England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Chickney St Mary the Virgin

The Parish

The parish of Chickney lies in northwestern Essex roughly 6 miles northwest of the market town of Great Dunmow. Chickney sits a quarter of a mile north of the meandering B1051 road which links Stansted Mountfichet with Thaxted. Chickney is a tiny place, little more than a hamlet, consisting merely of the hall, a new replacement, church and a few farms and cottages, it doesn't even have an adopted lane leading to it merely a tarred track. Like most Essex parishes Chickney is an arable farming parish with early gazetteers estimating roughly 75% of the parish acreage as set to arable with the principal crops, today, being cereals backed by beet & oil-seed. Chickney is drained southeastwards by a small brook which soon reaches the infant River Chelmer, after passing through Great Dunmow & Chelmsford the Chelmer reaches the North Sea through the port of Maldon & the Blackwater Estuary. Chickney is sited at around 100 metres above the sea in one of the higher parts of the county, a few spots locally rise to 115 metres as the highest ground around. Chickney parish was one of the smaller in the county covering only 700 acres which would have supported a population of close to 50 parishioners. Domesday Chickney was little different than today, held by one Ranulf Peverel it offered 5 ploughs backed by some meadows & woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church is reached by following the track north and then east, the church stands to the north of the track just before the hall is reached, the church has been deconsecrated and is now managed by the Churches Conservation Trust. Like many small and isolated churches St Mary has fabric dating back to the earliest time, here perhaps even pre-Conquest, Pevsner places the nave to the Saxon period (as he defines Saxon-Norman as starting 1060 this is clearly pre-Conquest) with two double-splayed windows from those earliest times of stone built churches. The chancel is later with lancet styled widows betraying its origins in the 13th century Early English Gothic period. To the west stands a 14th century western tower from the Decorated era and coming complete with a square shingled spire.  A modest Victorian restoration of 1859 completes the work upon the church with its most significant contribution being the rebuilding of the chancel arch. There is very limited space for parking and a tight turning area to negotiate to get back, there is a little more space at the bend in the access lane. The churchyard is small and surrounded by thick trees cover leaving little room to retreat, enough views do remain but need to be carefully selected.