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Braintree, Essex

Historical Description

Braintree, a small town and parish, and head of a union and county court district, in Essex. The town stands on. The river Blackwater, on the Roman road to Colchester, and on the Maldon, Witham, and Braintree railway, 6½ miles north-north-westward from the Witham Junction of the G.E.R., and 12 NNE of Chelmsford. It was once a seat of the Bishops of London; was constituted a market-town in the time of King John, and owing to its being on the route of pilgrims to Bury-St-Edmunds and Walsingham, it attained some importance; it fell fast into decay after the Reformation, and revived under the influence of trade. The manor was known at the Conquest as Great Rayne or Branchetren, or Branktre, and belonged, till the time of Edward VI., to the Bishops of London. The town is straggling, occupies a rising ground, and connects on the N with Bocking, the two parishes forming one continuous town. The streets for the most part are narrow, and some of the houses are old and timbered, but now considerably renovated and modernized. The parish church (St Michael's) stands on high ground, thought to have been the site of an ancient camp, is Early English and later styles, with a tall spire, was enlarged prior to the Reformation with the proceeds of three plays acted in it. There is a brass to Dr Collins, physician to the Czar of Russia, 1670. The site of the former church, and some vestiges of a palace of the Bishops of London, are half a mile distant. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St Albans; net value, £238 with residence. The town is governed by a local board of nine members. It is well drained, and has a good supply of water drawn from two artesian wells. It has a station on the railway, a head post, money order, and telegraph office, two banks, some corn mills, mailings and breweries, and two good hotels. A commodious police station with court-house and every convenience was erected in 1893. In addition to the parish church it has two Baptist chapels, and Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. There is a cemetery of over 5 acres, a vestry hall, corn exchange, a public hall erected in 1887, a mechanics' institute, and a cottage hospital. A considerable woollen trade sprang up in the time of Elizabeth, but decayed gradually, and its place is taken now by the manufacture of silk and crape, and of brushes and cocoa-nut fibre matting. A weekly market is held on Wednesday for corn and cattle, and fairs are held on 8 and 9 May, and 2, 3, and 4 Oct., the latter being for cattle and hops. There is a weekly newspaper published in the town. Dawes the archbishop, and Tusser the agricultural poet, were born in the neighbourhood. The parish comprises 2218 acres of land and 6 of water; population, 5303.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyEssex 
Ecclesiastical parishBraintree St. Michael 
HundredHinckford 
Poor Law unionBraintree 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Cemeteries

The Cemetery, on the London road, is over 7 acres in extent, and was opened in August, 1856; the purchase and arrangement of the ground, erection of lodge-keeper's house and mortuary chapels, cost together £4,000; in 1900 it was enlarged by the addition of 2 acres of land, at a cost of £850, and is council controlled.


Churches

Church of England

St. Michael (parish church)

The church of St. Michael, near the centre of the town, is an edifice of flint and stone in the Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, and consists of chancel with aisles and a vestry on the north side, nave of three bays, with clerestory, north and south porches and an Early English tower with lofty octagonal shingled spire containing a clock and 8 bells, two of which were added in 1899, and a sanctus bell in a cot: the turret staircase which led to the rood-loft remains: the east window is a memorial, completed in 1869, to Richard Lacey esq.: two memorial windows were placed in the south chapel by Miss Wakeham, of Marshalls, Braintree, in 1886, and another in 1889, by Mrs. Kenworthy, to her mother: an inscription on the south side of a tomb states that Samuel Collins, many years vicar of this church, died May 2, 1667, and was buried here: in the chancel is a mural monument inscribed to John Hawkins esq. alderman of London in 1626, who died in 1633: the church plate of silver includes two chalices inscribed "Brainetre in Essex," dated 1775, a flagon, 1711, a plate, 1766, and a paten, 1863: in the exterior wall of the chancel is a brass with the following inscription:"This grave was ordered to be set vp by ye last will and Testament of Samvell Collins late Dr. in physick eldest son to Mr. Samvell Collins, vicar of this parish, here vnder bvryed who served above nine years as principal physician to ye great Czar or Emperovr of Rvssia and after his retyrne from thence taking a jovrney into France dyed at Paris October 29th 1670 being the 51st year of his age:" the exterior of the church was restored in 1864 and the interior restored and refitted in 1866, at a total cost of about £6,000: in 1886 the organ was enlarged at a cost of £300, and removed into the south chancel aisle, then extended at a cost of £300, under a bequest of Miss Frances Wakeham in 1893, and in 1894 a new choir vestry and parish room were erected at a cost of £260, and a new reredos of oak provided at a cost of £120: there are 940 sittings.

Baptist

Baptist chapel, Albert Road

The Baptist chapel in, Albert road, was erected in 1864 and has 200 sittings.

Baptist chapel, Coggeshall Road

The Baptist chapel, in Coggeshall road, was founded in 1550 and will seat 550 persons.

Congregational

Congregational chapel, London Road

The Congregational chapel, in London road, is a large edifice of white brick with stone dressings and has 992 sittings; the chapel was founded in 1787.

Methodist

Primitive Methodist chapel, Manor Street

The Primitive Methodist chapel, in Manor street, erected in 1862, is of white brick, and will seat 250 persons.

Wesleyan chapel, Rayne Road

The Wesleyan chapel, in Rayne road, is a spacious edifice of red brick with 450 sittings.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Braintree from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Essex is available to browse.

The Essex pages from the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 is online.


Maps

Online maps of Braintree are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Essex online:


Poor Law

The Braintree Poor Law Union comprised the following parishes in 1914: Black Notley, Bocking, Bradwell, Braintree, Gt. Coggeshall, Little Coggeshall, Cressing, Fairstead, Faulkbourn, Feering, Finchingfield, Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Marks Hall, Panfield, Pattiswick, Rayne, Rivenhall, Gt. Saling, Shalford, Stisted, Terling, Wethersfield, White Notley & Witham.


Workhouse

The Braintree Union Workhouse, is in Bocking parish, on the Rayne road; a structure of red brick, built in 1837 at a cost of £6,300 & enlarged in 1895 at a total cost of £8,000; it would hold 420 inmates.

DistrictBraintree
CountyEssex
RegionEastern
CountryEngland
Postal districtCM7
Post TownBraintree

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