Rayleigh, Essex Family History Guide
Rayleigh is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex.
Alternative names: Raleigh
Parish church:
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1548
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1639; 1800
Nonconformists include: Particular Baptist and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
RAYLEIGH, or Raleigh, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Rochford district, Essex.
The village stands 4 miles NNE of Benfleet r. station, and 4½ W by N of Rochford; was held, at Domesday, by Sweyn or Sueno; was once a market-town; consists now of one wide street, of considerable length; has a post-office under Chelmsford, and a fair on Trinity Monday; and gives the title of Baron to the family of Strutt.
The parish comprises 2,873 acres. Real property, £7,747. Pop., 1,433. Houses, 296. The property is much sub-divided. The manor belongs to R. Bristow, Esq. Lime House, Wheatley, Barringtons, and Down Hall are chief residences. A moated mound, 100 feet high, is at the upper end of the village; was the site of a castle, built by Sweyn; and commands a fine view. Roman coins werefound in 1849.
The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £800. Patron, R. Bristow, Esq. The church is chiefly later English; and has a tower, with short spire.
There are a Baptist chapel, an endowed school with £17 a year, and charities £4.
The sub-district contains also 7 other parishes, and most of another. Acres, 23,764. Pop., 4,937. Houses, 1,031.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Bankrupts
Below is a list of people that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843 extracted from The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843.
Byass Harvey, Rayleigh, Essex, surgeon, Nov. 24, 1821.
Croxson William Henry, Rayleigh, Essex, wheelwright, March 17, 1840.
Murdock Ephraim, Rayleigh, Essex, scrivener, March 20, 1829.
Pissey William, Rayleigh, Essex, draper, May 27, 1836.
Prentis Henry Wood, Rayleigh, Essex, grocer, July 16, 1841.
Parish Records
FamilySearch
The following records are available free online.
Census
Census returns for Rayleigh, 1841-1891
Church Records
Church history
Poorhouses & Poor Law
Occupations
Maps
Vision of Britain historical maps
Administration
- County: Essex
- Civil Registration District: Rochford
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex
- Diocese: Pre-1846 – London, Post-1845 – Rochester
- Rural Deanery: Rochford
- Poor Law Union: Rochford
- Hundred: Rochford
- Province: Canterbury