Brightlingsea, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Brightlingsea All Saints is an Ancient Parish in the county of 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.

BRIGHTLINGSEA (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Lexden and Winstree, hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 9 miles (S. E.) from Colchester; containing 2005 inhabitants. It constitutes a peninsula, formed by the estuary of the river Colne on the west, and that of a smaller river on the east; and comprises 3090 acres, of which 128 are common or waste. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £17. 0. 5.; patron, the Bishop of London; impropriator, M. D. Magens, Esq.: the great tithes have been commuted for £240, and the vicarial for £150. The church is situated about a mile and a half from the village. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50829&amp;amp;strquery=Brightlingsea Date accessed: 12 February 2011.

Brightlingsea is a coastal town and for local government purposes in the Tendring district of the county of Essex, England, located between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, situated at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. It has an estimated population of 8500.

Its traditional industries included fishery (with a renowned oyster fishery) and shipbuilding. With the decline of these industries, the town is largely a dormitory town for Colchester, and a popular retirement destination.

Brightlingsea is a limb of Sandwich, one of the Cinque Ports. The town retains an active ceremonial connection with the Cinque Ports, electing a Deputy from a guild of Freemen.

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 both All Saints Church of England and Non conformist churches Brightlingsea Congregational Church and New Jerusalem Church deposited records.

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
Tendring Poor Law Union, Essex 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.