England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Great Hallingbury St Giles

The Parish

The parish of Great Hallingbury lies in the extreme west of Essex forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Hertfordshire. Great Hallingbury is located roughly 3 miles southeast of the Hertfordshire town of Bishops Stortford and stands around a mile east of the A1060 road which connects Bishops Stortford with Chelmsford. Great Hallingbury is a distributed estate village, scattered clumps of properties line the edges of the estates of Hallingbury Place (the 18th century seat of the Houblon family) and Hallingbury Hall (which has ranges back to the 16th century). From southwest to northeast runs the 3 main settlements, Howe Green, Great Hallingbury and Bedlar's Green none of them of any great size. As an estate parish the economy of the parish would have been dictated by the needs of the estates but would have primarily followed the tradition course from sheep in medieval times through to arable today, to the east of the estate, however, lies the former hunting reserve of Hatfield Forest which would have supplemented incomes through timber extraction, coppicing, and deer husbandry. Modern developments have come to the parish, the modern M11 motorway linking London with Cambridge passes just west of Howe Green without granting Great Hallingbury an exit. Great Hallingbury is drained westwards by a small brook which soon meets the River Stort, here navigable for narrow-boats up to Bishops Stortford, the Stort passes Harlow New Town and joins the Lea for its passage through eastern Greater London to the outer Thames Estuary and the North Sea. Great Hallingbury is sited at between 80 & 90 metres above the sea, Bedlar's Green being the highest ground for some distance at 95 metres. Great Hallingbury was quite an extensive parish for Essex, covering just over 2,600 acres it would have supported a population of close to 700 parishioners. In Domesday times Great Hallingbury was recorded collectively with its southern neighbour Little Hallingbury, the twin parishes being shared by 4 landholders could collectively offer an impressive 26 ploughs together with extensive meadows, pastures and woodland, a prosperous farming community even then.

The Church

St Giles' church sits on the western side of Church Road within the settlement of Great Hallingbury, itself. Sadly for enthusiasts of very early churches in 1874 the church was virtually rebuilt at the expense of the Houblons. One can only speculate what was destroyed during that rebuild judging by the early fabric that survived. The chancel arch is Saxon and built from Roman bricks and probably pre-dates the Norman Conquest, a remarkable survival as is the small Norman 12th century window left on the western end. Also left, but not as rare, is the western tower from the 15th century Perpendicular era albeit topped by a tall shingled spire from the 1874 rebuild. Virtually everything else is Victorian in flint rubble with stone dressings. To both north south of the church there are cut-off areas suitable for parking a short distance away in each case. The church is screened from the road by a thin tree-belt, trees are also an issue for the photographer, the favoured southeastern aspect remains but the west end is embedded in thick cover restricting views of the tower.