Great Wakering, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Great Wakering St Nicholas is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex. Other places in the parish include: Rusley Island, Rushley Island, and Great Potton Island.

According to a mediaeval tradition, Wakering (probably Great Wakering) was the site of a monastery during the seventh century AD. Two Christian cousins of King Ecgberht of Kent, named Aethelred and Aethelberht, were murdered at Eastry, a royal dwelling in the Kingdom of Kent, during King Ecgberht's reign (664-673). They were prevented by a miracle from being buried at Canterbury, and were taken instead to an existing monastery at Wakering in the Kingdom of Essex and enshrined there as saints. Ecgberht's brother and successor King Hlothhere of Kent is said by William of Malmesbury to have ridiculed the idea of their sanctity.

The village church dates back to Norman times and the board of rectors or vicars inside begins in the year 1200 with simply "Robert", the next incumbent equally simply named "Peter". The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas and dates back to the 12th Century. However there have been several areas of restoration. The Church exterior was used in filming an episode of Just Good Friends when the 2 main characters were married. A United Reformed Church down Chapel Lane, a Methodist and an Evangelical (formerly Peculiar People) Church on Great Wakering High Street are also found here.

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 village and civil parish are for administrative purposes in the Rochford District of Essex.

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

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
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.