West Hanningfield, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
West Hanningfield St Mary and St Edward is an Ancient parish with a Norman nave church and timber tower, which dates back to the 13th century. It is built on a Greek cross plan with the square upper part provided with an odd west oriel. The belfry is topped by a broach spire.

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.

HANNINGFIELD, WEST (St. Mary and St. Edward), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, 6 miles (S. S. E.) from Chelmsford; containing 521 inhabitants. It comprises by admeasurement 2787 acres, of which 1774 are arable, 888 meadow and pasture, and 125 woodland. The village is pleasantly situated. The living is a rectory, with the rectory of South Hanningfield consolidated, valued in the king's books at £16. 13. 4.; net income, £934; patrons, the family of Kemble. The church is an ancient edifice, with an octangular tower surmounted by a spire of wood; on the north side of the chancel is a table-monument to the Clovill family, and there are some brasses. The parsonage-house is handsome.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 401-404. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51004&amp;amp;strquery=hanningfield Date accessed: 20 February 2011.

West Hanningfield is a village and civil parish in south Essex, England. It is located approximately 8 km (5 miles) south-southeast of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Chelmsford and in the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh.

It is located to the north of Hanningfield Reservoir. Surrounding villages include South Hanningfield, Essex, Stock, Rettendon, Essex and East Hanningfield, Essex. It is also close to the Chelmsford suburbs of Galleywood and Great Baddow

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

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
Chelmsford 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.