England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Layer de la Haye St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Layer de la Haye lies in eastern Essex one of three "Layer" parishes that lie here, it sits about 4 miles southwest of the town of Colchester and on the B1026 road which links Colchester with Maldon. Layer de la Haye is a much grown crossroads village, early maps show a tight grouping of properties lying along the B1026 and the twin lanes which head to east and west of the junction, the parish church sits almost a half mile to the south adjacent to the Hall. Today the village has expanded through modern developments to almost fill the northeast quadrant. Layer de la Haye traditionally had wettish ground leading to its farming specialising in turnips, that wet ground now lies beneath the surface of the extensive Abberton Reservoir, storing water for the county and providing a wildlife refuge too. The farming has changed to cereals with the advent of modern machinery and fertilisers. Layer de la Haye is drained eastwards by the Roman River which soon reaches the estuary of the Colne opposite Wivenhoe, the estuary takes water to the North Sea. Layer de la Haye is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in generally flattish terrain where little ground stands much higher for some distance. Layer de la Haye parish was typically sized for its area, covering almost 2,600 acres it would have supported a population of close to 750 parishioners. At Domesday the three "Layers" were recorded as an aggregation with no means of separating the individual communities, collectively their 89 households comfortably place the aggregation into the top 20% of settlements by population, the assets once combined from the 8 owners were very large indeed, 34 ploughs were backed by small meadows and woodland patches with no fewer than 5 mills and a salthouse making for a very wealthy combined set of manors indeed.

The Church

As already mentioned St John's church sits around a half mile south of the crossroads which forms the heart of the village, it stands on the eastern side of the B1026 with the Hall opposite. St John has fabric from the earliest times, the chancel dating from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period represented by a window in the northern wall, further Norman fabric forms the southeastern angle of the nave. The remainder of the nave together with the western tower reflect a rebuilding of the church during the 14th century, Pevsner neglects to place the style as either Decorated or Perpendicular. The western tower is of 3 stages with battlementation more typical of the latter period. Also 14th century, but much altered in the 19th, is the northern timber porch. A typical Victorian restoration of 1850 added both the northern doorway and the southern arcade as well as much of the entire southern side. The B1026 carries often speedy traffic past the church, a substantial layby allows safe parking for several cars outside the gates. The churchyard is open and uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.