Arkesden, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Arkesden St Mary is an Ancient Parish in Essex

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.

Arkesden is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located 7 km (5 miles) southwest of Saffron Walden, is around 6 miles from Bishop's Stortford in nearby Hertfordshire and is 35 km (22 miles) northwest from the county town of Chelmsford a. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden. The village has its own Parish Council.

"ARKESDEN (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 3 miles (E.) from Newport, and 9 miles (N.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 498 inhabitants. It comprises 2297a. 2r. 28p.; the surface is undulated, the soil a heavy and tenacious clay. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; net income, £181; patron and impropriator, R. B. Wolfe, Esq. It was formerly endowed with a portion of the great tithes, which were commuted for land and a corn-rent, under an inclosure act, in 1814. The church, a spacious and handsome structure with a square embattled tower, in the later English style, is finely situated on the slope of a hill; the north aisle was built by Thomas Alderton, of London, who founded a chantry here in the reign of Hen. VII."

From: 'Areley - Arncott', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 69-73. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50759 Date accessed: 30 March 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

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
Saffron Walden 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.