Basildon, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Basildon Holy Cross was a chapelry of Laindon, Essex Ancient Parish.

The name Basildon (Beorhtel’s Hill) is of Saxon origin, Beorhtel may be the name of a tribe. The Chapel of the Holy Cross was first mentioned in 1230. This early church no doubt stood on the site of the present building and belonged to the Manor of Botelers, later known as Moat House Farm, of which only the fine moat remains, now part of Holy Cross recreation ground. The bad state of the road was mentioned in 1664.

The registers date from 1653 and are kept at the Essex Records Office. The earliest recorded Rector of Laindon cum Basildon was Richard de List in 1254. Two Rectors in succession later became Bishops in Ireland, John Artdfarten (1466), a Dominican and James Daren (1483), a Franciscan. A full list of incumbents is displayed in the church.

In the churchyard there are a number of gravestones near the south door which date from the early 18th century and are typical of that period. The Gibbons family, (who farmed at) Whitebridge Farm (Crays Hill), are buried close by.

There are three bells: The tenor bell is over 550 years old and was cast by William Chamberlain of London. About 100 of Chamberlain`s bells remain today. It weighs over 6cwt and is inscribed “Sancta Margareta Ora Pro Nobis (St Margaret pray for us) together with three shields.

The Treble bell is inscribed “James Dodson, Churchwarden 1756” and “Lester and Pack of London Fecit”.

The middle bell dates from 1634 and was cast by William Land of Houndsditch. It weighs just over 4cwt and is inscribed “W.Land 1634.

The bell frame is of oak and may date back from the 15th century with wheels and keyed type ironwork possibly 18th century. In 1970 the bells were taken to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry for tuning and on their return were fixed, with new fittings, ready for hand chiming from the vestry. The old frame and fittings were no longer able to bear the weight of the bells swinging. Fields were often given as an endowment from church bells, the proceeds from the harvest providing new bell ropes. There was formerly a field called Bellropes in Basildon which was bought from the church authorities by the Development Corporation in 1956.

The modern parish of St Andrew with Holy Cross serves the new town on two sites.In July 1955 building work began on the dual purpose church/hall in the Fremnells. The service and ceremony for laying the foundation stone of the building took place on 15 October 1955, and a carol service was held on Christmas Eve of that year. However, the Dedication service was held on the evening of Wednesday 23 May 1956, and the modern church and community hall has a long association with the Church Army in the new town.

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.

"BASILDON, a chapelry, in the parish of Laindon, union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of Essex, 4½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Billericay; containing 157 inhabitants. This is a place of considerable antiquity, and contains three manors. The mansion of the manor of Barstable was about half a mile from the chapel of Basildon, and is said to have been surrounded by a town that gave name to the hundred; which is rendered probable by the fact, that foundations of houses have been ploughed up in the vicinity, as well as considerable quantities of human bones. The record of Domesday informs us that the estate of Barstable had been taken from a Saxon freeman, and given to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux; in the reign of Edward III., it was generally holden, with the hundred, of the king. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is a neat and substantial edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with an embattled tower surmounted by a spire. The tithes have been commuted for £280, and there is a glebe of 23 acres."

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 164-168. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50783&amp;amp;strquery=basildon parish essex Date accessed: 04 February 2011.

Basildon (pronounced /ˈbæzɪldən/) is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.

It lies 25.6 miles (41 km) east of central London and 11 miles (18 km) south of the county town of Chelmsford. Nearby towns include Billericay to the north, Wickford northeast, and South Benfleet to the east.

It was designated as a new town after World War II in 1948 to accommodate the London population overspill, created from the conglomeration of four small villages, namely Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon and Vange (the new town took the name Basildon as it was the most central of the four villages).

The local government district of Basildon, formed in 1974, encapsulates a larger area than the town itself; the two neighbouring towns of Billericay and Wickford, as well as rural villages and smaller settlements set among the surrounding countryside, fall within its borders.

Billericay Rural District was a local government district in Essex, England from 1894 to 1934.

It consisted of the following parishes:[1]

Basildon Brentwood (1894–1899; used to create Brentwood Urban District) Bowes Gifford Childerditch Downham Dunton East Horndon Great Burstead Hutton Ingrave Laindon Lee Chapel Little Burstead Little Warley Mountnessing Nevendon North Benfleet Pitsea Ramsden Bellhouse Ramsden Crays Shenfield South Weald Vange West Horndon Wickford In 1934 the district was abolished. Hutton, Ingrave and South Weald went to Brentwood Urban District and most of the remainder went to Billericay Urban District with parts of some parishes (1,659 acres) transferred to Chelmsford Rural District.

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
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Online images are available Seax - Essex Archives Online From the Essex Record Office Holy Cross and St Andrew See also Basildon and Pitsea Congregational Church.

Census records
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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
Billericay 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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
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Web sites
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