West Mersea, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
West Mersea St Peter and Paul is an Ancient parish in Essex.

The diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914, prior to this Essex parishes were in the jurisdiction of the Bishops of London until 1845 when they transferred to the diocese of Rochester. The diocese of Chelmsford has 474 parishes and 600 churches and is the second largest region in the church of England outside London.

The town has several churches, including St Peter and St Paul, (Norman, Church of England), Roman Catholic, Methodist and the Evangelical Free Church.

MERSEA, WEST (St. Peter and St. Paul), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, hundred of Winstree, N. division of Essex, 9 miles (S.) from Colchester; containing 917 inhabitants. The parish comprises the greater portion of the Isle of Mersea, which is about five miles in length and two in average breadth; and is connected with the main land on the west by a causeway named the Strode, for the maintenance of which an estate of 46 acres, producing £70 per annum, is appropriated. The surface is diversified with hill and dale, and richly wooded. From various remains, Mersea appears to have been occupied by the Romans, and to have been the residence of the Count of the Saxon Shore, or some other Roman officer of distinction. During the Danish invasions of Britain the isle was a frequent landing-place, and in their retreat here the invaders were besieged by Alfred the Great. In 1730, when some alterations were made at West Mersea Hall, a very fine tessellated pavement was discovered, 21½ feet long, and 18½ broad. The trade in oysters was formerly extensive, but it has greatly diminished, being limited at present to the supply of a few Dutch vessels. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £22; patron and impropriator, Thomas May, Esq.: the great tithes have been commuted for £500, and the vicarial for £230. The church, situated at the extremity of the isle, is a small ancient edifice. There is a place of worship for Independents; and a school is endowed with the interest of £200. The parish contained a Benedictine convent, dedicated to St. Peter, which was a cell to the abbey of St. Audoen, at Rouen, in Normandy.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 295-298. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51145&amp;amp;strquery=east mersea Date accessed: 12 February 2011.

West Mersea (formerly spelt Mersey) is a small town in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. It is the larger of two settlements on Mersea Island, located south east of Colchester. The smaller settlement on the island is the village of East Mersea.

Administratively part of the Colchester District in Essex.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Online images are available Seax - Essex Archives Online From the Essex Record Office for St Peter and Paul See also West Mersea Congregational church.

Essex Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Index for the Census may be searched at FamilySearch Historical Records

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Lexden and Winstree Poor Law Union, Essex

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Essex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.