England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Felsted Holy Cross

The Parish

The parish of Felsted lies in central Essex roughly 4 miles east and slightly south from Great Dunmow and 7 miles west and again slightly south of Braintree. Felsted sits on the winding B1417 road which joins the A120 (Bishops Stortford to Colchester) road with the A130 (Great Dunmow to Chelmsford). Felsted is itself a large village bordering onto small market town in size albeit those functions are rather taken by its larger near neighbours. Felsted's shape is largely governed by the curious route of the B1417 which performs a marked left turn in the centre of the village, giving a distinct "L" shape to the early village centre. In addition the 16th century school much expanded in the late 19th century and occupies much of the northeast of the village. Felsted was one of a string of places which grew originally from the cloth trade, local weavers exploiting the sheep that dominated East Anglia in medieval times. In more modern eras the wider parish has become largely arable despite the heavy clay-rich soils of the area. Modern developments came and went from the parish, a railway line linking Great Dunmow to Braintree is nowadays a local cycling facility having been closed down. Felsted sits close to the eastern banks of the upper River Chelmer which drains the parish southeastwards, through Chelmsford, and out to the North Sea through Maldon & the Blackwater Estuary. Felsted is sited at around 70 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where land rises little more than a further 10 metres for some distance. Felsted parish was one of the broadest in extent in its county, covering just over 6,200 acres it would have supported a population of almost 1,800 parishioners, most in Felsted itself but many spread around the agricultural hamlets of the wider parish. Even by Domesday time Felsted was already a significant settlement, one of the largest 20% of places recorded in that book. Whilst the lion's share was held by the Abbey of Caen there were two smaller holdings, one by one Solomon's son Gilbert and the other by the wonderfully named Roger God-save-ladies. Collectively the assets totalled an impressive 25 ploughs, extensive meadows & woodland and there were also 2 mills.

The Church

Holy Cross church sits immediately north of the abrupt change in direction of the B1417, its turn of over 90 degrees from Braintree Road into Chelmsford Road marking the village centre, the church is accessed by the small side street of The Mews which heads north. The church has fabric dating back to shortly after the Norman Conquest, the western tower shows the Norman Romanesque style of the 12th century, despite extensive restoration in 1914 and the insertion of the clock in 1701. Pevsner finds other 12th century material internally with the southern doorway and southern arcade being contemporary or slightly later than the tower. The church was much altered in the 14th century and the main body of nave and chancel dates from this rebuild, probably financed by the profits of the medieval wool trade. These 14th century works have also been much renewed over the centuries but retain enough to mark the passage from early Decorated style into the later Perpendicular forms. That later Perpendicular style is seen in the 15th & 16th century additions that came after, the southern porch, a northern vestry and the Riche Chapel which was probably completed around 1581. The early 18th century saw a western gallery added to accommodate for the scholars of the private school but this was removed in a general and lengthy restoration running from 1874 to 1878, that Victorian work being followed by the 1914 restoration of the tower and the conversion of a southern aisle into the organ chamber in 1933. Visiting the church is made easy if parking can be found in the small area on The Mews where the churchyard can be accessed by a sloping ramp. Sadly the church sits tight to the southern edge of the churchyard where properties fronting onto Braintree Road hug it closely removing totally the favoured southern aspects and making the church a challenging subject especially on a sunny day.