East Donyland, Essex Family History Guide

East Donyland is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex.

Alternative names:

Parish church: St Lawrence

Parish registers begin:

Parish registers: 1731
Bishop’s Transcripts: 1801

Nonconformists include: Wesleyan Methodist

Table of Contents

Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

DONYLAND (East), a parish in Lexden district, Essex; on the river Colne, at the influx of the river Roman, adjacent to the Wivenhoe railway, 3½ miles SSE of Colchester. It has a post-office under Colchester.

Acres, 1,067. Real property, £2,845. Pop., 1,052. Houses, 258. The property is much subdivided. Donyland Heath is a meet for the Essex and Suffolk hounds.

The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £209. Patron, P. Havens, Esq. The church was built in 1838; a national school in 1863. Charities, £10.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

DONYLAND, EAST (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, Colchester division of the hundred of Lexden, N. division of Essex, 3¼ miles (S. E. by S.) from Colchester; containing 793 inhabitants.

The parish is bounded on the east by the river Colne, which here receives the water of the Romn. It is about 5 miles in circumference, and comprises 1065 acres, of which 31 are common or waste; the lands, except some portions in a low situation, are light, consisting of a loamy soil intermixed with sand and gravel, but generally produce good average crops.

At the time of the Norman survey, the manor belonged to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, from whom it passed into the hands of various proprietors, of whom Daniel Gausel, Esq., effected numerous improvements in the ancient mansion house, which he surrounded with tastefully-disposed grounds and a fine park.

Row Hedge, a hamlet in the parish, is on the western side of the river; and great numbers of oysters are there preserved in pits, for the Cambridge, London, and other markets.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £10, and in the gift of P. Havens, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £220, and the glebe contains 42 acres. The church is a small ancient edifice.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848