A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



adjournment to the 'King's Head'. At the 1872 meet- 

 ing more than 200 attended to discuss an advance to 

 the Chigwell School Board. In the later 1 9th century 

 the ratepayers of Buckhurst Hill, who outnumbered 

 those in the rest of the parish, disliked travelling to 

 Chigvi'ell for vestry meetings, especially because there 

 was still no direct road between those two parts of the 

 parish. 



There seems to have been no particular system of 

 rotation in appointing parish officers. Until 1770 

 churchwardens were appointed for two successive 

 years but afterwards they often served for longer terms. 

 From 1730, or earlier, one churchwarden was ap- 

 pointed by the vicar and the other by the parish. Over- 

 seers of the poor usually served only for one year, two 

 being appointed each Easter. There is a vague sug- 

 gestion that during the 1 8th century one was appointed 

 for the lordship of Chigwell Hall and the other for 

 that of Woolston. Three surveyors of highways were 

 appointed each year, one each for the lordships of 

 Chigwell Hall, Woolston, and Barringtons. This 

 office was often taken by the gentry, and in the middle 

 of the 18th century William Harvey, lord of Barring- 

 tons, served his own lordship for many years. There is 

 no evidence that the vestry nominated constables before 

 1790. A resolution of 1721 prohibited the appoint- 

 ment of a deputy by any parish officer without the 

 vestry's approval. A paid assistant overseer was ap- 

 pointed in 1827 and served continuously until 1839, 

 when he became the relieving officer for Epping Dis- 

 trict under the Epping Board of Guardians. An 

 assistant overseer was again appointed in 1 840, and in 

 1852 he was also made collector of the poor rate and 

 paid a commission of 3 per cent, of the rates collected." 



In 1727 there were 2 men, 5 women, and 5 children 

 receiving regular poor relief A year later a house in 

 Chigwell was converted into a workhouse and in 1733 

 the vestry resolved to send all out-pensioners there. In 

 1730 a workhouse master had undertaken to maintain 

 the poor for a lOi/. rate, but this arrangement seems to 

 have lasted only a few years. In 1745 all pensioners 

 were ordered to wear the parish badge. The work- 

 house remained adequate for the needs of the parish 

 until 1790, when a larger house in Gravel Lane was 

 taken on lease. This was used as the parish workhouse 

 until 1836 when it was taken over by the Epping 

 Union, '2 which used it until the new Union house was 

 opened in 1838. '^ In 1796 the poor were farmed out 

 to a workhouse master at 15 guineas a year; he also 

 received 2 guineas for acting as parish beadle. 



Of the 94 surviving settlement certificates dated 

 between 1699 and 1791 received by the parish officers 

 60 were issued by parishes in south-west Essex, 12 

 elsewhere in the county (mostly in the north-west), 6 

 in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, 

 12 in London, Middlesex, Surrey and Kent. One was 

 for a blacksmith from Taunton and one for a barber 

 and wig-maker from Berwick-on-Tweed. The others 

 were from Wellingborough (Northants.) and Steeple 

 Aston (Oxon.)."* 



The 106 surviving apprenticeship indentures drawn 

 up between 1671 and 1809 show that most pauper 

 children were apprenticed to masters within the 



parish. '5 For many years the ratepayers took these 

 children as apprentices on a rota system. In 1727 a 

 woman paid a fine of ;^io to avoid takmg a child 

 allotted to her. In 1730 it was resolved not to pay 

 relief to travellers through the parish even though they 

 carried passes; it was considered that as the main road 

 through Chigwell led only to Ongar such passengers 

 had no need of assistance. 



In 1792 one of the overseers was Joshua Jenour, a 

 well-known author and pamphleteer and a man of 

 advanced views.'* In that year he planned to build a 

 pest-house out of the poor rates. As he had not con- 

 sulted either his fellow officers or the vestry, the church- 

 wardens ordered him to desist. He moved a resolution 

 at a subsequent vestry meeting that the house should be 

 built, but this was defeated. Among his supporters were 

 three local doctors, while the opposition came mainly 

 from the farmers and larger ratepayers. In 1794 the 

 vestry supported a plan proposed by John Conyers for 

 the relief of the poor of the hundreds of Ongar, Harlow, 

 and Waltham, but later withdrew support. In 1795 

 the high price of flour was met by subsidizing from the 

 rates the bread bought by the poor from local bakers, 

 and by the agreement of the wealthier inhabitants to 

 use flour from which 7 lb. bran a bushel had been 

 extracted. In 1 800 it was decided to provide the poor 

 with substitutes for flour, mainly rice and potatoes, and 

 the ratepayers were urged to use similar substitutes 

 themselves. 



The overseers' expenditure in the year ending at 

 Easter 1724 was ^^151, and in 1745 £180. In 1783 

 the total poor rate was ^485." Expenditure rose to 

 j{^7i6 in 1791 and in 1801 the poor rate was yri,o86.'8 

 Between 1 801 and 1 821 the rate fluctuated consider- 

 ably; it was highest in 1820 (£2,519) and lowest in 

 1 811 ((£630), but was usually between /^i,ooo and 

 £2,000." Overseers' expenditure was £1,339 in 1823 

 and £1,614 in 1836. 



There are few references to the work of the sur- 

 veyors of highways. Some of their activities are 

 described above (see p. 19). Nor is there much 

 information about the constables. In 17 14 the vestry 

 ordered that the stocks, watch house, and whipping- 

 post should be repaired. John Rowe, constable in 

 1828-32, arrested while in office 207 offenders, includ- 

 ing burglars, highway robbers, and cattle thieves. 

 Probably most of the offences took place not in Chig- 

 well itself but in the forest at Buckhurst Hill or 

 Chigwell Row, both notorious haunts of criminals.'" 

 In 1 840 Chigwell became part of the Metropolitan 

 Police District.^" In 1 8 5 1 there were a sergeant and 

 four constables in the parish.^' In 191 1 there were 3 

 sergeants, 2 acting sergeants, and 18 constables, 

 attached to J Division, Metropolitan Police.^^ Chigwell 

 Hall is now the sports club for No. 5 District, Metro- 

 politan Police. 



The history of Chigwell School, founded in 1629 

 by Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York, 

 SCHOOLS was described in an earlier volume of this 

 History?^ It is now an independent 

 public school. A new dining-hall and workshop build- 

 ing was opened in 191 o;^'* a memorial chapel was 

 added in i924;25 an assembly hall was built to mark 



" E.R.O., D/P 166/11/6, 166/8/11 



" E.R.O., G/EM I. 



" E.R.O., G/EM 2. 



■« E.R.O., D/P 166/13/1B. 



'5 Ibid. 166/14/1. 



■' 1755-1853:866 AA'.B. 



■' E.R.O., Q/CR i/i. The poor rate 

 had to meet some charges other than 

 relief of the poor, such as rates for county 

 bridges. '« E.R.O., Q/CR 1/9. 



'» Ibid. 1/12. 



■9" Kent and Eisex Mercury, 2 Aug. 1832. 



2» Land. Gaz., 13 Oct. 1840, p. 2250. 



21 H.O. 107/1770, 195/1. 



22 Essex Almanac, 1911. 

 " V.C.H. Essex, ii, 544 f. 

 " E.R. xix, 161. 



^5 Ibid, xxiiv, 103. 



38 



