Birchanger, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex

Parish History
BIRCHANGER (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Bishop-Stortford, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 2 miles (N. E.) from Bishop-Stortford; containing 386 inhabitants. It was given by Richard II. to William of Wykeham, for the endowment of New College, Oxford, the Warden and Fellows of which are the present proprietors. The parish comprises 1051a. 23p., of which 730 acres are arable, 185 meadow, and 97 woodland. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £9. 13. 4., and in the gift of the college: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £50, and the rectorial for £310; there are 24 acres of glebe, with a handsome house. The church, pleasantly situated on the summit of a hill, near the London road, is a small ancient edifice with a round tower, and contains a fine Norman arch. Richard de Newport founded here, in the reign of John, an hospital dedicated to St. Mary and St. Leonard, for a master and two chaplains; the revenue, in the 26th of Henry VIII., was £31. 13. 11.

From: Samuel A. Lewis', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848)

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.

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.