ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



John's with a colleague for the 'Countess of Warwick's 

 leet'-^s An ale-conner was appointed in 1685, an 

 assessor of land-tax in 1752, and a reeve in 1826 and 

 1828, all by the parish vestry. 



There were stocks at Abridge in 1585, when a 

 vagrant was reported to have escaped from them/* In 

 1728 it was decided to build a parish cage at Abridge 

 with the timber recently removed from the church 

 porches.'" In 1841 the parish pound stood about I mile 

 south of Abridge to the west of Hoe Lane.^* In 1832 

 some labourers were paid 3/. for working the fire-engine. 



In 1589 the parishioners subscribed towards the 

 building of a cottage for the poor and petitioned Quarter 

 Sessions for permission to erect it without the statutory 

 4 acres of land.'" During the early i8th century the 

 parish cottages at Abridge were sometimes used to 

 accommodate the poor,'" but they were not very satis- 

 factory for this purpose. Plans to convert them into a 

 workhouse were rejected in 1738 and again in 1828.5' 



In 1742 three houses in 'the Alley' at Abridge were 

 leased by the parish at ;^4 10/. a year, and in 1748 a 

 house called 'The Old Crown' was leased for use as a 

 poorhouse at ^^lo a year. The repair and extension of 

 Church House at Lambourne End, about 18 10, were 

 for the purpose of housing the parish poor, and this 

 house remained in use as a workhouse until the forma- 

 tion of the Ongar Union. 



An Epping surgeon and an apothecary were paid for 

 attending the poor and supplying medicine in 1748, 

 and a midwife received 5 J. in 1723 for delivering a 

 bastard child, but it was only from 1 8 10 that regular 

 medical contracts were made for the treatment of the 

 poor. In that year a parish doctor was employed at a 

 salary of 14 guineas. This included all inoculations and 

 attendance at two childbirths, but other childbirths and 

 surgical treatment were excluded, as well as travelling 

 expenses outside the parish. Between 1824 and 1834 

 further agreements on similar lines were recorded, the 

 appointments usually being reviewed each year. 



The annual amounts raised by the poor rates in the 

 1 8th century were only irregularly recorded, but by the 

 middle of that century the overseers' expenditure was 

 usually over ^100 a year. The vestry was fairly strict 

 with its poor. On several occasions individuals and 

 families were moved around, presumably to make the 

 best use of existing accommodation. Orders for badging 

 the poor were issued, chiefly between 1729 and I745» 

 but once as late as 1 8 2 5 . In 1 8 3 1 a woman was ordered 

 to wean her child. The policy of the vestry was not, 

 however, merely repressive. In 1743 a silk thrower was 

 brought down from London to instruct the poor in 

 winding silk, and others who were not receiving relief 

 were encouraged by financial assistance to be similarly 

 employed. In 1832 and 1833 several pieces of land, 

 some given by E. Lockwood Percival, the lord of the 

 manor, were acquired for giving employment to the 

 poor. 



As elsewhere the cost of poor relief mounted steeply 

 after 1780. Over £840 was raised by rates in 1 800-1, 

 and this rose tOj^923 in 1806-7.5^ Between 1810 and 

 1826 a number of agreements with workhouse masters 



were recorded. The first of these was for a lump sum, 

 but all the others were on a capitation basis, the tenders 

 varying from 2/. ^J. to 5/. 6J. a head a week. The 

 terms always included an allowance for fuel and an 

 additional allowance for material and the master was 

 allowed to retain all profits. After 1 826 the select vestry 

 brought the management of the workhouse more closely 

 under parish control by ensuring that all profits went to 

 the parish. The master's subsequent ofl^er to revert to 

 the old system was rejected. Contracts for the supply 

 of food and other goods for the workhouse were re- 

 viewed every six months and a high standard of quality 

 was always required. In 1 83 3 the cheese and soap were 

 sent back to a new contractor as unfit for use and a 

 sample was sent to show the quality required. 



In 1836 Lambourne became part of the Ongar Poor 

 Law Union. 



The foundation statutes of Harsnett's schools at 

 Chigwell (1629) provided that two boys 

 SCHOOLS from Lambourne should be taught at the 

 English school at Chigwell and two at the 

 Latin school.53 In 1734 Sir John Fortescue-Aland, lord 

 of the manor of Lambourne and owner of Knolls Hill 

 in Stapleford Abbots, founded a free school in Staple- 

 ford Abbots, at which twenty boys from Lambourne 

 were to be given places.S'* 



There was no school in Lambourne in 1 807 except 

 a Sunday school with twenty pupils.'' Twenty places 

 were still available at the Stapleford Abbots school, but 

 not all of these were filled.'* In 1 8 1 8 there was still no 

 day school at Lambourne, but by 1833 much progress 

 had been made. AH the available places in the free 

 school were taken and a day school had been founded 

 at Abridge. In 1833 there were 64 pupils at this school, 

 of whom 50 paid fees and 14 were paid for by bene- 

 factors.'' The school was probably then under church 

 guidance, and in about 1835 it seems to have passed 

 under more direct church control. The chapel of ease 

 at Abridge was used as a schoolroom for girls and the 

 Wesleyan chapel hired for the teaching of boys. In 

 1838 the annual expenses were about ;^70, towards 

 which subscribers gave ^^40. About £7 was collected 

 at the annual sermon and further income was derived 

 from the weekly fee of 2^/. for each child. About 80 

 children were on the roll, but the average attendance 

 was low.' 8 



The population of Lambourne was increasing steadily 

 at this time and in 1839 there were still some 50 children 

 not attending a school of any kind. In 1838 local 

 churchmen set up a committee, with the rector as secre- 

 tary, to build a new school at Abridge. Subscriptions 

 were collected, chiefly from local landowners, and the 

 rector approached the government and the National 

 Society for grants. After a delay due to difficulties over 

 a site and to the National Society's dispute with the 

 government in 1839, building started in 1 841-2 on a 

 site given by W. J. Lockwood of Dews Hall and his son 

 W. M. Wood. The National Society gave ^40, the 

 government ^^54, and the Diocesan Board ;^20. A 

 further £199 was given by 35 subscribers, including 

 Lady Mildmay, owner of Battles Hall in Stapleford 



■»5 The Countess was the widow of 

 Charles Rich, Earl of Warwick. Her leet 

 was presumably that of the hundred of 

 Ongar, which had been granted to Sir 

 Richard Rich in 1 547. 



*<> E.R.O., Q/SR 95/66. 



♦' See above, Church. 



48 E.R.O., D/CT 20Z. 



« E.R.O., Q/SR 1 10/41. The site 

 chosen was 'near unto barackes abouttinge 

 uppon Chigewell upon the wast soule'. 



50 See below. Charities. 



51 Ibid. 



» E.R.O., e/CR 1/9. 

 S3 r.C.H. Essex, ii, 544- 

 >* See Stapleford Abbots. 



85 



" E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4: Lambourne 

 Retns. 



5' Ibid. Stapleford Abbots Retns. 



5' Reins. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 260 

 (1819), ix (i); Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. H.C. 

 62, pp. 280-1 (1835), ili. 



5« E.R.O., D/P 30/28/18; ex inf. Nat. 

 Soc. 



