Debden, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex



Parish History
Debden St Mary the Virgin and All Saints 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.

DEBDEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Thaxted; containing 979 inhabitants. At the time of the Norman survey, this place belonged to Ralph Peverel; and, reverting to the crown, it was given by Henry II. to his son John, afterwards king of England. The parish comprises 4357a. 2r. 7p., of which 3057 acres are arable, 778 grass, and 446 wood: the surface is beautifully varied, rising into numerous hills of considerable elevation, between which are fertile valleys; and the village is pleasantly situated on an eminence. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £34; net income, £837; patron, Sir F. Vincent, Bart. The church is a handsome structure in the early English style, of which it presents many interesting details, and has at the east end an octangular chapel, containing several monuments of the Chiswells; the font, an elegant piece of workmanship, adorned with statues, was presented by the late Mr. Chiswell. A school in union with the National Society is partly supported from the rent of lands, amounting to £78 per annum, left for charitable purposes.

From: 'Deane - Dembleby', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 23-28. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50916&amp;amp;strquery=debden Date accessed: 14 February 2011.

Debden is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford District of Essex County Council for administrative purposes.

RAF Debden is a former RAF airfield in England. The field is located 3 miles SE of Saffron Walden and approximately 1 mile north of the village of Debden in North Essex. The airfield was opened in April 1937 and was first used by the Royal Air Force. The airfield was attacked several times during the Battle of Britain. The first air-raid sounded on 18 June 1940, although the first bombs were not dropped on the airfield until seven days later. Then, on 2 August, came a heavy attack which destroyed several buildings, killing five, to be followed by another severe raid on 31 August. During August and September, Debden fighters claimed seventy aircraft destroyed, thirty probables and forty-one damaged.

The airfield was transferred on 12 September 1942 to the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force. Debden was assigned USAAF designation Station 156. The 4th Fighter Group destroyed more enemy planes in the air and on the ground than any other fighter group of Eighth Air Force. The group operated first with Spitfires but changed to P-47s in March 1943 and to P-51s in April 1944.

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

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
Saffron Walden 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.