardfield
Great Bentley
Great Bromley
Great Chesterford
Great Chishill ( - 1895 )
Great Coggeshall ( - 1949 )
Great Hallingbury
Great Henny
Great Maplestead
Great Parndon
Great Saling
Great Stambridge ( - 1929 )
Great Yeldham
Great and Little Leighs ( 1946 - )
Great and Little Wigborough ( 1953 - 1974 )
Halstead Rural (parish) ( 1894 - 1974 )
Halstead
Hatfield Broad Oak ( 1136 - )
Hatfield Peverel
Heydon ( - 1895 )
High Laver
High Ongar
High Roding
Highwood
Hockley
Kelvedon
Kirby le Soken
Lamarsh
Latton
Lawford
Leaden Roding
Liston
Little Bentley
Little Bromley
Little Canfield
Little Chesterford
Little Chishill ( - 1895 )
Little Coggeshall ( - 1949 )
Little Dunmow
Little Easton
Little Hallingbury
Little Henny
Little Holland
Little Laver
Little Maplestead
Little Sampford
Little Stambridge ( - 1929 )
Little Yeldham
Littlebury
Manningtree
Markshall
Messing cum Inworth ( 1934 - )
Messing
Middleton
Mistley
Moreton
Mountnessing
Navestock
Nazeing
Netteswell
North Wood
Norton Mandeville
Ongar ( 1965 - )
Ovington
Panfield
Pattiswick
Pebmarsh
Pentlow
Pitsea
Quendon and Rickling ( 1946 - )
Quendon ( - 1946 )
Rawreth
Rayne
Rettendon
Ridgewell
Rivenhall
Romford Rural (parish) ( - 1965 )
Roydon
Runwell
Shalford
Sheering
Shelley
Sible Hedingham
Stambourne
Stambridge ( 1934 - )
Stanford Rivers
Stansted Mountfitchet
Stapleford Tawney
Steeple Bumpstead
Stisted
Stondon Massey
Strethall
Sturmer
Takeley
Tendring
Terling
Theydon Bois
Theydon Garnon
Theydon Mount
Tilbury juxta Clare
Toppesfield
Twinstead
Wendens Ambo
Wendon Lofts
West Bergholt
Wethersfield
White Colne
Wicken Bonhunt
Wickham St. Paul
Widdington
Willingale ( 1946 - )
Wix
District
Maryland ( - 1965 )
District municipality
Basildon District ( 1974 - )
Braintree District ( 1974 - )
Brentwood District ( 1974 - )
Castle Point District ( 1974 - )
Chelmsford District ( 1974 - )
Colchester District ( 1974 - )
Epping Forest District ( 1974 - )
Harlow District ( 1974 - )
Maldon District ( 1974 - )
Rochford District ( 1974 - )
Tendring District ( 1974 - )
Thurrock District ( 1974 - )
Uttlesford District ( 1974 - )
Former parish
Willingale Doe ( - 1846 )
Willingale Spain ( - 1946 )
Hamlet
Dunton
Greenstead (near Colchester)
Lee Chapel
Noak Bridge
Hundred
Barstable Hundred
Becontree Hundred
Chafford Hundred
Chelmsford Hundred
Clavering Hundred
Dengie Hundred
Dunmow Hundred
Freshwell Hundred
Harlow Hundred
Havering Liberty ( - 1965 )
Hinckford Hundred
Lexden Hundred
Ongar Hundred
Rochford Hundred
Tendring Hundred
Thurstable Hundred
Uttlesford Hundred
Waltham Hundred
Winstree Hundred
Witham Hundred
Inhabited place
Ashingdon
Barling
Basildon
Battlesbridge
Beauchamp Roding
Bentfield Bury
Berners Roding
Bicknacre
Bigods
Billericay
Birchanger
Bobbingworth
Bradfield
Braintree
Brentwood ( 500 - )
Brightlingsea
Broadley Common
Brook Street
Buckhurst Hill
Bulphan
Bumbles Green
Canewdon
Castle Hedingham
Chatham Green
Chigwell Row
Chigwell
Chipping Ongar
Chrishall
Clacton on Sea
Cock Clarks
Colchester
Colne Valley
Cooksmill Green
Coopersale Common
Coryton
Cowick
Crawley End
Curling Tye Green
Debden Green
Debden
Doddinghurst
Duddenhoe End
Earls Colne
Eastwood
Elsenham
Epping
Feering
Felsted
Frinton on Sea
Fyfield
Galleyend
Gestingthorpe
Grange Hill
Grays Thurrock
Great Bardfield
Great Bentley
Great Bromley
Great Burstead
Great Holland
Great Oakley
Great Oxney Green
Greenstead (near Ongar)
Hadleigh
Hadstock
Halstead
Harlow
Harwich ( 100 - )
Hatfield Broad Oak ( 1136 - )
Hatfield Peverel
Havering atte Bower ( - 1965 )
Havering's Grove
Hawkwell
High Laver
Hockley
Horndon on the Hill
Housham Tye
Howe Green
Hullbridge
Ingatestone ( - 1894 )
Jaywick
Kelvedon Hatch
Lakeside
Lambourne
Lawford
Leigh on Sea
Linford
Little Bardfield
Little Clacton
Little End
