England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kelvedon Hatch St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Kelvedon Hatch lies in southwestern Essex about 3 miles south of the small market town of Chipping Ongar. Kelvedon Hatch sits on the A128 road which connects Chipping Ongar with Brentwood. Most of Kelvedon Hatch lies to the east of the A128 where modern developments have added to the size of what was a small village. Kelvedon Hatch is today marginally famous for its not so secret "Secret Nuclear Bunker", a cold-war relic that has become something of a local tourist attraction. At the time of this transcript Kelvedon Hatch would have been a farming community dominated by its Hall which sits almost a mile north of the present centre of buildings. With a mixed farming regime equally arable and pasture most folk would have earned their incomes from the land. A small tributary of the River Roding drains the parish northwestwards but on reaching that river turns back south and eventually reaches the Thames Estuary through Barking Creek and thence the North Sea. Kelvedon Hatch is sited at around 100 metres above the sea and sits on something of a local eminence land gently falling away in most directions in gently rolling countryside. In this area of Essex there are some larger parishes by area but Kelvedon Hatch was not one of those, being typically sized compared to most of Essex, it covered around 1,600 acres and would have supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Kelvedon Hatch was shared three ways, the largest share held by Westminster Abbey with small holdings by Bishop Odo of Bayeux and Haimo the Sheriff, collectively the parish could offer just 5 ploughs, small meadows and woodlands but did possess a mill.

The Church

Modern day St Nicholas sits at the junction of the A128 with Church Road, however its predecessor lies in ruins next to Kelvedon Hall. Old St Nicholas was allegedly built in 1753 but by the end of the 19th century was a ruin. Today's St Nicholas was built between 1894 & 1895 to serve the community which sits to its east. Rather whimsically described as being styled "in the cricket pavilion style" it is quite anachronistic compared to most Essex churches. The architect, J. T. Newman, actually lived in the village so would undoubtedly have used his creation. The church sits in a corner site and is well screened by trees from the A128, a picket fence separates from Church Road. The church can be seen well from both north and south but is hemmed in by trees to both east and west limiting the angles for photography.