Rochford, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
St Andrew's Church, Rochford is located near the Rochford Hundred Golf Club and is part of Rochford Deanery, within the Bradwell Area of the Diocese of Chelmsford of the Church of England.

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.

Rochford Methodist Church is in North Street, Rochford, near the White Horse pub. The Methodists have been in Rochford since 1822, meeting in a building where Market Alley turns into the Square. In 1841, they moved to a new building in North Street near Weir Pond Road, and in 1880 they moved to their current premises.

Rochford Community Church was founded in 1983.

ROCHFORD (St. Andrew), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Rochford, S. division of Essex, 19¼ miles (S. E.) from Chelmsford, and 40 (E. by N.) from London; containing 1722 inhabitants. It is situated on the small river Roche, from which it is supposed to derive its name, and is an irregularly-built town, supplied with water by a stream that runs through it, and from a pump erected in the market-place. The trade is principally in corn. The river Crouch is navigable to Broomhills, within about a mile of the town, and affords great facility for the conveyance of corn, coal, and other merchandise, by vessels of from 100 to 200 tons' burthen. The market is on Thursday; and fairs take place on the Tuesday and Wednesday in Easter-week, and the Wednesday and Thursday after September 29th, chiefly for toys. The magistrates for the hundred hold sittings on Thursday, once a fortnight, and occasionally weekly, for general business. The powers of the county debt-court of Rochford, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Rochford, and four adjacent parishes. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20, and in the gift of the Earl of Mornington: the tithes have been commuted for £565, and the glebe comprises 54 acres. The church is a plain edifice, with a lofty tower of very fine old brickwork; a gallery was erected in 1827, and the church was repaired and beautified in 1828. There is a place of worship for Independents. A workhouse for 300 inmates has been erected for the union, which comprises 24 parishes or places, and contains a population of 14,617. Rochford Hall, the greater part of which was destroyed by fire about eighty years since, was the birthplace of the unfortunate Anna Boleyn, queen of Henry VIII.

From: Samuel A. Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 679-686. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51241 Date accessed: 01 February 2011.

Rochford is a small town in the Rochford district of Essex in the East of England. It is sited about 43 miles (69.2 km) from Central London and approximately 21 miles (33.8 km) from the Essex county town, Chelmsford. The civil parish of Rochford, which includes the town proper, Stroud Green, and London Southend Airport forms an district for local government purposes, which includes several other civil parishes.

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

See also Rochford Hospital, Rochford Wesleyan Methodist Church, Rochford Congregational Church and Rocheway Evangelical Church

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

Microfilm copy of original at the Essex Record Office, Colchester. Churchwardens and overseers records, 1658-1913 Essex Record Office, Colchester, reference: D/P129/5/1-3, D/P129/8-10, D/P129/11/1-3, 12/1-6, 13/1A-5, 14/1-3, 15/1-4, 16/1-6, 17/1-9, 18/1-14, D/P129/21, 25/1, 28/1-5.

Churchwardens accounts, 1742-1913 Vestry records, 1785-1824 Constable records, 1742, 1774, 1829 Overseers rates, 1797, 1804, 1823 Overseers accounts, 1773-1774, 1800-1802 FHL BRITISH Film 1471655 Items 15-26 Overseers accounts, 1762-1809 FHL BRITISH Film 1471878 Overseers accounts, 1808-1869 Overseers settlements, 1698-1830 FHL BRITISH Film 1471879 Overseers settlements, 1808-1830 Apprenticeships, 1658-1659, 1709-1711, 1728-1812, 1823-1829 Bastardy records, 1712-1718, 1732, 1754-1756, 1767-1771, 1783-1795, 1809-1829 Settlements, 1704, 1756, 1791-1796, 1810, 1823-1829 Militia records, 1778, 1795-1809 Miscellaneous, 1773-1830 Surveyors accounts, 1782-1794 Charities, 1777 Miscellaneous, 1742, 1796-1805, 1820, 1898 FHL BRITISH Film 1471731 Items 1-44

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.