Little Hallingbury
Little Oakley
Little Parndon
Little Totham
Little Wakering
Loughton
Magdalen Laver
Manningtree
Margaret Roding
Matching
Mill Green
Mistley
Mountnessing
Mundon Hill
Navestock Side
Navestock
Newport
Nine Ashes
North Shoebury
Norton Heath
Panfield
Pitsea
Prittlewell
Purfleet
Radwinter
Ramsey
Rawreth
Rayleigh
Rettendon Place
Rickling ( - 1946 )
Rochford
Rowhedge
Roydon
Saffron Walden
Shoeburyness
Silver End
South Fambridge
South Green
South Woodham Ferrers
Southchurch
Southend on Sea
St. Osyth
Stanford Rivers
Stansted Mountfitchet
Stapleford Abbotts
Stebbing
Stondon Massey
Stratford ( - 1965 )
Terling
Thames Haven
Thorpe le Soken
Thorrington
Tilbury
Toot Hill
Toppesfield
Ugley
Waltham Abbey
Walton on the Naze
Weeley
West Bergholt
West Thurrock
Westcliff on Sea
White Notley
Wicken Bonhunt
Willingale Doe ( - 1846 )
Willingale Spain ( - 1946 )
Wimbish
Witham
Wrabness
Island
Mersea
Wallasea Island
Parish
Abberton
Abbess Roding
Aldham
Alresford
Althorne
Ardleigh
Asheldham
Aveley
Aythorpe Roding
Ballingdon ( - 1896 )
Bardfield Saling
Barking ( - 1965 )
Barnston
Bartlow End ( 1866 - 1946 )
Birch
Blackmore
Boreham
Bowers Gifford
Boxted
Bradwell on Sea
Broomfield
Broxted
Burnham on Crouch
Buttsbury
Chadwell St. Mary
Chappel
Chelmsford
Chignal Smealy
Childerditch
Chingford ( - 1965 )
Clavering
Cold Norton
Copford
Corringham
Cranham ( - 1965 )
Creeksea ( - 1934 )
Dagenham ( - 1965 )
Danbury
Dedham
Dengie
Downham
East Donyland
East Ham ( - 1965 )
East Hanningfield
East Horndon
East Mersea
East Tilbury
Easthorpe
Eight Ash Green ( 1949 - )
Farnham
Fingringhoe
Fobbing
Fordham
Foulness
Fryerning
Goldhanger
Good Easter
Great Baddow
Great Braxted
Great Canfield
Great Dunmow
Great Easton
Great Horkesley
Great Sampford
Great Tey
Great Totham
Great Wakering
Great Waltham
Great Warley
Great Wigborough ( - 1953 )
Hazeleigh
Helions Bumpstead
Hempstead
Henham on the Hill
Heybridge
High Easter
Hornchurch ( - 1965 )
Hutton
Ilford ( - 1965 )
Ingatestone and Fryerning ( 1889 - )
Ingrave
Inworth ( - 1934 )
Kedington ( - 1895 )
Laindon
Langdon Hills
Langenhoe
Langford
Langham
Langley
Latchingdon
Layer Breton
Layer Marney
Layer de la Haye
Lee Chapel
Leyton ( - 1965 )
Lindsell
Little Baddow
Little Braxted
Little Burstead
Little Horkesley
Little Tey
Little Thurrock
Little Waltham
Little Warley
Little Wigborough ( - 1953 )
Manuden
Margaretting
Marks Tey
Mashbury
Mayland
Mount Bures
Mucking
Mundon
Nevendon
Noak Hill ( - 1965 )
North Benfleet
North Fambridge
North Ockendon ( - 1965 )
North Weald Bassett
Orsett
Peldon
Pleshey
Purleigh
Rainham ( - 1965 )
Ramsden Bellhouse ( - 1934 )
Ramsden Crays
Romford ( - 1965 )
Roxwell
Salcot
Sandon
Shellow Bowells
Shenfield
South Benfleet
South Hanningfield
South Ockendon
South Weald
Southminster
Springfield
St. Lawrence
Stanford le Hope
Stanway
Steeple
Stifford
Stock
Stow Maries
Stratford ( - 1965 )
Thaxted
Thundersley
Tillingham
Tilty
Tiptree
Tollesbury
Tolleshunt D'Arcy
Tolleshunt Knights
Tolleshunt Major
Ulting
Upminster ( - 1965 )
Vange
Virley
Wakes Colne
Walthamstow ( - 1965 )
Wanstead ( - 1965 )
Warley
Wennington ( - 1965 )
West Ham ( - 1965 )
West Hanningfield
West Horndon
West Mersea
West Tilbury
White Roding
Wickford
Wickham Bishops
Widford ( - 1934 )
Wivenhoe
Woodford ( - 1965 )
Woodham Ferrers
Woodham Mortimer
Woodham Walter
Wormingford
Writtle
Parish (ancient)
Great Stambridge ( - 1929 )
Havering ( - 1965 )
Little Stambridge ( - 1929 )
Snoreham
Region
East London ( - 1965 )
Registration district
Barking Registration District
Basildon Registration District ( 1974 - 1974 )
Billericay Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
Braintree Registration District ( 1837 - 2010 )
Brentwood Registration District ( 1939 - 2010 )
