Chignall Smealy, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex



Parish History
Chignal-Smealy St Nicholas is an Ancient parish in Essex.

The local church (St. Nicholas) is a red brick building, containing an unusual red brick baptismal font which has been used for many christenings.

The spelling of the village name is open to discussion. Sometimes it is spelt "Chignall Smealy" other times, it is spelt "Chignal Smealy".

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.

CHIGNAL-SMEALY (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union and hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, 4¾ miles (N. W. by N.) from Chelmsford; containing 94 inhabitants. This is one of the smallest parishes in the county, containing not more than 300 acres of land, the greater part of which is of very inferior quality. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 6. 8.; net income, £120; patrons, alternately, F. Austen, Esq., and the family of Coke. The church is of brick, with an embattled tower, and contains some ancient monuments.

From: 'Chiddingstone - Chillington', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 593-597. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50873 Date accessed: 20 February 2011.

The village and civil parish is in the Chelmsford District of Essex County Council.

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.