Harlow, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Harlow [St Mary and St Hugh] is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex. Other places in the parish include: Potterstreet.

There is some dispute as to where the placename Harlow derives from. One theory is that it derives from the Anglo-Saxon words 'here' and 'hlaw', meaning "army hill", probably to be identified with Mulberry Hill, which was used as the moot or meeting place for the district.

The other theory is that it derives from the words 'here' and 'hearg', meaning "temple hill/mound", probably to be identified with an Iron Age burial mound, later a Roman temple site on River Way.

The original village, mentioned in the Norman Domesday Book, developed as a typical rural community around what is now known as Old Harlow, with many of its buildings still standing.

St Mary and St Hugh church, Churchgate Street has occupied the site for many centuries.

Medieval Harlow grew around the market place, Mulberry Green, and the church. The church existed by the 12th century and the market by the 13th. Mulberry (formerly Mudborrow) Green lay 400 m. north of Moot Hill, possibly the ancient meeting place of the hundred. Outside the village there were scattered farms and hamlets. Harlowbury, the principal manor, lay north of Mulberry Green. It has been suggested that there was a deserted medieval village there, but by 1287 most of the crofts of the villeins and free tenants of the manor lay south-east of the church, towards Harlow Tye and Hobbs Cross. Three km. south of the market, near Harlow common, lay the hamlets of Potter Street and Foster Street. Potter Street was named from a local industry which reached its peak in the 17th century. By the later 18th century Harlow had become a small town, and Potter Street a large village. As at Epping, ( the growth of the town was stimulated by coach traffic along the Newmarket road, and was slower in the mid 19th century when coaches were superseded by railways.

From: 'The ancient parish of Harlow', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 8 (1983), pp. 131-149. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63849&amp;amp;strquery=Old Harlow Date accessed: 26 January 2011.

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 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.

Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.

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 mary and St Hugh

See also All Saints Mission Church, St John the Baptist, St Mary Magdalene, Fore Street Baptist Church and Potter Street Baptist Church and the Monumental Inscriptions of Foster Strret Protestant Dissenters Burial Ground for [Old]Harlow

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
Epping 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.