Steeple, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex

Parish History
Steeple is an Ancient Parish in the county of Essex.

The original Parish Church of St Lawrence was destroyed by fire and the current Church was built in the centre of the village in 1884 designed by the architect F. Chancellor. Material from the preceding medieval church was used in its construction.. The church is dedicated to St Lawrence and All Saints.

Stansgate Priory. was a Cluniac Priory built near to the banks of the River Blackwater in about 1120 AD. It was one of many priories closed by Cardinal Wolseley in 1524.

The village has been home to several generations of Viscount Stansgates. Viscount Stansgate, of Stansgate in the County of Essex, is a currently disclaimed title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the Labour politician and former Secretary of State for India and Secretary of State for Air, William Wedgwood Benn. He was the second son of Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet, of The Old Knoll. Lord Stansgate's eldest son and heir apparent, the Hon. Michael Benn, was killed in the Second World War, and he was consequently succeeded by his younger son, the second Viscount, better known as the Labour politician Tony Benn. He disclaimed the peerage in 1963 on the day the Peerage Act 1963 passed into law and made it possible for him to do so. On Tony Benn's death the title will be passed on to the next in line, his elder son Stephen Benn. Both Tony Benn and his sons are in remainder to the Benn Baronetcy of The Old Knoll.

Contributor: Add a general overview of the history of this parish. It can be a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs.

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
Maldon 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