Brentwood, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex

Parish History
Brentwood is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Essex, created in 1738 from chapelry in South_Weald,_Essex Ancient Parish.

The name was assumed by antiquaries in the 1700s to derive from a corruption of the words 'Burnt Wood', with the name Burntwood still visible on some 18th Century maps, however, "brent" was the middle english for "burnt" (as in brent geese. The name describes the presumed reason for settlement in the part of the Forest of Essex (later Epping Forest) that would have covered the area, where the main occupation was charcoal burning.An alternative meaning of "brent" is "holy one", which could refer to the chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket, for the use of pilgrims to Canterbury, this is, however less likely, as the derivation is Celtic.

BRENTWOOD, a district chapelry and market-town, in the parish of South Weald, union of Billericay, hundred of Chafford, S. division of Essex, 11 miles (S. W.) from Chelmsford, and 18 (E. N. E.) from London, on the road to Norwich; containing 2362 inhabitants. The name, which is of Saxon origin, signifies a burnt wood; the woods that once occupied the site having been burnt down. The hamlet comprises by computation 395 acres. The town is pleasantly situated on a commanding eminence, and consists principally of one street; the houses are in general ancient, and irregularly built: the inhabitants are supplied with excellent water from wells. Races take place occasionally on a common near the town. There are cavalry barracks at Warley, about a mile and a half distant. A large ale and porter brewery and malting establishment was established about 30 years since; the produce is chiefly for home consumption, and about 5000 quarters of malt are annually sent to London. The Eastern Counties railway runs near the town; the station here is of red brick, and in the Elizabethan style. The market, lately revived, is on Saturday; the fairs are on July 18th and Oct. 15th, and are for horses and cattle. Courts leet and baron are held by the lord of the manor of South Weald: pettysessions for the division take place every Thursday; and the assizes were formerly held here. The powers of the county debt-court of Brentwood, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Ongar, and part of that of Billericay. A portion of the old town-hall has been converted into shops. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £124, with a residence; patron, Christopher T. Tower, Esq. The old chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket, was originally founded early in the thirteenth century, by David, Abbot of St. Osyth, and is now used for a national school, a new chapel having been erected by a grant from the Incorporated Society, and by subscription; it is a plain edifice, with lancet windows. There is a meeting-house for Independents, and the Roman Catholics have chapels at Pilgrim Hatch and Thorndon Hall. The free grammar school was founded and endowed in 1537, by Sir Anthony Browne, Knt., and is open to all boys residing within three miles of Brentwood; the income arising from the endowment is £1452, which is paid to the master, subject to an allowance of £10 per annum each to five alms-persons, and to the expense of keeping the school premises and almshouses in repair. An exhibition of £6 per annum to Caius College, Cambridge, was founded by Dr. Plume, with preference to Chelmsford, Brentwood, and Maldon. The Roman station Durositum is supposed to have been situated in the vicinity.

From: 'Brentwood - Brickleton', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 357-362. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50827&amp;amp;strquery=brentwood Date accessed: 04 February 2011.

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
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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.