ONGAR HUNDRED 



THEYDON GARNON 



There are five bells. The first four were cast by 

 Miles Graye in 1628 and the fifth by Robert Phelps 

 in 1732. In 1733 the parish vestry agreed to borrow 

 ^22 at 5 per cent, interest to pay for the casting and 

 hanging of this last beU.'" The church plate consists 

 of a cup and paten cover of 1 562; two flagons of 1650, 

 given in 1 671 by the rector James Meggs; a paten of 

 1702 given by John Baker and an undated almsdish 

 also bearing Baker's name and probably of 1702; and 

 an almsdish of 1 89 5 . All the pieces are silver. In 1 8 1 6 

 all the then existing plate was repaired at a cost of ^3." 



On the north wall of the chancel is a brass to William 

 Kirkeby, rector, 1458 with a figure of a priest in cope 

 with shield of arms. This was formerly in the nave and 

 was set up in its present position with a modern inscrip- 

 tion between 1812 and 1835.'^ Also in the chancel are 

 a brass to Ellen (Hampden), wife of John Branch, 

 I 567, and monuments to Lady Anne (Sidney), wife 

 of Sir WiOiam FitzwiDiam, 1602; Sir Daniel Dun, 

 1617 and his wife Joan, 1640; James Meggs, rector, 

 1672; Sir John Archer, 1681; and Sir William Eyre 

 .Archer, 1739. '^'^^ '^^' '* ^ large standing wall monu- 

 ment with grey sarcophagus and obelisk and medallion 

 of the deceased flanked by three cherubs. Set into the 

 north wall of the chancel is a grey marble altar-tomb 

 with a flat-arched canopy resting on small side-shafts 

 and having a frieze of quatrefoil panels. At the back of 

 the recess is a brass of a kneeling man in armour, his 

 wife, two sons, and three daughters, with indents of 

 two inscription plates, two shields, a Trinity and 

 another group, of about 1520. Opposite is another 

 similar altar-tomb of slightly later date with the canopy 

 set on twisted shafts, also with indents for brasses at the 

 back of the recess. There are floor slabs in the chancel 

 to Henry and Thomas Meggs, 1670, Margaret wife 

 of James Meggs, 1681, and Richard Butler, 1688. 



In the nave is a wall monument to Denton Nicholas, 

 M.D., 1714, moved there from the chancel in 1934. 

 There is a floor slab in the nave to Jane, widow of 

 John Wormlayton, 1725, and their daughters Jane, 

 1705, and .4nne, 1712. Other later monuments include 

 plaques to Charles B. Abdy, 1843, Joseph Kemsley, 

 churchwarden, 1897, and William S. Chisenhale- 

 Marsh, 1929. There is a stained-glass window in 

 memory of the Revd. Sir Cavendish Foster, Bt. (see 

 above). 



A few yards west of the church there stood until 

 recently a cottage called the Priests' House. It was of 

 two stories, the upper projecting on the east front with 

 exposed joists and curved brackets. It was apparently 

 built in the late 15th century.'^ It may have been 

 identical with the Gatehouse (see above) of 1507 and 

 1610. If so it consisted in 1507 of a parlour, with a 

 chimney and larder at one end and two chambers; 

 above were a study and 'wyddraughte', i.e. a sink or 

 drain. ■< In 1624 there was an alehouse in the church- 

 yard;'5 this may well have been the same house since 

 a map of 1648 shows no other buildings iii the church- 

 yard.'* The Priests' House has now been destroyed 

 except for a door-frame (see above). An engraving of 



the church published in 18 10 shows in the distance a 

 small part of the house. '^ Another of 1 8 1 8 by the same 

 hand shows the whole house.'* 



The small brick building outside the churchyard has 

 been used as a Sunday school." It probably dates from 

 the late 19th or early 20th century. An avenue of 

 limes and chestnuts leading from the south side of the 

 churchyard to the former rectory is now known as the 

 Monks' Walk. 



The church of ST. ALB AN, Coopersale, was built 

 at the expense of Miss Archer-Houblon in 1852.^" It 

 was consecrated in the same year and a particular 

 district assigned to it.^' The advowson was vested in 

 Miss Archer-Houblon and it remained in her family 

 until 1914 when it was transferred to the Bishop of 

 Chelmsford.^^ The building is of flint and consists of 

 chancel, nave, south porch, and north vestry with bell- 

 cote at the west end of the nave. The vicarage was also 

 built at Miss Archer-Houblon's expense. It stands to 

 the north of the church and is a gabled house of varie- 

 gated brickwork. Opposite the church is the Parish 

 Room, a single-story building dating from about 1865, 

 of brown brick with dressings of red and black. 



For charities relating to the church see Charities, 

 below. 



Only one volume of vestry minutes^' — from 1754 



to 1827 — survives for 

 PARISH GOVERNMENT Theydon Garnon and 

 AND POOR RELIEF this contains little more 



than the annual appoint- 

 ment of parish officers and summarized details of the 

 parish accounts. Other vestry resolutions have been 

 entered elsewhere, in the overseers' rate and account 

 books, but even so it is impossible to put together a 

 comprehensive picture of the parish government, and 

 for many details it is necessary to rely on entries of 

 payments in the account books, which cover the periods 

 1715-1817 and 1826-36.2-* 



The Easter vestry was usually attended by some 6 

 to 10 persons; at such other vestry meetings of which 

 records survive it apparently varied between 3 and 24. 

 Between 1780 and 1796 the rector usually presided at 

 the Easter vestry. In 1729 the vestry resolved that 

 every officer not attending the public vestry on the 

 first Saturday in every month should be fined 6J., and 

 that every other parishioner not attending every 

 quarterly vestry should be fined ^J., but in 1737 it was 

 resolved that the vestry should meet no more than once 

 in every three months, and in 1780 that the vestry 

 should be held in the church on the first Saturday in 

 the month. In 1774 a vestry clerk, to attend the vestry 

 each month, was appointed at a salary of 6 guineas. 

 He was discharged, however, in 1780 and the office 

 abolished. 



In the second half of the i8th century there were 

 always two persons in each of the parish offices. The 

 overseers nearly always served for one year only. A 

 woman was occasionally appointed to the office. The 

 churchwardens and constables usually remained in, 

 office for at least two years and often for much longer 



'0 E.R.O., D/P 152/12/2. 



■' E.R.O., D/P 152/5/3. The repairs 

 were done by Thomas and Storrs, 1 6 

 Mincing Lane, London. 



" Ogborne, Hist. Essex, 266 ; T. Wright, 

 Hist. Esfex, ii, 380. 



'3 H. H. Collett, 'The churchyard 

 cottage at Theydon Garnon*, E.R. xvii, 

 18—21 ; Hist. Mon. Cofn. Essex, ii, 233. 



■♦ E.A.T. N.s. vi, no. 

 15 E.R.O., D/AED 10 f. 25^ 

 '6 E.R.O., D/DC 23/1123. 

 ■' Gents. Mag. Ixxx (ii), 601; E.R. 

 xxxi, 186. 

 " See plate facing p. 271. 

 '» O.S. 6 in. Map (3rd edn.), sheet Ixi. 

 " Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

 " London Gaz. 22 Oct. 1852, pp. 



2758-9. 



^^ Ibid. 13 Nov. I9"I4, p. 9259. 



" E.R.O., D/P 152/8/1. 



^* E.R.O., D/P 152/12/1-10. Unless 

 otherwise stated all the following informa- 

 tion is derived from these account books 

 and from the minute-book referred to 

 above. 



271 