Castle Point & Rochford Registration District ( 1998 - 2010 )
Chelmsford Registration District ( 1837 - 2010 )
Colchester Registration District
Dunmow Registration District ( 1937 - 1967 )
East Ham Registration District ( 1935 - 1965 )
Edmonton Registration District ( 1837 - 1965 )
Epping Forest Registration District ( 1974 - 2010 )
Epping Registration District
Essex Registration District ( 2010 - )
Essex South Western Registration District ( 1935 - 1965 )
Halstead Registration District ( 1837 - 1972 )
Harlow Registration District ( 1974 - 2010 )
Harwich Registration District ( 1939 - 1957 )
Ilford Registration District ( 1939 - 1965 )
Lexden Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
Maldon Registration District ( 1837 - 1972 )
Ongar Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
Orsett Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
Rochford Registration District ( 1837 - 1974 )
Romford Registration District ( 1837 - 1965 )
Saffron Walden Registration District ( 1837 - 1974 )
Southend on Sea Registration District ( 1939 - )
Tendring Registration District ( 1837 - 1939 )
Thurrock Registration District ( 1939 - )
Uttlesford Registration District ( 1974 - 2010 )
West Ham Registration District ( 1837 - 1967 )
Witham Registration District ( 1837 - 1880 )
Rural district
Belchamp Rural ( 1894 - 1934 )
Billericay Rural ( 1894 - 1934 )
Braintree Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Bumpstead Rural ( 1894 - 1934 )
Chelmsford Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Dunmow Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Epping Rural ( 1894 - 1955 )
Epping and Ongar Rural ( 1955 - 1974 )
Halstead Rural ( - 1974 )
Lexden and Winstree Rural ( - 1974 )
Maldon Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Ongar Rural ( 1894 - 1955 )
Orsett Rural ( 1894 - 1936 )
Rochford Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Romford Rural ( 1894 - 1934 )
Saffron Walden Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Stansted Rural ( 1894 - 1934 )
Tendring Rural ( - 1974 )
Settlement
Little Walden
Suburb
Ardleigh Green ( - 1965 )
Black Notley
Buckhurst Hill
Dovercourt
Elm Park ( - 1965 )
Goodmayes ( - 1965 )
Hainault ( - 1965 )
Harold Hill ( - 1965 )
Havering atte Bower ( - 1965 )
Lexden
Parkeston
Plaistow ( - 1865 )
Wanstead ( - 1965 )
Township
Laindon
Langdon Hills
Unitary authority
Southend on Sea (district) ( 1974 - )
Thurrock District ( 1974 - )
Unknown
Berechurch
Coopersale
Forest-Gate
Great Notley
Havengore
Haydon
High Beech
High Garrett
Higham-Bensted
Leigh
Little Hadham
Paglesham
Sewardstone
Shopland
Shrub End
South Shoebury
St. Lawrence-Newland
Sutton
Tilbury-Fort
Upshire
Uptown Park
Wharwich
Urban district
Barking ( - 1965 )
Basildon
Benfleet ( 1929 - 1974 )
Braintree
Brentwood ( 500 - )
Brightlingsea
Burnham on Crouch
Canvey Island ( 1926 - 1974 )
Chigwell
Clacton on Sea
Dagenham ( - 1965 )
East Ham ( - 1965 )
Epping
Frinton and Walton ( 1934 - )
Grays Thurrock
Halstead
Harlow
Hornchurch ( - 1965 )
Ilford ( - 1965 )
Purfleet
Rayleigh
Romford ( - 1965 )
Thurrock ( 1936 - 1974 )
Tilbury
Waltham Holy Cross ( - 1974 )
Walthamstow ( - 1965 )
Wanstead ( - 1965 )
West Mersea
Witham
Wivenhoe
Woodford ( - 1965 )
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Essex is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Greater London to the south and south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, which is one of two cities in the county, the other being Southend-on-Sea which was granted city status on 1 March 2022. Colchester will become a city later in 2022 as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. For the purposes of government statistics, Essex is placed in the East of England region.

