Bradfield (St. Lawrence)

BRADFIELD (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union and hundred of Tendring, N. division of Essex, 3 miles (E. S. E.) from Manningtree; containing 995 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the river Stour, and comprises by computation 2270 acres: the greater portion of the land rises to a considerable elevation above the marshes; and the soil, chiefly a fine impalpable loam, is uncommonly fertile. A fair is held on the last Monday in July. The living is a discharged vicarage, united, with the living of Manningtree, to the rectory of Mistley, and valued in the king's books at £12. 13. 4.: the great tithes, belonging to the trustees of the late Col. Rigby, have been commuted for £422, with a glebe of 32 acres; and those of the incumbent for £193, with a glebe of 11 acres. The church is an ancient edifice, partly in the later English style, and partly of a much earlier date. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Sir Harbottle Grimston, master of the rolls under Charles II., and an eminent writer on the law, was born here.