Castle Hedingham, Essex Family History Guide
Castle Hedingham is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex.
Alternative names:
Parish church: St Nicholas
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1558
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1629; 1813
Nonconformists include: Baptists and Independent/Congregational.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
CASTLE-HEDINGHAM, a village and a parish in Halstead district, Essex.
The village stands on the river Colne, and on the Colne Valley railway, 4½ miles NW of Halstead; is a seat of petty sessions and a polling place; and has a post office under Halstead, a railway station, and an inn. Fairs are held on 14 May and 25 July.
A grand castle was built on an adjacent eminence, in the early part of the 12th century, by Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford; was the death-place of Queen Maud; made a great figure in the wars in the time of King John; was the scene of a sumptuous entertainment to Henry VII.; suffered much demolition, in 1592, by Edward de Vere; and was reduced to ruin, in 1666, in the first Dutch war. Only the keep of it now stands; and this is pure Anglo-Norman, 62 feet wide, 55 feet broad, and about 100 feet high,-the walls, from 10 to 13 feet thick, the height disposed in five storeys, pierced with loop-holes and narrow windows.
A Benedictine nunnery and an hospital also were founded here by the De Veres, the former in 1198, the later in 1250; part of the nunnery is now a farm house.
The parish comprises 2,429 acres. Real property, £6.027. Pop., 1,203. Houses, 300. The property is divided among a few.
The manor passed from the De Veres to the Ashursts and the Houghtons; and belongs now to A. Majendie, Esq. The parish is notable for its produce of Essex hops.
The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £100. Patron, A. Majendie, Esq. The church dates from the time of King John; shows Norman traces; has a tower of 1616; and contains monuments of the De Veres and the Ashursts.
There are a large Independent chapel and several alms-houses.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parish Registers
Allegations for Marriage Licences
The following Essex People have been extracted from the book Allegations for Marriage Licences in the Archdeaconry of Sudbury, in the County of Suffolk, during the years 1684 to 1754 Part 1. Edited by W. Bruce Bannerman, F.S.A., and Capt. G. G. Bruce Bannerman. Published 1918.
Abbreviations adopted throughout the volume:
Bn. for Bondsman
s.m. for Single man
s.w. For Single woman
w. for Widow or Widower
Wit. for Witness.
It is assumed, unless the contrary appear, that the names of all places are in the county of Suffolk. All additions in [ ] are those of the editor of the book.
Saml Jaye, of Melford, butcher, w., 30 years, & Elizh Chapman, of Castle Heningham, co. Essex, s. w., 17 years, her mother living. At St. James’, Bury St. Edmunds. 5 July, 1686.
Geo. Web, of Little Thurlow, s. m., & Martha Bambridge, of Hempstead, co. Essex, s. w., at All SS., Sudbury. Bn. : John Web, of Castle Hedingham, co. Essex, tailor. [blank] 1740.
Thos. Plumb, of Hedingham, sible weaver, & Elizh East, of St. Peter’s, Sudbury, w., at same. 29 O
Robt Wragg, of Castle Hedingham, co. Essex, s. m., 25 years, & Alice Pask, of Wickham St. Paul’s, s. w., 22 years, at Bury St. Edmunds. Bn.: Stephen Pask, of Wickham St. Paul’s, butcher. 21 Feb., 1747.
Jas. Hart, of Steeple Bumpstead, & Ann Green, of Henningham Castle, co. Essex. Bn. : Robert Hart. [no date]
Reuben Alberry, s. m., of All SS., Sudbury, & Hannah Olley, of Castle Hedingham, co. Essex, w., at All SS., Sudbury. 19 Mar., 1752.
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Directories
Post Office Directory of Essex, 1874 – Special Collections Online
Kelly’s Directory of Essex, 1882 – Special Collections Online
Kelly’s Directory of Essex, 1894 – Special Collections Online
Kelly’s Directory of Essex, 1902 – Special Collections Online
Kelly’s Directory of Essex, 1914 – Special Collections Online
Kelly’s Directory of Essex, Hertfordshire and Middlesex 1890 – Google Books
Poll Books
Maps
Vision of Britain historical maps
Administration
- County: Essex
- Civil Registration District: Halstead
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Middlesex (Essex and Hertfordshire Division)
- Diocese: Pre-1846 – London, Post-1845 – Rochester
- Rural Deanery: Hedingham
- Poor Law Union: Halstead
- Hundred: Hinckford
- Province: Canterbury