There are four definitions of the extent of Essex, the widest being the ancient county. Next largest is the former postal county, followed by the ceremonial county, with the smallest being the administrative county—the area administered by the County Council, which excludes the two unitary authorities of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea, and the areas administered by the Greater London Authority.

The ceremonial county occupies the eastern part of what was, during the Early Middle Ages, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Essex. As well as rural areas, the county also includes: London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury, and the City of Southend-on-Sea.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Essex evolved from the Kingdom of the East Saxons, a polity which is likely to have its roots in the territory of the Iron Age Trinovantes tribe.

Iron Age

Essex corresponds, fairly closely, to the territory of the Trinovantes tribe. Their production of their own coinage marks them out as one of the more advanced tribes on the island, this advantage (in common with other tribes in the south-east) is probably due to the Belgic element within their elite. Their capital was the oppidum (a type of town) of Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, which had its own mint. The tribe were in extended conflict with their western neighbours, the Catuvellauni, and steadily lost ground. By AD 10 they had come under the complete control of the Catuvellauni, who took Colchester as their own capital.

Roman

The Roman invasion of AD 43 began with a landing on the south coast, probably in the Richborough area of Kent. After some initial successes against the Britons, they paused to await reinforcements, and the arrival of the Emperor Claudius. The combined army then proceeded to the capital of the Catevellauni-Trinovantes at Colchester, and took it.

