Havering-atte-Bower, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Havering-atte-Bower St John the Evangelist is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Essex, created in 1836 from Hornchurch, Essex Ancient Parish.

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.

The name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Haueringas.It is an ancient folk name which means settlement of the followers of a man called Hæfer. The name is recorded as Hauering atte Bower in 1272. The atte Bower suffix means at the royal residence and refers to Havering Palace, which was situated here.

The village is steeped in royal history. Edward the Confessor was the first royal to take interest in the area as he established a hunting lodge here which over the years would become a palace or 'bower' and it is believed, though disputed that he may have died in the house that he had loved so much before being buried at Westminster Abbey.

The surrounding areas, including the parishes of Hornchurch and Romford, formed the Royal Liberty of Havering from 1465 to 1892. For the next 600 years royalty would use the house of Havering Palace for various reasons adding the architectural style of the day to the expanding palace.

Another palace was purchased by Henry VIII to the east of the village called Pyrgo to relieve the now aging Havering Palace. Into the 17th century the Royal Palace of Havering was in decline and was pulled down. Pyrgo later followed in the 18th century. Only one set of plans exist from the original Havering Palace, courtesy of a survey by Lord Burghley in 1578.

Dame Tipping School in the village was founded by Dame Anne Tipping who was daughter of Thomas Chief a governor of the Tower of London. The school opened in 1891 and is still running today with the same main building since the school was founded, but through the years the school has had many various changes and extensions.

Immanuel School, on the site of the old Havering Grange, at the bottom of Orange Tree Hill, is a Christian school operated by Immanuel Ministries for children from age 3 to 16.

The village green still has on display its original village stocks, while on the opposite side of the road is a pond known as "Ducking Pond", rumored to have been used for trials of witches. Though the name of the pond suggests such a history, hard evidence is yet to be uncovered. However, there are currently plans to reconstruct a replica ducking stool at the site.

The history of the area dates back to Saxon times and archaeological finds in and around Havering Country Park suggest that there was most likely a Roman Villa or similar structure in the area.

Havering-atte-Bower is a village and outlying settlement of the London Borough of Havering, located 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Charing Cross and close to the Greater London boundary. It was one of three former parishes whose area comprised the historic Royal Liberty of Havering.[2] The village has been the location of a number of palaces and large houses including Bower House, The Round House, Pyrgo Palace and Havering Palace.

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
Romford 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.