Gosfield Essex Family History Guide
Gosfield is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex.
Alternative names:
Parish church: St. Catherine
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1538
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1629; 1639; 1800
Nonconformists include: Roman Catholic
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Sible Hedingham
- Wethersfield
- Stisted
- Greenstead Green
- Halstead St Andrew
- Bocking
- Halstead Holy Trinity
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
GOSFIELD, a village and a parish in Halstead district, Essex.
The village stands on a branch of the river Colne, 2 miles SW of Halstead town and r. station; and has a post-office under Halstead.
The parish comprises 2, 990 acres. Real property, £4, 578. Pop., 620. Houses, 132.
The manor belonged to the Veres, the Rolfes, the Wentworths, the Ryches, and others; passed to the Duke of Buckingham; and went afterwards to the Barnards. Gosfield Hall, once the seat of the Duke of Buckingham, dates from the time of Henry VIII.; has been much altered from its original appearance, but still is a fine specimen of the stately castellated mansion of its period; and stands amid well-wooded grounds, with a splendid lake. Gosfield Place is a handsome modern edifice.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £266. Patron, not reported. The church includes two chapels; in one of which is a large marble monument, by Scheemaker, to John Knight, Esq., with the following epitaph by Pope:-
O fairest pattern to a falling age,
Whose public virtue knew no party rage;
Whose private name all titles recommend,
The pious son, fond husband, faithful friend;
In manners plain, in sense alone refined;
Good without show, and without weakness kind;
To reason’s equal dictates ever true;
Calm to resolve, and constant to pursue;
In life with every social grace adorned,
In death, by friendship, honour, virtue, mourned.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
GOSFIELD (St. Catherine), a parish, in the union of Halstead, hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 2¾ miles (W. S. W.) from Halstead; containing 653 inhabitants.
The surface is generally elevated, rising in almost every direction; the soil is a good loam, mixed in different degrees with sand and gravel. The ancient Hall is situated in an extensive park, abounding with stately trees.
The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £8; patron and impropriator, E. G. Barnard, Esq.: the great tithes have been commuted for £161. 16. 3., and the vicarial for £257. 16.
The church is in the park, and attached to it is a small sepulchral chapel, formerly a chantry; in the chancel, and also in the chapel, are some elegant monuments.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Parish Records
FamilySearch
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