Coggeshall, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
COGGESHALL, GREAT (St. Peter), a markettown and parish, in the union of Witham, Witham division of the hundred of Lexden, N. division of Essex, 3 miles (N.) from Kelvedon, and 44 (N. E.) from London; containing 3408 inhabitants, of whom 443 are in the hamlet of Little Coggeshall. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50888 Date accessed: 14 October 2011.

Cogglehall St Peter -ad-Vincula is an Ancient parish and market town in Essex and includes Great and Little Coggeshall.

The Church of St. Peter-ad-Vincula (St. Peter in chains) is built on an earlier Norman church. It is one of the largest churches in Essex (internal dimensions of 134 ft 6 in by 62 ft 9 in, the tower reaches a height of 72 ft) and was considered as a possible choice for Cathedral, with Chelmsford Cathedral eventually being chosen. The present church was built in the perpendicular style with 'wool money' during the first quarter of the 15th century, its unusual size is testament to the affluence of the town at the time. Restoration work was carried out during the 19th century. During the Second World War, on 16 September 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed the church causing the roof of the nave to collapse and significant structural damage, repairs were completed in 1956. To celebrate the millennium two new bells were purchased, bringing the total to ten, Coggeshall hosts the heaviest peal in Essex.

Coggeshall is a small market town which for local government purposes is part of Braintree district in the county of Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street (the drainage aqueducts of which are still visible in the cellar of the Chapel Inn today), and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade.

The saying "A Coggeshall job" was used in Essex from the 17th to the 19th century to mean any poor or pointless piece of work, after the reputed stupidity of its villagers. There were numerous stories of the inhabitants' ridiculous endeavours, such as chaining up a wheelbarrow in a shed after it had been bitten by a rabid dog, for fear it would go mad. John Ray's 1670 Collection of English Proverbs gives the following rhyme:

Braintree for the pure, Bocking for the poor; Coggeshall for the jeering town, And Kelvedon for the whore. Other jobs included winching up a cow onto the church roof to eat the grass growing there, knocking down one of two windmills as there would not be enough wind for both of them, attempting to divert the course of the river with hurdles, hanging sheets over roads to prevent the wind from blowing disease into the town, chopping the head off a lamb to free it from a gate, removing stairs from a house to stop flood water entering and some appropriated from other 'fool centres', for example the classic 'fishing for the moon'.

The first independent place of worship in Coggeshall was a converted barn on East Street, put to use in 1672. In 1710 a permanent chapel was built on Stoneham Street for "Protestant Dissenters from the Church of England, commonly called Independents". By 1716 there were 700 hearers including some of the wealthiest and most influential people from the local area. In 1834 the chapel was enlarged and again in 1865. Today the building continues to be part of the United Reformed Church in continuous succession from its Congregational and Independent past. The modern Christ Church which meets in the building is now a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP); a new single congregation coming together from a union of the three village chapels in 1989 and uniting members from the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church, and the United Reformed Church.

The Quakers were active in Coggeshall as early as 1655, with Fox stating "I came to Cogshall, and there was a meeting of about 2,000 people". That same year James Parnell, a local Quaker caused a disturbance at the church and was sentenced to prison at Colchester Castle where he died whilst imprisoned in 1656. A meeting house was purchased on Stoneham Street in 1673 with a new building constructed in 1878. A graveyard was purchased on Tilkey Road in 1856 but no forms part of a private garden attached to 'Quaker Cottage'. The meeting house is now home to Coggeshall Library.

Coggeshall has proven an important place in the local Baptist Ministry. For many years congregations met in a house just off Hare Bridge, and in 1797 the first annual meeting of the Essex Baptist Association was held in the Independent Meeting House. A permanent meeting house was constructed in 1825 along Church Street. This building is now used as business offices.

The Methodists have been present in Coggeshall since 1811, worshipping first at a house on Stoneham Street, then a chapel on East Street. A permanent chapel was constructed in 1883 on Stoneham Street to seat 250 people and now hosts a local children's nursery. Contributor please create seperate linked pages for each church or chapel in Coggleshall.

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 St Peter ad Vincula parish registers Bishop's Transcripts and register transcripts. Also Coggleshal baptist Church, Coggleshall Congrgational Church and Coggeshall monthly meeting Bishop's transcripts burials

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
Witham 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.