Claudius held a review of his invasion force on Lexden Heath where the army formally proclaimed him Imperator. The invasion force that assembled before him included four legions, mounted auxiliaries and an elephant corps – a force of around 30,000 men. At Colchester, the kings of 11 British tribes surrendered to Claudius.

Colchester became a Roman Colonia, with the official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis ('the City of Claudius' Victory'). It was initially the most important city in Roman Britain and in it they established a temple to the God-Emperor Claudius. This was the largest building of its kind in Roman Britain.

The establishment of the Colonia is thought to have involved extensive appropriation of land from local people, this and other grievances led to the Trinovantes joining their northern neighbours, the Iceni, in the Boudiccan revolt. The rebels entered the city, and after a Roman last stand at the temple of Claudius, methodically destroyed it, massacring many thousands. A significant Roman force attempting to relieve Colchester was destroyed in pitched battle, known as the Massacre of the Ninth Legion.

The rebels then proceeded to sack London and St Albans, with Tacitus estimating that 70–80,000 people were killed in the destruction of the three cities. Boudicca was defeated in battle, somewhere in the west midlands, and the Romans are likely to have ravaged the lands of the rebel tribes, so Essex will have suffered greatly.

Despite this, the Trinovantes' identity persisted. Roman provinces were divided into civitas for local government purposes – with a civitas for the Trinovantes strongly implied by Ptolemy. Christianity is thought to have been flourishing among the Trinovantes in the fourth century, indications include the remains of a probable church at Colchester, the church dates from sometime after 320, shortly after the Constantine the Great granted freedom of worship to Christians in 313. Other archaeological evidence include a chi-rho symbol etched on a tile at a site in Wickford, and a gold ring inscribed with a chi-rho monogram found at Brentwood.


The late Roman period, and the period shortly after, was the setting for the King Cole legends based around Colchester. One version of the legend concerns St Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. The legend makes her the daughter of Coel, Duke of the Britons (King Cole) and in it she gives birth to Constantine in Colchester. This, and related legends, are at variance with biographical details as they are now known, but it is likely that Constantine, and his father, Constantius spent time in Colchester during their years in Britain. The presence of St Helena in the country is less certain.

Anglo-Saxon period

The name Essex originates in the Anglo-Saxon period of the Early Middle Ages and has its root in the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) name Ēastseaxe ("East Saxons"), the eastern kingdom of the Saxons who had come from the continent and settled in Britain. Excavations at Mucking have demonstrated the presence of Anglo-Saxon settlers in the early fifth century, however the way in which these settlers became ascendent in the territory of the Trinovantes is not known. Studies suggest a pattern of typically peaceful co-existence, with the structure of the Romano-British landscape being maintained, and with the Saxon settlers believed to have been in the minority.

The first known king of the East Saxons was Sledd in 587, though there are less reliable sources giving an account of Aescwine (other versions call him Erkenwine) founding the kingdom in 527. The early kings of the East Saxons were pagan and uniquely amongst the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms traced their lineage back to Seaxnēat, god of the Saxons, rather than Woden. The kings of Essex are notable for their S-nomenclature, nearly all of them begin with the letter S.

The Kingdom of the East Saxons included not just the subsequent county of Essex, but also Middlesex (including the City of London), much of Hertfordshire and at times also the sub-Kingdom of Surrey. The Middlesex and Hertfordshire parts were known as the Province of the Middle Saxons since at least the early eighth century but it is not known if the province was previously an independent unit that came under East Saxon control. Charter evidence shows that the Kings of Essex appear to have had a greater control in the core area, east of the Lea and Stort, that would subsequently become the county of Essex. In the core area they granted charters freely, but further west they did so while also making reference to their Mercian overlords.

The early kings were pagan, together with much and perhaps by this time all of the population. Sledd's son Sebert converted to Christianity around 604 and St Pauls Cathedral in London was established. On Sebert's death in 616 his sons renounced Christianity and drove out Mellitus, the Bishop of London. The kingdom re-converted after St Cedd, a monk from Lindisfarne and now the patron saint of Essex, converted Sigeberht II the Good around 653.

