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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
The village of Messing lies amongst picturesque countryside just 15 miles from Chelmsford and 1 mile from Tiptree. It is a small and charming village steeped in history, with a population of around 300 people and a few local amenities such as a pub, post office and church. The village of Messing was the birthplace of Reynold Bush, ancestor to former presidents of the USA, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Reynold Bush immigrated to America in 1631.
The village church, All Saints', boasts character and tradition and, apart from its brick clock tower, was built entirely of rubble that was taken from a nearby Roman villa. Dating back to the 14th century, the whole church was refurbished in 1840 and, in the process, was fitted with new features that still remain today, such as a paved chancel of black and white marble and a beautiful stained-glass window that represents the Acts of Mercy (St Matthew 25:35, 36), and in the top part – Faith, Hope and Charity. It is believed that this window may have originally been at New Hall School in Chelmsford, until it was carefully removed in 1648 during the siege of Colchester in the English Civil War. It was then hidden in the church’s great chest, together with other treasures, in order it preserve it from destruction.
Even though Messing is nestled deep within the Essex countryside, the small village has excellent links to London from the neighbouring town of Kelvedon, which is home to the nearest railway station. By road, the city of Chelmsford is located just 15 miles from the village, and Colchester, Britain’s oldest recorded town, is 8.5 miles away.
The place-name "Messing" is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Metcinges. The name means 'Mæcca's people'.
For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Messing-cum-Inworth.
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
- A map illustrating Messing's relationship to its surrounding parishes may be found on the page describing Lexden and Winstree Rural District of which it was part between 1894 and 1974. It is marked as #28 on the map.
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