East Mersea, Essex Family History Guide

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

Alternative names:

Parish church: St. Edmund

Parish registers begin:

Parish registers: 1720
Bishop’s Transcripts: 1629; 1639; 1801

Nonconformists include: Baptist

Table of Contents

Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

MERSEA (EAST), a parish in Lexden district, Essex; 2½ miles WSW of Brightlingsea r. station, and 8 S by E of Colchester.

It comprises the eastern part of Mersea island, and has a post office under Colchester. Acres, 3,857; of which 1,900 are water. Real property, £2,836. Pop., 305. Houses, 67. The property is divided among a few.

The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £400. Patron, the Crown. The church stands on a declivity, near the E end of the island; has a commanding view of the sea; and consists of nave, N aisle, chancel, and N chapel, with an embattled tower. The tower serves as a landmark, and was formerly surmounted by a beacon.

There are a national school, and charities £17.

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

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

MERSEA, EAST (St. Edmund), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, hundred of Winstree, N. division of Essex, 9 miles (S. S. E.) from Colchester; containing 331 inhabitants.

The parish comprises 1844 acres, whereof 72 are common or waste; it occupies the eastern portion of the Isle of Mersea, and is bounded on the north by Pyefleet channel, and on the east and south by the Colne, near its confluence with the Blackwater.

The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £21, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £427, and the glebe comprises 20 acres. The church has a square stone tower, which formerly served as a landmark. A national school is partly supported by a bequest of £200.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848