Prittlewell, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex

Parish History
Prittlewell 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.

Following the withdrawal of the Roman legions, the area came under the influence of Saxon raiders, over time becoming established as part of the kingdom of the East Saxons. During this time (largely the 5th and 6th centuries), the historic Saxon name of Prittleuuella came into being.

The construction works of 1923 and 1930 that revealed Roman burials also unearthed evidence of numerous Anglo-Saxon burials, a significant number of which were high-status or warrior burials containing weapons, imported goods, gold jewellery and decorative beads some of which were made out of glass.

In the 7th century, the return of Christianity to the East Saxons may have led to the building of a church on the hill to the south of the brook and spring. Within the current St. Mary's Church, there is a small 7th century arch in the north-east wall of the chancel. Early clay tiles forming the top of the arch are thought to be of Roman origin.

After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Sweyne switched allegiances to William and increased his power. Under the feudal system he became Lord of the Manor: at the times of Domesday there were two manors in the area that is now Prittlewell — Prittlewell and Milton.

Around 1110, a Sweyne's successor, Robert Fitzsweyne, also known as Robert d'Essex, divided his manor in two, the part to the west being Prittlewell, the site of Earl's Hall and the rest, consisting of thirty acres (120,000 m²) of land, the church at Prittlewell, and also the chapels at Sutton and Eastwood, being given to the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras, Lewes for the purpose of setting up Prittlewell Priory.

At this time the lands of the priory extended to right down to the seafront. Due to this, when a fishing settlement was set up two miles (3 km) south of the priory in the 14th century, it was still regarded as part of Prittlewell and as such was named Stratende, Sowthende or South-End. From this settlement the modern town of Southend-on-Sea grew.

Over a period of around two hundred years, St. Mary's Church was substantially enlarged, reaching its present size with the addition of its tower in the mid 15th century.

Prittlewell (St. Mary) PRITTLEWELL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Rochford, S. division of Essex, 19 miles (S. E.) from Chelmsford; containing 2239 inhabitants. The parish borders on the Thames, and includes Southend, a pleasant bathing-place, a short distance above which is Crow Stone, marking the extreme eastern boundary of the jurisdiction of the mayor of London, as conservator of the river. The village of Prittlewell is agreeably situated, and contains several handsome modern houses. A fair is held on the 15th of July. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £18. 13. 4.; net income, £308; patron, the Bishop of London; impropriator, Sir Thomas Neave, Bart. The church is in the later English style, with a fine pinnacled tower, which serves as an excellent landmark. At Southend is a separate incumbency. In the parish is a school on the national system, partly supported by an endowment of £23 per annum. A Cluniac priory in honour of St. Mary, subordinate to the abbey of Lewes, in Sussex, was founded here in the reign of Henry II., by Robert Fitz-Swaine: at the Dissolution it had a revenue of £194. 14. 3.—See the article on Southend.

From: 'Prestwich - Prudhoe-Castle', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 616-618. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51224 Date accessed: 01 February 2011.

Prittlewell is an area of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Historically, Prittlewell is the original town, Southend being the south end of Prittlewell.

Originally a Saxon village, Prittlewell is centred on St. Mary's Church, at the joining of its three main roads, East Street, West Street and Victoria Avenue (which was built over North Street in the late 19th century) which is the main Southend arterial road. Along this road lies Southend's main administration centres, however Prittlewell is mainly a residential area.

For modern administrative purposes, Prittlewell is within the Southend District of Essex.

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
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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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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