A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



the middle of the 1 9th century. It is a rectangular brick 

 Structure with a porch and a bell-cote at its entrance 

 end. Attached to the farther end is a red brick house 

 of three stories which was once occupied by a curate. 

 On a map of about 1870 the building is marked as a 

 school but it cannot be identified with any known 

 school in the parish.** On a later map it was described 

 as St. Edward's Church. By the end of the 19th 

 century, if not before, it belonged to the Gibb family, 

 of Pyrgo Park, who enlarged and redecorated it about 

 1892.*' The Gothic windows in the chancel are prob- 

 ably of this date. There were further renovations in 

 1912.** Services were discontinued in about 1937. 

 During the Second World War the building was 

 damaged by German bombs. It was sold recently by 

 the executors of the Gibbs. The main part of the build- 

 ing is used as a barn but in the summer of 1954 

 evangelists were holding services in the vestry. 



In 1953 a Roman Catholic Mission Van was 



scheduled to make regu- 



ROMJN CATHOLICISM lar visits to Stapleford 



Abbots.*' 



In 1672 a Presbyterian conventicle was licensed to 

 meet in Stapleford Abbots 

 PROTESTy^NT at the house of Edward 



NONCONFORMITT Braden.'o 



About 1858 Mr. Knight, 

 of the Congregational church at Abridge (in Lam- 

 bourne) was conducting services at Bourne Bridge." 



The existing vestry minute-books for Stapleford 

 Abbots cover the period 

 PARISH GOVERNMENT 1777-1899.'^ 

 JND POOR RELIEF Fromi777 until 1808 



vestry meetings usually 

 seem to have been held only at Easter in each year.'^ 

 From 1808 until 1822 meetings were always held at 

 Easter and in September but not, it seems, at any other 

 time, except in 1 8 1 1 when there was one in May and 

 in 1 81 3 when there was one in January. From 1822 

 until after 1834 four to eight meetings a year were 

 recorded. 



The number of parishioners attending the meetings, 

 in addition to the parish officers, varied between i and 

 1 2, 3 to 6 being usual. The chairman was never named 

 as such in the minutes until 1833 but the rector or, in 

 his absence, one of the churchwardens, nearly always 

 signed first. Dr. William Gould, rector from 1767-8 

 until 1799, seems to have attended meetings only 

 occasionally until 1791 and not at all after April in that 

 year. His successor, J. Hudson, rector until 1829, 

 attended nearly all the recorded meetings until 1822. 

 Afterwards he regularly attended the Easter and 

 September meetings, when the officers' accounts were 

 audited but, it seems, attended other meetings only 

 occasionally. His successor, J. Hamilton, attended 

 meetings regularly until the end of 183 1. Afterwards 

 the Revd. Joseph Stanfield attended regularly on his 

 behalf. On several occasions, including two when the 

 rector was present, the first person to sign the minutes 



was John Rutherforth Abdy, lord of Albyns from 1798 

 to 1840.74 On several other occasions Abdy signed 

 immediately after the rector. Abdy's attendance at 

 vestry meetings was erratic but he showed more interest 

 in parish business than did his father, Thomas Abdy, 

 who seems not to have attended one meeting from 1777 

 until his death in 1798.75 More active than J. R. Abdy 

 in the parish affairs were the tenants of Battles Hall,'* 

 William Fitch and later George Fitch (from 18 10), 

 and those of Hammonds Farm," Henry Shuttleworth 

 and then John Fitch (from 1806-7). The Fitches 

 rarely missed a vestry meeting.'* John Fitch was over- 

 seer from 1808 until 18 10 and churchwarden from 

 1 8 1 1 until 1 8 1 5 . George Fitch was overseer in 

 1811-12 and churchwarden from 1815 until i8i9.'9 



It seems to have been the Easter vestry of 1829 

 which adopted the second Sturges Bourne Act*" and 

 set up a select vestry. J. R. Abdy and George Fitch 

 were among the seven parishioners then chosen to form 

 such a vestry. From May 1829 it met at frequent 

 intervals until at least 1832. In 1829-30 Abdy seems 

 not to have attended any meeting of the select vestry 

 but George Fitch was chairman at several meetings. 

 Abdy was one of 1 1 parishioners chosen to form the 

 select vestry for the year 1 830—1 but he did not attend 

 a meeting of it until September 1830. 



In 1783 it was agreed that John Bastick should be 

 Vestry Clerk at a salary of £2 2s. a year 'so long as he 

 shall continue the school and settle all parish accounts'. 

 In 1788 Thomas Allen was appointed to this office on 

 the same terms. In 1803 John Richardson was ap- 

 pointed clerk, upon the resignation of his father David, 

 at a salary of £i a year. In September 1827 the 

 churchwarden, Philip Taylor, represented to the vestry 

 that David Richardson the clerk was '81 years old and 

 extremely infirm in body and mind and unable to per- 

 form his duty properly'. It was then decided that 

 James Dixon should officiate for Richardson until the 

 following Easter. In 1828 it was agreed that Dixon 

 should be clerk at a salary of ^^5 a year. In 1830 Dixon 

 was dismissed and Richard Stevens was appointed in 

 his place at a salary of ^^5 a year. 



The work of the open vestry consisted mainly in 

 nominating parish officers, granting rates, and auditing 

 officers' accounts. In 1780 the rateable value of the 

 parish was ^1,1 58. In 1802 receipts from rates totalling 

 6s. in the pound were ^^5 1 5 5^. This implies a rate- 

 able value of about £1,717 I ox. 



There were usually i overseer, i or 2 churchwardens, 

 and I constable. Churchwardens usually served for at 

 least 2, and often 3 or 4, years consecutively. During 

 the period 1776— 1836 one churchwarden, R. Young, 

 served for 9 years (1826—35) consecutively and two, 

 R. Stokes and P. Taylor, served for 8 years con- 

 secutively (1788-96 and 1827-35 respectively). The 

 overseer usually served for one year only. No overseer 

 is known to have served more than 2 consecutive years 

 until 1 82 1. In 1809 it was agreed that John Fitch, 

 who had already been overseer in 1808-9, should be 



" O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet Iivi. 

 Sec below. Schools. 



" Kelly' I Dir. Essex (19 14) j and inscrip- 

 tion on tombstone of Frances Gibb, who, 

 like two other members of the Gibb 

 family, is buried beside the chapel. 



»« Kelly's Dir. Eiiex{igi^). 



W Brent-wood {R.C.) Dioc. Tear Bk. 

 ■953- 



'o G. L. Turner, Orig. Sees, of Early 

 Nonamf., ii, 929. 



'^ See Lambourne, Nonconformity. 



'^ For these books, which are kept by 

 the rector, see Essex Par. Recs. 195. Un- 

 less otherwise stated all the following 

 information is derived from them. 



73 Two meetings, however, were re- 

 corded in 1802—3, 3 '" 1803—4, 4 in each 

 cf the years 1779-83, and 5 in 1788-9. 



'< See above, Manor of Albyns. 



'5 Thomas Abdy was, however, also 

 Rector of Theydon Gamon and was not 



resident at Albyns. 



" See above. Manor of Battles Hall. 



" See above. Manor of Stapleford 

 Abbots. 



'^ George Fitch attended vestry meet- 

 ings more regularly, perhaps, than any 

 other parishioner. 



'» Both John and George Fitch held 

 office again some years after their long 

 terms of office. 



8° 59 Geo. Ill, c. 12. 



230 



