Mount Bures, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Mount Bures St John the Baptist 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.

The church may have been founded in 1059.

The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST is built of rubble with Roman tile and ashlar dressings and has a chancel with north vestry, a central tower with shingled spire and short transepts, and a nave with south porch. The nave is probably late 11th-century and has an original north doorway and three windows, one blocked. The central tower was of similar date and the chancel was rebuilt in the 14th century. The south doorway and west window of the nave are also 14th-century, the porch and south window in the nave are 15th-century. In 1633 the church and tower windows needed glazing. In 1707 there were cracks in the wall on both sides of the north door and in the west wall. The spire was taken down and the tower heightened c. 1770. In 1875 the tower was very dilapidated. The church was restored in 1875 by Thomas Harris who took down the central tower and replaced it by one of larger plan, but similar height, and added the transepts and vestry, apparently reusing the old materials in the transepts. When the tower was taken down wall paintings were discovered at the east end of the nave on the south wall, probably representing St. Mary the Virgin meeting her cousin Elizabeth. In 1552 and 1768 there were four bells in the tower, but two were sold c. 1770. The two bells remaining in 1996 were both of the 15th century, one by Robert Burford, and one about 60 years later by Henry Jordan. The wooden church chest is of the 16th century. The church plate included a silver cup and paten of 1641, stolen c. 1993. In 1959 a stone statue of St. John the Baptist by B. Dobson was placed in a niche over the high altar on the north side.

From: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 10: Lexden Hundred (Part) including Dedham, Earls Colne and Wivenhoe (2001), pp. 74-75. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15165&amp;amp;strquery=mount bures Date accessed: 14 February 2011.

Mount Bures is a small village and civil parish on the Essex and Suffolk borders. It takes its name from the mount or motte believed to have been built shortly after the invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066. For administrative purposes the civil parish is within the Colchester District of Essex County Council.

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

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
Lexden and Winstree Poor Law Union, Essex

In 1273-4 the lord of the manor held view of frankpledge, the assizes of bread and of ale, and gallows which probably stood on high land near Abrams farm beside the road to Chappel. In 1274-5 the earl of Cornwall's bailiffs did not allow the king's escheators into the manor. Grants of free warren in Mount Bures manor were made from 1292. Surviving court rolls from 1393 record courts baron and leet. Between 1446 and 1553 numbers sworn were usually from 20 to 30, between 1554 and 1645 usually from 10 to 20, and from 1646 until 1687 they were usually fewer than 10. Two constables were recorded from 1505 and aletasters from 1681. Business included transfers of copyholds, as well as ordering repairs of buildings, the removal of obstructions, and the scouring of ditches. In 1499 there was one case of bloodshed, and two in 1551. In 1531 the archery butts were decayed. From the 17th century most of the business was routine administration, and the manor court was still being held in 1813. There was a village pound close to Rumps at Garners Tye in 1504. In 1795, during the Napoleonic Wars, Mount Bures was combined with 6 neighbouring parishes to provide 3 men to serve in the navy. A Tyburn ticket was issued to a parishioner in 1814. In 1823 the parish was accused of failing to repair the highway. The poor were said to be well provided for in 1670. In 1803 the parish officers bought a cottage, Akermans, later called Solliers, as a workhouse. It was sold in 1841. Expenditure on poor relief in Mount Bures was always one of the highest per head in Lexden hundred. In 1776 costs were £27 and in 1783-5 averaged £85 a year. Expenditure rose to £448 in 1801, equivalent to 35s. 10d. a head of population, and then fluctuated between £169 and £295 between 1802 and 1816, before rising to £355 in 1817, equivalent to 26s. 7d. a head. It then ranged between £421 and £661 in 1818-32, equivalent to 32s. 2d. and 50s. 10d. a head, before falling to £397 in 1834, equivalent to 30s. 4d.

From: 'Mount Bures: Local government', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 10: Lexden Hundred (Part) including Dedham, Earls Colne and Wivenhoe (2001), pp. 74. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15164&amp;amp;strquery=mount bures Date accessed: 14 February 2011.

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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