Mountnessing, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex

Parish History
Mountnessing St Giles is an Ancient parish in Essex. The church was founded in the 13th century according to records of the Thoby Priory: The date of foundation of this priory is not certain, but it was in existence in the time of Robert, bishop of London (1141-1151), to whom Michael Capra and Rose his wife and William his son and heir address a charter (fn. 3) granting to Tobias the prior and the canons a hide of land round the church and other things. This may possibly be the foundation charter. The name of the priory appears first as Ginges, then as Gingetobye (probably from the prior), and afterwards as Thoby. It was dedicated to St. Mary and St. Leonard. The advowson belonged later to the Mounteney family. The church of Mountnessing was appropriated to the priory, and a vicarage ordained. The temporalities mentioned in the Taxation of 1291 amount to £13 16s. 1d. yearly, made up of £7 15s. 4d. in Great Burstead, £2 6s. 8d. in Warley, £1 13s. in Ingrave, and other sums in Ramsden Cray, Shellow, Mountnessing, Shenfield, Staundon, Rawreth, Ingatestone, Springfield and Colchester. Very few entries relating to the priory are found in records.

From: 'Houses of Austin canons: Priory of Thoby', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2 (1907), pp. 162-163. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=39849&amp;amp;strquery=mountnessing Date accessed: 04 February 2011.

The diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914, prior to this Essex parishes were in the jurisdiction of the Bishops of London until 1845 when they transferred to the diocese of Rochester. The diocese of Chelmsford has 474 parishes and 600 churches and is the second largest region in the church of England outside London.

MOUNTNESSING (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of Billericay, hundred of Chelmsford, S. division of Essex, 2 miles (S. W.) from Ingatestone; containing 925 inhabitants. The parish derives its name from the ancient family of Mountney, and from its luxuriant pasture and meadow lands; it comprises 941 acres, of which 104 are common or waste. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11; net income, £117; patron and impropriator, Lord Petre. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £210; the impropriate glebe comprises 13 acres, and the vicarial 21. The church is an ancient edifice, on the south side of which is a small chantry chapel, containing several monumental inscriptions. Richard Beyley, in 1743, bequeathed a house and 18 acres of land, producing £30 annually, to teach as many poor children, at one penny a week per head, as the funds will allow. A priory of Augustine canons was founded in the reign of Stephen, at Thoby, in the parish, by Michael Capra, Roise his wife, and William their son; it was dedicated to St. Mary and St. Leonard, and at the Dissolution had a revenue of £75. 6. 10. The refectory and two arches of the cloisters are still preserved.

From: 'Mouldsworth - Moze', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 353-356. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51162&amp;amp;strquery=mountnessing Date accessed: 04 February 2011.

Mountnessing is a village in south Essex. It is situated to the north-east of Brentwood, south-west of Ingatestone.

Mountnessing is most noted for its windmill and for the parish church of St Giles. An annual village fete in held in July. In the "Windmill" field there is also a village hall, cricket pitch, football pitches and tennis courts (members only). It is rumoured that Dick Turpin Dick Turpin once stayed at the George and Dragon. The village and civil parish are for administrative purposes within the Brentwood District of Essex County Council.

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
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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
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Web sites
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