Little Parndon, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Little Parndon St Mary is an Ancient Parish in the couty of Essex.

The church of ST. MARY, which stands north of Elizabeth Way, near Parndon mill, was rebuilt in 1868. The previous church, on the same site, was a small building comprising nave and chancel in one, north vestry, south porch, and western bell turret. The east window probably dated from the 14th century. A writer of c. 1830 described it as a 'miserable structure'. In 1868 it was declared to be 'rude and dilapidated' and insufficient for the needs of the parish. It was indeed very small: in 1851 there were only 80 seats. The new church, designed by Joseph Clarke, diocesan architect, in the Decorated style is slightly longer than the old one, on a similar plan, but with an apsidal chancel. The cost was met mainly by the patron, L. W. Arkwright. The building is of flint rubble with stone dressings, with a brick and timber bell turret. Fittings preserved from the old church include a 14thcentury piscina, a bell of c. 1630, a silver paten of 1569 and a cup probably of the same date. There are tablets to Sir Edward Turnor (d. 1676) and to the family of Edward Parson (d. 1780). The grave of Hester Woodley (d. 1767), the Parsons' Negro servant, is marked by a headstone outside the south door.

From: 'Parishes: Little Parndon', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 8 (1983), pp. 223-227. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63856&amp;amp;strquery=Little Parndon Date accessed: 26 January 2011.

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 village and civil parish was absorbed into Harlow.

The new town was built after World War II to ease overcrowding in London at the same time as the similar orbital developments of Basildon, Stevenage, and Hemel Hempstead. The master plan for the new town was drawn up in 1947 by Sir Frederick Gibberd. The development incorporated the market town of Harlow, now a neighbourhood known as Old Harlow, and the villages of Great Parndon, Latton, Tye Green, Potter Street, Churchgate Street, Little Parndon, and Netteswell

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
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Online images are available Seax - Essex Archives Online From the Essex Record Office

Census records
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Index for the Census may be searched at FamilySearch Historical Records

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

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
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Web sites
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