Broomfield, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Broomfield St Mary is an Ancient Parish in Essex. The church is one of only six churches in Essex with a round tower. The tower is Norman and shows many re-used Roman bricks, as does the rest of the church.

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.

BROOMFIELD (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, 2½ miles (N.) from Chelmsford; containing 820 inhabitants. This parish is supposed to have derived its name from the profusion of broom growing in the immediate vicinity. It is on the road to Braintree, and comprises by computation 2000 acres of fertile land, of which about four-fifths are arable, and the remainder, with the exception of a few acres of wood, meadow and pasture. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 13. 4.; net income, £161; patron, the Bishop of London; impropriator, H. Finch, Esq. The church, a very ancient edifice with a circular tower, has many interesting details in the Norman style: the vicarage-house is a handsome residence. The learned Patrick Young died at the vicarage-house, in 1652; he was keeper of the king's library, and superintended the printing of the Septuagint from the Alexandrian MSS. The Rev. Thomas Cox, who translated from the French Dupin's Life of Christ, and also his Ecclesiastical History, and compiled part of a History of England, and of the Magna Britannia, was vicar of the parish.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50835&amp;amp;strquery=broomfield Date accessed: 20 February 2011.

St Mary with St Leonard, on Church Green is part of Chelmsford North Deanery. There is also a Methodist church, at 124 Main Road. Broomfield Hospital is one of the largest in the east of England. It is a national specialist centre for Plastics and Burns treatment. Broomfield is a former village and now residential suburb situated immediately to the north of Chelmsford, in central Essex.For administrative purposes it is part of Chelmsford Borough.

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
Chelmsford 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.