Panfield, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Panfield St Mary is an Ancient parish in the county of Essex.

Panfield is a village and a civil parish in the Braintree district on the English county of Essex. It is near the town of Braintree.

PANFIELD (St. Mary and St. Christopher), a parish, in the union of Braintree, hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 2 miles (N. W. by N.) from Braintree; containing 299 inhabitants. An alien priory of Benedictine monks, subordinate to the abbey of St. Stephen, at Caen, in Normandy, was founded here in the reign of William the Conqueror; in that of Henry V. it became parcel of the possessions of the convent of Canterbury, and at the Dissolution was granted to Sir Giles Capel. The parish is bounded on the north-east by the river Blackwater, and comprises 1475a. 19p., of which about 1200 acres are arable, 130 pasture, and 120 wood: the surface is agreeably diversified, and enriched with foliage; the soil is generally a strong loam, resting on clay. Panfield Hall, built in 1546, is a curious specimen of the domestic architecture of that period, subsequently modernised by frequent alterations and repairs. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 10.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. R. L. Page: the tithes have been commuted for £500, and the glebe comprises 7 acres. The church is a small edifice, with a tower surmounted by a shingled spire; the altar-piece is handsome, and there are some remains of ancient stained glass in the windows.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 531-535. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51203 Date accessed: 12 April 2011.

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

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
Braintree 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.