England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Beaumont cum Moze St Leonard & St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Beaumont-cum-Moze (Moze parish was extinguished in 1768, there being no separate registers, its church was demolished) lies in the extreme east of Essex forming, through the estuary of Hamford Water, part of the county's North Sea coastline. Beaumont lies about 5 miles southwest of the port of Harwich and sits on the B1414 which winds along between Harwich and Clacton. Beaumont is a rather linear village spreading as a diffuse collection of properties along the B1414 as well as westwards for almost a mile along the minor lane headed for Tendring. Whilst the village area would have been, and indeed still is, intensely arable, the parish included a stretch of estuary and a tiny quay enabling transportation of agricultural produce as well as the exploitation of the marine resources of shell-fisheries in particular, the coast is particularly renowned for the quality of its oysters. Much of the drainage of the parish was been man-influenced being close to sea-level and needing drainage to keep salt water from the fields, small drains and channels feed water into nearby Hanford Water and to the North Sea. Beaumont is sited between 20 and 30 metres above the sea, the eastern end being lowest, land is almost flat and devoid of contours for some distance with spot-heights of 30 metres being typical high spots. By Essex standards Beaumont parish was quite extensive, covering just over 3,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 450 parishioners. In Domesday times Beaumont was a holding of one Aubrey de Vere and typically showed agriculture, 7 ploughs together with meadows & woodland, as well as marine influence in the presence of 2 profitable salthouses.

The Church

St Leonard & St Mary's church sits at the end of Church Lane, a narrow lane headed southwest from the B1414 at the eastern end of the run of properties and headed solely towards the church and Beaumont Hall, a brick edifice from 1675. Despite its medieval appearance the church is largely semi-modern due to extensive restoration verging on complete rebuild from 1854 onwards. Little remains of the original fabric, Pevsner's suspicions about the Neo-Norman style northern window being the earliest piece are doubted as it appears rebuilt. Genuinely medieval is the south doorway to the chancel, the door 14th century and sitting within a 15th century porch. The chancel, however, was "restored" in 1854 and again in 1950 so ultimately quite modern. The nave and northern aisle were also effectively rebuilt a decade later. Even the windows received new stained glass as recently as the 1961 nave southern window, a modern church in medieval clothing. The start of Church Lane is marked by a prominent blue sign announcing the church, it ends in a rough parking area outside the churchyard. The churchyard is not a photographer's friend being quite cramped with close-sitting trees removing most of the favoured aspects from the portfolio, a real challenge to adequately document this church.