Finchingfield, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
A brief history of Finchingfield by Samuel A. Lewis is:

FINCHINGFIELD (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Braintree, hundred of Hinckford, N. division of Essex, 5½ miles (E. by N.) from Thaxted; containing 2262 inhabitants.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848).

Finchingfield St John the Baptist is an Ancient parish in the county of Essex.

Finchingfield is a village situated in the county of Essex, in the south-east of England. It is in the north-west of the county, which is a primarily rural area. It is situated between Saffron Walden and Braintree; the nearest town is Thaxted. Nearby villages include Wethersfield, Bardfield and Cornish Hall End.

There has been a settlement at the site since records began; in the time of William the Conqueror it was called Phincingfelda and there is archeological evidence for a Roman villa having been situated some 400 metres south-south-west of the village church. The village was an official stop for horse-drawn coaches journeying from London to Norwich. Spains Hall, the nearby Elizabethan country house, was built in the early 15th century and was the hub of the community, owning much of the village and employing most of the villagers.

For local government purposes the civil parish is within the Braintree district.

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
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
Braintree 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.