A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



in the 17th and early i8th centuries,** and Roman 

 Catholic worshippers at Kelvedon Hall*'' and at 

 Wealdside** in the l8th and 19th centuries may have 

 included some from Navestock. For some time up to 

 about 1939 Roman Catholic services were held in a 

 small weather-boarded building immediately to the west 

 of the 'King William IV' at Horseman Side. This 

 building stands in the garden of a double-fronted 

 weather-boarded cottage, formerly a school,*' dating 

 from the late i8th or early 19th century. 



In 1705 the house of William Brock at Navestock 

 was licensed for noncon- 

 PROTEST^NT formist worship.'o 



NONCONFORMITT In 1 8 1 6 a house at Nave- 



stock occupied by Charles 

 Goodwin was similarly licensed." In 1829 this con- 

 gregation, numbering 30, was still meeting in a licensed 

 room, under the leadership of William Temple, 

 minister of the Congregational church at Stanford 

 Rivers (q.v.).^^ No later trace has been found of this 

 society. It seems probable, however, that there was a 

 nonconformist chapel later in the 19th century, and 

 that this was the building at Horseman Side now known 

 as the Navestock Mission Room. This is a small 

 rectangular building of gault brick with an entrance 

 and porch, and is dated 1897. It is said to have been 

 built as a nonconformist chapel but the services lapsed. 

 The building is now in private ownership and is used 

 as a Sunday school and chapel of ease to the parish 

 church.73 



Vestry minute-books for Navestock survive for the 

 period 1806 to 1870.''* 

 PARISH GOVERNMENT Meetings of the public 

 AND POOR RELIEF vestry were held at ir- 



regular intervals, aver- 

 aging about 8 a year until 1 8 10 and subsequently about 

 5 a year. The number of persons attending the meet- 

 ings, in addition to the churchwardens and overseers, 

 varied between i and 7. Until 1838 the chairman was 

 never named as such in the minutes but the vicar, or 

 in his absence one of the churchwardens, always signed 

 first. From 1806 until 18 16 the vicar, J. Filkes, 

 attended the vestry regularly, but after 18 16 rarely, 

 and between March 18 r8 and 1830 he attended only 

 once. Ford, when vicar, always attended regularly and 

 usually signed the minutes as chairman. 



In 1824 the parish adopted the second Sturges 

 Bourne Act (59 Geo. Ill c. 12) and set up a select 

 vestry, which held its first meeting on 29 July of that 

 year.'s In 1826 the select vestry included twelve 

 members in addition to the vicar, churchwardens, and 

 overseers.'* It apparently ceased to function after 12 

 April 1832." 



The work of the open vestry consisted mainly in 

 nominating parish officers, granting rates, and auditing 

 the overseer's accounts. The overseer presented 

 interim accounts at nearly every meeting of the vestry 

 and a final account at the end of his year in office. In 

 1806 a IS. rate yielded ^^173 and between then and 

 1834 there was no great variation. 



There was probably a poorhouse in Navestock from 

 1 74 1. In that year the churchwardens and overseers 

 were negotiating with Elizabeth Merrick of Cavers- 

 ham (Berks.) for the lease of her house, called the 

 White House, and two fields belonging to it, contain- 

 ing 10 acres, for the purpose of making a poorhouse. 

 It was proposed that the premises should be leased for 

 21 years at a rent of ^14 a year. It is not certain that 

 these negotiations were completed, although they 

 reached an advanced stage.'* It is certain that by 1770 

 the workhouse was on a site which it continued to 

 occupy until 1836. This was just south of the vicarage 

 and was some way from a house owned in 1770 by 

 Elizabeth Merrick." In 1826 the workhouse was 

 repaired at a cost of ;^6o. In 1834 a cottage belonging 

 to Green's Charity was also being used by the overseers 

 to accommodate paupers.*" 



In 1776 ;^272 was spent on poor relief in Nave- 

 stock.*' In the three years 1783-5 the average poor 

 rate amounted to ;^444, and the average cost of poor 

 relief to ^400. *2 In the year 1 800-1 the cost of relief 

 was £1,70^. It was ,£1,624 ^^ the following year. 

 From then until 1816-17 it varied between ^1,020 

 and £l,6jt\., being highest in 1812-13 and lowest in 

 i8i5-i6.*3 In 1816-21 the poor rates varied between 

 £1,012 (1815-16) and £1,433 (i8i7-i8).*4 The 

 total sum collected in 1828-9 was only £511. The 

 income from work done by the paupers in the work- 

 house was about £40 a year from 1806 to 1810— 11. 

 The rates were very high in 1809-10 and 1810-11 

 and it is probable that a special effort was made to 

 increase paupers' earnings, which rose to £57 in 

 181 1-12 and £111 in 18 12-13. That high level was 

 not maintained but for some years the earnings ranged 

 between £52 and £92. From 1821 onwards they 

 were much lower, reaching a minimum of £23 in 

 1823-4. 



For some years before 1834 James Lash was governor 

 of the workhouse; it may have been to this post that 

 he was appointed in 1813 at a salary of £17. In 1832 

 it was agreed that he should farm the poor at 3/. a head 

 for all above one year of age. At that time there were 

 30 persons in the workhouse, of whom 7 were named 

 Noaks, 5 Burns, and 3 Eldred. In 1834 Samuel 

 Randal was appointed to succeed Lash. It was agreed 

 that he should receive a minimum of 2S. td. a head for 

 17 paupers and 2J. dd. a head for all above that 

 number. 



In December 1830 the salary of the parish surgeon 

 was reduced from 40 to 35 guineas.*' In July 1831 

 the vestry ordered that the overseer should pay the 

 surgeon the amount of his extra charges, £8 iis., and 

 request him to call at the poorhouse each week. 



In 1836 Navestock became part of the Ongar Poor 

 Law Union. In the same year the workhouse at Nave- 

 stock was sold by the union to David Pinchon, at a net 

 profit of £164.** In 1840 the building consisted of 

 several tenements.*' About 30 years ago it was 

 demolished.** The gardens are immediately south of 

 the Tlough'. 



M E.R.O., Q/SBa 5; ibid. Q/RRp 1/21, 



2/6. 3/3- 



" See Kelvedon Hatch. 



»' R.C. Parish of Brentwood, MS. 

 Book: letter from J. F. Wright to Fr. 

 Tavarez, 1854. 



69 See Schools, below. 



'» E.R.O., Q/SBb 40. 



'■ E.R.O., Q/RRw I. 



'> E.R.O., Q/CR 3/2. 



'3 Local inf. 



'« E.R.O., D/P 148/8/1-3. Unless 

 otherwise stated all the following informa- 

 tion is based upon these books. 



's E.R.O., D/P 148/8/+. 



« E.R.O., D/P 148/8/6. 



" E.R.O., D/P 148/8/4. 



'8 E.R.O., D/DHh Oi. 



" E.R.O., Q/RDc iB; D/DXa 24; 

 G/On Mi, p. 166. 



8° See below, Charities. 



81 E.R.O., g/CR i/i. 



82 Ibid. 



83 E.R.O., Q/CR 1/9. 

 8* E.R.O., e/CR 1/12. 



85 E.R.O., D/P 148/18. 



86 E.R.O., G/On Mi, p. 145, 166,261. 



87 E.R.O., D/CT 248. 



88 Inf. from local carpenter. 



148 



