South Shoebury, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
South Shoebury St Andrew with St Peter is an Ancient Parish in Essex.

The church of St Andrew is basically a small Norman church with a 14th century tower. Back in the early 19th century, Shoeburyness consisted of two small villages being North and South Shoebury. The development of the garrison lead to the development of a garrison church (St Peter and St Paul) which began it's registers in 1866.

St. Peter's had "a temporary iron church" erected in 1899 to serve local brickworkers and their families. It was situated in Dane Street.

The present St. Peter's, built by the Knapping family in what was then Church Street, was originally the Church School and Chapel of Ease, with typical Victorian architecture.



Next door to the church was the Schoolmaster's House which included stabling. The house and stables have now been amalgamated into a private residence.

When the new school (now Hinguar Community Primary School) opened in 1886 the old school became an annexe, was then used as a church hall from 1911 and finally given to the Parish in 1920 and dedicated as the "new" St. Peter's.

The original "iron church" was then wheeled on rollers up Shoebury High Street and placed as St. Peter's Church Hall with a brick facade.

In 1987 the "Great Hurricane" rendered the hall structure unsafe. The combination of Buildings Insurance and a prime High Street site at the time of a property boom gave the parish almost sufficient funds to build a new hall and link into the "new" St. Peter's - the balance of the money required being raised from the congregation. At that time the church was extensively renovated.

The flats on the site of the old hall are named 'St. Peter's Court'.

SHOEBURY, SOUTH (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union and hundred of Rochford, S. division of Essex, 4 miles (E.) from Southend; containing 164 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the river Thames, nearly opposite to the Nore: at its southern extremity is a small promontory called Shoebury Ness, on which is a signal station. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 13. 4., and in the gift of R. Bristow, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £410, and the glebe comprises 7 acres. The church has a tower of flint surmounted by a spire.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 87-90. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51274&amp;amp;strquery=South Shoebury Date accessed: 02 February 2011.

For administrative purposes South Shoebury is part of the Southend on Sea 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
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 Andrew. See also Garrison Church of St Peter and Paul and Shoeburyness Wesleyan Methodist Church

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
Rochford 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
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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