Rochford, Essex Family History Guide
Rochford is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Essex.
Alternative names:
Parish church:
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1678
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1639; 1800
Nonconformists include: Baptist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Independent/Congregational, Protestant Dissenters, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
ROCHFORD, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred, in Essex.
The town stands on the river Roche or Bromhill, an affluent of the river Crouch, 3½ miles N by W of Southend r. station, and 16½ SE of Chelmsford; gave the title of Earl to the father of Queen Anne Boleyn.
It is a sub-port to Maldon, a seat of petty sessions and county courts, and a polling-place; is approached, from the W, through a fine avenue of elms and oaks, upwards of a mile long; consists of four streets, with rather irregularly constructed houses; is well supplied with water, and drained by public sewers; and has a post-office under Chelmsford, a banking office, two chief inns, a police station, two bridges, a court-house, a corn exchange, a church, Independent and Wesleyan chapels, national and British schools, alms-houses for 12 persons, a workhouse, and charities £42.
The court-house was built in 1859, at a cost of nearly £3,000; and is a handsome edifice. The corn exchange was built in 1866, at a cost of about £1,000. The church stands about a ¼ of a mile distant; is ancient, but good; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with lofty brick tower, bearing the Boteler arms. The workhouse was built in 1837, at a cost of £5,000; and has accommodation for 290 inmates. A weekly market is held on Thursday; fairs are held on Easter-Tuesday and the Wednesday after 29 Sept.; and commerce is carried on from Broomhills, less than a mile distant.
The parish comprises 1,855 acres. Real property, £7,219; of which £50 are in gas-works. Pop., 1,696. Houses, 306. The property is much subdivided.
The manor was held, at Domesday, by Suene; and passed to Guy Fitz-Eustace, the St. Johns, the Childs, the Longs, and the Wellesleys. R. Hall was the birthplace and residence of Queen Anne Boleyn; and part of it still stands, and belongs now to J. Tabor, Esq.
A curious custom connected with the manor is the holding of what is called the Lawless Court, on Wednesday morning after Michaelmas-day, on King’s Hill, adjoining the town; and is said to have originated in the discovery of an ancient conspiracy.
The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £585. Patron, Earl Cowley.
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.
Ford Thomas Henry, Rochford, Essex, victualler, Jun. 4, 1842.
Jackson William, Rochford, Essex, banker and broker, Feb. 9, 1827.
Parish Registers
Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences 1689 to 1837
The following have been extracted from Allegations for Marriage Licences in the county of Hampshire. Parishes without a named county are parishes within the county of Hampshire.
FINCH, John, of H.M.S. Surveillante, 21, b., & Betsey Molton, of Rochford, co. Essex, 21, sp., at Portsmouth, 8 Apl., 1809.
Source: Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester. 1689 to 1837 Published 1893 Editor: William John Charles Moens
Parish Records
FamilySearch
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