Stebbing, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Stebbing St Mary the Virgin is an Ancient Parish in Essex.

The earliest written record referring to the present church dates from 1377, when it was reported of Henry de Ferrers that he was “said to have been born in the Abbey of Tilty and baptised in the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Stebbing”. During work inside the church a few years ago part of the foundations of an earlier building were uncovered along with coins of King Henry II (1154 - 1189).

The crowning glory is the stone rood screen, one of only three that survive in Europe (the others are at Great Bardfield, Essex and in Trondheim).

During restoration work in 2010 remnants were discovered of medieval wall paintings.

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.

Stebbing is mentioned in the Domesday Book

"Henry de Ferrers holds Stebbing in demesne which Siward held as a manor and as two hides and 30 acres. Then and later two ploughs in demesne; now 3. Among the men then 4 ploughs now six and a half. There were six villans now eight. Then 16 bordars now 33." STEBBING (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Dunmow, hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 3¼ miles (N. E. by E.) from Dunmow; containing 1458 inhabitants. The parish is about nine or ten miles in circumference; the surface is elevated, and the soil for the greater part dry and fertile. The lands are intersected by a stream that turns several mills. There are two artificial mounts, one of which is said to have been formerly the site of a castle. A fair for cattle and fat calves is held on the 10th of July. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £12: the great tithes, which belong, with the patronage, to Mrs. Batt, have been commuted for £820, and the vicarial tithes for £350; the impropriate and vicarial glebes contain respectively 124¾ and 2 acres. The church is a spacious and lofty structure, situated on an eminence. Here is a place of worship for Independents.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 198-200. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51301&amp;amp;strquery=stebbing Date accessed: 19 February 2011.

Stebbing is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of northern Essex, England. The village is situated north of the ancient Roman road Stane Street.

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
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
Dunmow 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.