In AD 824, Ecgberht, the King of the Wessex and grandfather of Alfred the Great, defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun in Wiltshire, fundamentally changing the balance of power in southern England. The small kingdoms of Essex, Sussex and of Kent, previously independent albeit under Mercian overlordship, were subsequently fully absorbed into Wessex.

The later Anglo-Saxon period shows three major battles fought with the Norse recorded in Essex; the Battle of Benfleet in 894, the Battle of Maldon in 991 and the Battle of Assandun (probably at either Ashingdon or Ashdon) in 1016. The county of Essex was formed from the core area, east of the River Lea, of the former Kingdom of the East Saxons in the 9th or 10th centuries and divided into groupings called Hundreds. Before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England.

After the Norman Conquest

Having conquered England, William the Conqueror initially based himself at Barking Abbey, an already ancient nunnery, for several months while a secure base, which eventually became the Tower of London could be established in the city. While at Barking William received the submission of some of England's leading nobles. The invaders established a number of castles in the county, to help protect the new elites in a hostile country. There were castles at Colchester, Castle Hedingham, Rayleigh, Pleshey and elsewhere. Hadleigh Castle was developed much later, in the thirteenth century.


After the arrival of the Normans, the Forest of Essex was established as a Royal forest, however, it is important to note that at that time, the term was a legal term. There was a weak correlation between the area covered by the Forest of Essex (the large majority of the county) and the much smaller area covered by woodland. An analysis of Domesday returns for Essex has shown that the Forest of Essex was mostly farmland, and that the county as a whole was 20% wooded in 1086.

After that point population growth caused the proportion of woodland to fall steadily until the arrival of the Black Death, in 1348, killed between a third and a half of England's population, leading to a long term stabilisation of the extent of woodland. Similarly, various pressures led to areas being removed from the legal Forest of Essex and it ceased to exist as a legal entity after 1327, and after that time Forest Law applied to smaller areas: the forests of Writtle (near Chelmsford), long lost Kingswood (near Colchester),[1] Hatfield, and Waltham Forest.

Waltham Forest had covered parts of the Hundreds of Waltham, Becontree and Ongar. It also included the physical woodland areas subsequently legally afforested (designated as a legal forest) and known as Epping Forest and Hainault Forest).

Peasants Revolt, 1381

The Black Death significantly reduced England's population, leading to a change in the balance of power between the working population on one hand, and their masters and employers on the other. Over a period of several decades, national government brought in legislation to reverse the situation, but it was only partially successful and led to simmering resentment.

By 1381, England's economic situation was very poor due to the war with France, so a new Poll Tax was levied with commissioners being sent round the country to interrogate local officials in an attempt to ensure tax evasion was reduced and more money extracted. This was hugely unpopular and the Peasants' Revolt broke out in Brentwood on 1 June 1381.

Several thousand Essex rebels gathered at Bocking on June 4, and then divided. Some heading to Suffolk to raise rebellion there, with the rest heading to London, some directly – via Bow Bridge and others may have gone via Kent. A large force of Kentish rebels also advanced on London while revolt also spread to a number of other parts of the country.

The rebels gained access to the walled City of London and gained control of the Tower of London. They carried out extensive looting in the capital and executed a number of their enemies, but the revolt began to dissipate after the events at West Smithfield on 15 June, when the Mayor of London, William Walworth, killed the rebel leader Wat Tyler. The rebels prepared to fire arrows at the royal party but the 15 year old King Richard II rode toward the crowd and spoke to them, defusing the situation, in part by making a series of promises he did not subsequently keep.

Having bought himself time, Richard was able to receive reinforcements and then crush the rebellion in Essex and elsewhere. His forces defeated rebels in battle at Billericay on the 28th June, and there were mass executions; hangings and disembowelling at Chelmsford and Colchester.

Wars of the Roses

In 1471, during the Wars of the Roses a force of around 2,000 Essex supporters of the Lancastrian cause crossed Bow Bridge to join with 3,000 Kentish Lancastrian supporters under the Bastard of Fauconberg.

