Wickford, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Wickford St Catherine is an Ancient parish and town 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.

It is believed that the Wickford in Washington County, Rhode Island, USA was named after this town, the English birthplace of Elizabeth Reade, step-daughter of Hugh Peters and wife of John Winthrop, Governor of Connecticut.

The town has existed since before 975. There is evidence that the area itself was inhabited in prehistoric probably by a tribe of Britons called Trinobantes, Roman and Saxon times. The name Wickford is of Saxon origin, Wic meaning a village, habitation, castle or dairy farm and Ford being a shallow river crossing.

Wickford was in the Middle Ages known under the names of Wiceford, Wikford, Wygeford, Wicfort and Wincfort, as referenced by the Domesday Book in the year 1086.Before the 20th century Wickford was an agricultural village. At the time of the Domesday Survey, AD 1085, 6 land-holders were recorded. Historically there have been only two considerable estates in Wickford, The Manor of Wickford Hall and The Manor of Stilemans.

WICKFORD, a parish, in the union of Billericay, hundred of Barstable, S. division of the county of Essex, 6 miles (E. by S.) from Billericay; containing 445 inhabitants. It comprises 1600 acres, of which about 1200 are arable, and 400 meadow and pasture. The ground is generally wet and heavy; in the vale of Wickford is some rich land, producing excellent crops of wheat. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14, and in the gift of R. B. De Beauvoir, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £470, and the glebe comprises 47 acres. The church, situated on an eminence, is a small edifice consisting of a nave and chancel. There is a place of worship for Independents.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 564-565. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51403&amp;strquery=wickford Date accessed: 03 February 2011.

Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London. For administrative purposes it is within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea.

It has become a commuter town, serving the City of London through its direct connection to Liverpool Street through the Southend Victoria line, where a train to London takes approximately 40 minutes. The town can also be easily reached via the road network by the A127 from London and Southend-on-Sea or the A130 from Chelmsford.

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 See also Wickford Congregational Church.

Essex Online Parish Clerks (OPC)

Parish registers, 1538-1918 Microfilm copy of original at Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England. Contents: item 7. Baptisms, 1538-1776; burials, 1538-1783; marriages, 1561-1753 -- item 8. Baptisms, 1776-1812; burials, 1783-1812 -- item 9. Marriages, 1755-1812 -- item 10. Baptisms, 1813-1879 -- item 11. Baptisms, 1879-1918 -- item 12. Burials, 1813-1912 -- item 13. Marriages, 1813-1838.

Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, reference: D/P70/1/1-7. Parish registers FHL BRITISH Film 1526987 Items 7-13

Bishop's transcripts for Wickford, 1639-1640 Microfilm of original records at the Guildhall Library, London. In Copies of parish registers brought in at visitations, various dates / Church of England. Diocese of London.

Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1639-1640 (199th parish). FHL BRITISH Film 413721

Bishop's transcripts for Wickford, 1800-1867 Microfilm copy of original at Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, reference: D/CR 408.

Baptisms, burials, 1800-1832, 1840-1867; marriages, 1800-1832. FHL BRITISH Film 1702676 Item 6

Census records
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
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.