Tendring Hundred 1848 Whites Directory – parishes in this Hundred
TENDRING HUNDRED
Is a peninsular district, bounded on the north by the estuary of the river Stour, which separates it from Suffolk ; on the east, by the German Ocean ; on the south, by the latter and the estuary of the river Colne; and on the west, by the Colne, Lexden Hundred, and the Borough of Colchester. The Borough of Harwich occupies the point of land which juts into the sea at the mouth of the Stour ; and about five miles to the south is the termination of that long promontory, on which stands the elegant bathing-place of Walton-on-the-Naze.
Within this promontory, the sea forms a bay of winding creeks, encompassing Horsea and several smaller islands. The port of Manningtree is on the Stour, at the north- west angle of the Hundred ; and that of Brightlingsea is on the Colne, at the mouth of which is St. Osyth Point, in the large parish of St. Osyth, which is celebrated for the magnificent remains of its priory. This Hundred is of an irregular figure, averaging about 13 miles in length and breadth, and giving rise to many rivulets, flowing to the sea, the Colne, and the Stour. Little more than a century ago, a large portion of it was covered with brushwood, and full of swampy grounds, but it is now well drained and highly cultivated. It has generally a fertile loamy soil, resting on gravel ; and, though much of the land lies low, the surface is in many places gently undulated and well wooded.
The Bailiwick of Tendring Hundred has belonged to the successive owners of Colchester Castle, since the Norman Conquest, and they appoint a steward and bailiff, and formerly held a court baron at Manningtree every three weeks, for the recovery of debts, &c., but the Hundred is now in the district of the County Court held at Colchester. It is in Colchester and Thorpe Polling Districts, in the Northern Division of Essex, and in the Diocese of Rochester, Archdeaconry of Colchester, and Deanery of Tendring. The latter is divided into the Rural Deaneries of Ardleigh Harwich, and St. Osyth, of which the Revs. H. Bishop, J. H. Marsden, and R. Duffield, are the deans. It forms a Police Division, for which Petty Sessions are held every Saturday fortnight, alternately at Manningtree and Thorpe-le-Soken. Mr. William Angell is clerk to the magistrates. The Eastern Union Railway traverses the western side of the Hundred, from Colchester to Manningtree ; and a branch line is projected to Harwich.
The following enumeration of the 31 parishes of TENDRING HUNDRED, shews their territorial extent, their population in 1841 ,and the annual value of their lands and buildings, as assessed to the property tax in 1843; together with the Borough of Harwich, which has a separate commission of the peace.
PARISHES. Acres, Population in 1841
Beaumont 2354 Acres, 451
Bentley, Great 3106 Acres, 1005
Bentley, Little 2000 Acres, 462
Bradfield 2074 Acres, 995
*Brightlingsea 3093 Acres, 2055
Bromley, Great 2956 Acres, 738
Bromley, Little 1853 Acres, 426
Clacton, Great 3964 Acres, 1296
Clacton, Little 2907 Acres, 547
Elmstead 3589 Acres, 809
Frating 1233 Acres, 271
Frinton 470 Acres, 44
Holland, Great 2063 Acres, 481
Holland, Little 646 Acres, 75
+Kirby- le- Soken 3875 Acres, 924
Lawford 2679 Acres, 868
Manningtree 30 Acres, 1255
Mistley 2053 Acres, 976
Oakley, Great 2996 Acres, 1145
Oakley, Little 1028 Acres, 254
Osyth, Saint 8433 Acres, 1677
Ramsey 3600 Acres, 649
Tendring 2783 Acres, 925
Thorpe- le- Soken 3194 Acres, 1365
Thorrington 1930 Acres, 531
Walton-le-Soken, or on the Naze. 2600 Acres, 721
Weeley 2170 Acres, 580
Wix 3043 Acres, 808
Wrabness 1056 Acres, 25
TOTAL 80,249 Acres, 24,479
HARWICH BORO’ .
$St Nicholas par. 90 Acres, 3016
Dover Court par. 1970 Acres, 813
Total, Harwich. 2060 Acres, 3829
Brightlingsea is a member of the Cinque Port of Sandwich, in Kent.
Kirby, Thorpe, and Walton, form a district, called ” The Soken.”
‡ Tendring return included 202 persons in the Union Workhouse; and some of the other returns included persons in barges, boats, and tents.
§ St. Nicholas’s parish return included 99 persons in the Martello Tower.
UNIONS :-Brightlingsea is in Lexden and Winstree Union ; and all the other parishes are in Tendring Union.
HIGH CONSTABLES : Mr. Benj . Carrington, of Bradfield, and Mr. Robert Hardy, of Tendring. Police Superintendent, Mr. John McInnes, Thorpe le Soken.
TENDRING UNION comprises 32 parishes, embracing the Borough of Harwich, and all Tendring Hundred, except Brightlingsea, so that it extends over a district of about 77,000 acres. In 1841, it had 26,251 inhabitants, of whom 12,927 were males, and 13,324 females. Its total number of houses was then 5527, of which 218 were unoccupied, and 19 building, when the census was taken. Its total expenditure, on the poor, &c. , in the year ending Dec. 25th, 1847, was £14,470. 18s. 5d, including £2160 paid to the county and police rates. The number of paupers relieved in each quarter of the same year averaged about 2800, of whom more than 300 were in-door poor.
The UNION WORKHOUSE is a large brick building, in Tendring parish, in the centre of the Hundred, and was built in 1838, at the cost of about £12,000, including the purchase of 10 acres of land, comprised in the yards and garden ground, and formerly an open heath or common, now paying only a quit rent of £2 per annum to the lord of the manor. ‘The house has room for 400 paupers, and the rooms are spacious, and well ventilated. Mr. Wm. Angell, of Manningtree, is the Union Clerk and Superintendent Registrar ; Mr. H. and Mrs. Harris are the master and matron of the Workhouse ; and Wm. and Mary Plumb, teachers of the schools . The Rev. Geo. Wilkin is the chaplain. Messrs. Geo. Pudney, Partridge Stubbin, and Saml. Wymark, are the relieving officers ; and Messrs. Geo. Pudney, Hy. Spurling, Wm. Rayner, and Wm. Biggs, are the registrars of births and deaths. TEN SURGEONS are employed by the Union, and one of them, Mr. W. Thompson, is the house surgeon. The Board of Guardians meet every Wednesday; and J. M. Leake, Esq. , is president, and Mr. R. C. Salmon, vice-president. Three guardians are elected yearly for Harwich; two each for Ardleigh, Manningtree, Mistley, St. Osyth, and Thorpe; and one for each of the other parishes.