England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thaxted St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Thaxted lies in western Essex about 7 miles southeast of the market town of Saffron Waldon. Thaxted is a large village, almost a market town itself, which sits on the B184 road which connects Saffron Walden with Great Dunmow. Thaxted was indeed a market town for much of its history, granted its market by the start of the 14th century it was one of the wealthiest towns in Essex thanks to the cloth trade which profited from the extensive sheep rearing of medieval times. Thaxted's fortunes waned, however, and its market ceased for a while in Stuart times before resuming in a much reduced state, those functions having developed at Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow to suppress Thaxted into a mere large village. Despite losing its status Thaxted remains, today, an important regional centre and a large village offering specialist services for its hinterland. Thaxted is drained by the infant River Chelmer which heads off southwards and then east to pass through Chelmsford on its way to the North Sea arriving through Maldon and the Blackwater Estuary. Thaxted is sited at around 90 metres above the sea in fairly gently undulating terrain, local heights nearby rarely rise more than a further 25 metres in a rolling agricultural landscape largely dominated by arable fields. Thaxted did once possess a branch railway line from that running from London to Saffron Waldon but little trace remains of this once modern facility. Thaxted parish was one of the most extensive in its county, covering over 6,200 acres it was more reminiscent of a northern upland parish than one in the arable south of the country; within that extensive acreage a population of just over 2,500 parishioners could have been supported, most of whom would have resided in Thaxted, itself. Even by Domesday times Thaxted was an important settlement with a population sufficient to place it amongst the top 20% of settlements recorded in that book, held by Richard, the son of Count Gilbert, it could offer an impressive 28 ploughs, extensive meadows and woodland stuffed with profitable pigs together with 2 mills making for a profitable holding, indeed.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits at the heart of the small town marking the northwestern corner of the centre and on the southern side of the B184 as it passes through. This impressive church is one of Essex's finest and a tribute to the medieval wealth of Thaxted during the cloth boom that saw it grow into local prominence. Its dimensions alone, 183 feet in length and topped by a spire of almost equal height, just 2 feet shorter, make it an imposing sight but it is such an elaborate and decorated structure that speaks of great expense in its creation. The earliest parts of the building date back to c1340 when the Decorated style was in vogue but the church was almost totally rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries that there is little trace of these early portions. The period of its rebuild coincided with the peak of the Perpendicular style and the ornamentation of battlements, pinnacles and decorative friezes exploit every facet of that style to create a building that is a masterpiece of its style. 18th century storms created havoc with some of the original windows which had to be replaced and simplified and a further storm in 1814 brought down the spire necessitating renewal and simplification in 1822 but it is to Victorian times and more recently that major restorations occurred. A series of interventions of the late 1890s, 1910s and 1920s saw essential work to stabilise and preserve this unique church as a symbol of Thaxted's medieval importance. Parking is permitted inn a small space to the west of the tower but street parking should be sought away from the immediate vicinity where parking is prohibited. Thankfully the open space around St John is sufficient that viewers can get far away enough to appreciate the full splendour and all aspects are readily available for the photographer.