The Essex men joined with their allies in attempting to storm Aldgate and Bishopsgate during an assault known as the Siege of London. The Lancastrians were defeated, and the Essex contingent retreated back over the Lea with heavy losses.

Armada

In 1588 Tilbury Fort was chosen as the focal point of the English defences against King Philip II's Spanish Armada, and the large veteran army he had ordered to invade England. The English believed that the Spanish would land near the Fort, so Queen Elizabeth's small and relatively poorly trained forces gathered at Tilbury, where the Queen made her famous speech to the troops.


Civil War

Essex, London and the eastern counties backed Parliament in the English Civil War, but by 1648, this loyalty was stretched. In June 1648 a force of 500 Kentish Royalists landed near the Isle of Dogs, linked up with a small Royalist cavalry force from Essex, fought a battle with local parliamentarians at Bow Bridge, then crossed the River Lea into Essex.

The combined force, bolstered by extra forces, marched towards Royalist held Colchester, but a Parliamentarian force caught up with them just as they were about to enter the city's medieval walls, and a bitter battle was fought but the Royalists were able to retire to the security of the walls. The Siege of Colchester followed, but ten weeks' starvation and news of Royalist defeats elsewhere led the Royalists to surrender.

Research Tips

  • Essex Record Office handles Essex archives within the county. The address is Wharf Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 6YT.
  • The Essex Society for Family History covers topics of genealogical interest throughout the present County of Essex (i.e. excluding the western area now in Greater London). Subscription necessary.
  • GENUKI provides a list of towns and parishes leading to pages for individual parishes with useful local information for genealogists and family historians.
  • Wikimedia Commons has a set of maps of the old hundreds of Essex. These do not show the individual parishes within the hundreds.
  • For very detailed investigation Wikimedia Commons also has a series of 176 part maps of the Ordnance Survey 1st series 1:10560, Map of Essex
  • FamilySearch lists its collections of church records and vital records along with those provided by other organizations, both commercial and voluntary.
  • The commercial website FindMyPast also has a collection of wills and newspaper transcriptions, as well as the "1939 Register" (an equivalent to the census gathered at the beginning of World War 2).
  • A Vision of Britain through Time is a website produced by the Department of Geography of the University of Portsmouth. It outlines all parishes as they were in the 19th century.
  • British History Online has transcribed eight volumes of the Victoria County History project for Essex. Seven of these cover the history of parts of the county in great detail, although the project is incomplete for Essex as a whole. Ownership of land through the centuries can often be traced here. The volumes of note are as follows:
Volume 4, Ongar Hundred, including Chipping and High Ongar, Chigwell, Stondon Massey and Theydon Bois (26 parishes in all).
Volume 5, Becontree Hundred outside Greater London. A thematic account of the growth of metropolitan Essex since 1850. Also contains topographical accounts of Barking, Ilford, Dagenham and other areas of Essex now within Greater London.
Volume 6, parishes of Becontree Hundred now within the London boroughs of Newham, Waltham Forest and Redbridge. These include West and East Ham, Walthamstow and Wanstead.
Volume 7, Covers the ancient parishes, formerly within the Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower and now within the London borough of Havering, and those in Chafford hundred in western Essex now bordering London. It includes accounts of Hornchurch, Romford, Havering.
Volume 8, accounts of the parishes of Chafford and Harlow Hundreds, including Brentwood, Harlow and Thurrock.
Volume 9, the Borough of Colchester, describes the life of the oldest and for long the largest town in Essex from the Iron Age to 1990.
Volume 10, Lexden Hundred (part), includes Dedham, Earls Colne and Wivenhoe and other parishes to the north and west of Colchester.
  • As of June 2019 Ancestry (Worldwide subscription required) includes Essex, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, these early records are from parish registers of baptisms and burials during the years 1538–1812, and marriages during the years 1538-1754. These are in addition to their previous holdings:
  • Essex, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1918: 3,937,941 records
  • Essex, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1935: 1,968,439 records
  • Essex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1994: 730,118 records
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