Canewdon, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Canewdon St Nicholas is an Ancient Parish in Essex.

The 14th century church of St Nicholas, with its 15th century tower and porch, stands on a hill 128 feet above the marshes. The oldest part of the church is the outside wall of the north aisle which contains many Roman bricks, presumably from an earlier building.

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.

Canewdon is a village and civil parish which for administrative purposes is in the Rochford District of Essex in England.

The name Canewdon is derived from the Saxon name ‘Caningadon’, roughly translated to ‘hill of the Can people’. ‘don’ means hill and the ‘ing’ implies a personal name and probably indicates a pre-existing settlement. The name predates Canute the Great by about 400 years but Canewdon is claimed to be the site of an ancient camp used by Canute, during a battle in the course of his invasion of Essex in 1016.

The village is on a hill that has a commanding view over the surrounding area and it is thought that the Romans had a hill fort and settlement here to watch over the river Crouch. Many Roman urns were found in the village in the 18th century and there is much Roman material built into the walls of the church. Christianity came to Canewdon at an early date, probably in Roman times. Some 200 years after the Romans during St. Cedd’s mission from Lindisfarne to Essex in about 653AD, after he had established ministers at Bradwell-on-Sea and Tilbury, the Gospel was then carried from Bradwell to Canewdon and by this time Canewdon was already a fortified site.

There is much unsubstantiated superstition surrounding the village. Some even believe it to be a centre of witchcraft. One legend has it that while the church tower stands, there will always remain six witches in Canewdon; another states that if you walk around the church seven times (anticlockwise) on Halloween you will see a witch, and thirteen times you will disappear. These stories can make the village a popular destination on Halloween, to the extent that the police have been known to seal off the village to non-residents.

Whilst the church of St Nicholas stands full on Beacon Hill, Canewdon, it is said that there will be as many witches in silk as in cotton.

A lot of the folklore probably came from George Pickingill who, living in the village during the late 19th century, still apparently practised pagan rituals in the church grounds. The idea that something magical can happen from running about the church is probably an exaggeration of what scared locals saw the witch master and his nymphs doing 'walking the circle' as it is known in paganism.

Most of the village was built in the mid-Sixties.

There are many ghost stories within the village, most again central to the church. The most famous ghost is the grey lady who reportedly floats down from the church's west gate towards the river Crouch.

During World War II there was a radar station which has now fallen into ruin. It stands on a private property, where the remnant is now used as a stable.

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.