HARLOW, a small ancient market town, is pleasantly situated near the North-Eastern branch of the Eastern Counties Railway, on the high road from London to Bishop Stortford, 23 miles N. by E. of the former, 6 miles S. of the latter, and 7 miles N.W. of Ongar. It is on the eastern side of the picturesque and fertile vale of the navigable river Stort, and its parish contains 4000 acres of land and 2368 souls. The town consists chiefly of one long street, and was formerly a seat of the woollen manufacture, which declined with its market many years ago. It has cattle fairs on Sept. 9th and 10th, and Nov. 28th and 29th. That held in September is a large and highly celebrated mart for horses and cattle, called Harlow Bush Fair, and held on the Common at the top of Potter street, a hamlet 2 miles S. of the town. In the centre of the Common is BUSH FAIR HOUSE, in Latton parish, where the Essex Archery Society hold their annual meetings, and to which are attached extensive Assembly Rooms. The parish includes Moor Hall, Huberts Hall, Mulberry Green, and many scattered houses; and is in several manors, as afterwards noticed.
The parish CHURCH (St. Mary,) stands E. of the town, and was mostly rebuilt in 1709, after the old one had been nearly destroyed by fire. Some of its windows are enriched with the arms of the principal contributors to the building. One of its two ancient chantry chapels was restored in 1857 by J. W. P. Watlington, Esq. The vicarage, valued in K.B. at £15 7s. 11d., and in 1831 at £393, is held by the Rev. Charles Miller, M.A. , and is in the patronage of the Hon. W. H. J. North.
ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, in the centre of the town, was built by subscription in 1839-40, in memory of the late Rev. Charles Sanderson Miller, M.A., who was many years the highly respected curate and afterwards vicar of this parish. It is a neat structure, and the living is a perpetual curacy in the patronage of the Vicar, and incumbency of the Rev. C. M. McLeod, for whom a good Parsonage House was built in 1859. ST. MARY MAGDALEN CHURCH, On Harlow Common, is in POTTER STREET, as afterwards noticed. There is a Baptist Chapel in Harlow, and another in Potter street. The parish has large National and Infant Schools, and also a British School. The latter, from its principal founders, is commonly called ” Faubert’s and Barnard’s Free Schools. ” Here are also several Almshouses and Charities for the poor; and a large REFORMATORY SCHOOL for juvenile criminals, built, in 1857, by J. W. P. Watlington, Esq., and supported by subscriptions and Government, for the reception of about 30 boys, who are instructed in reading, writing, &c. , and employed in cultivating 40A. of land.
In the 10th of Elizabeth, JOHN GODSAFE left several tenements, &c. , for the use of the poor, and they now consist of a house and garden let for £15, and two tenements, a school, and several garden plots, worth about £30 a-year. In 1639, FRANCIS REEVE left £100 for founding an Almshouse for four poor widows, but it was not built till 1717, when £130 was paid for the land and building. A small garden is attached to each of the four tenements, and each of the widows has £1 per annum from Wise’s Charity. In 1643, GEORGE BENSON left a cottage and 6A. of land, near Harlow Common, and directed the clear income to be applied by the churchwardens in providing coats and breeches of drab cloth for poormen, and camlet gowns and linsey-woolsey petticoats for poor women, with the letters G. B. upon the coats and gowns. Two Almshouses in the Churchyard, founded by William Newman, are occupied by two widows, who each receive yearly £2 from Stafford’s and Taylor’s Charities. In 1659, JOHN WRIGHT left £160 to provide yearly 6s. 8d. for a sermon, and 12s. 6d. for a dinner for the trustees of Stafford’s Charity ; and a gown every second year, and a load of wood yearly, for each of the three poor women in Stafford’s Almshouses. This legacy was laid out in the purchase of a barn and twelve acres of land, called Noake’s Crofts. In 1617, EMANUEL WOOLLEY gave, for the poor, a yearly rent-charge of 20s. out of Hallison’s Meads, in Sawbridgeworth. In 1651, ALEX. STAFFORD left a yearly rent-charge of £12 out of the manor of Bignors, near Deptford, to be applied as follows : £2 for repairing his monument and the south aisle of Harlow Church, £3 for ringing the bell and keeping the clock in order, £2 for the widows in Newman’s Almshouses, and £5 for distribution among the poor parishioners. Three tenements in Churchgate street, called STAFFORD’S ALMSHOUSES, are repaired by the parish, and occupied by three widows nominated by the Vicar. Their only endowment consists in the annual sums of 20s allowed to each widow for wood, and of 20s. every alternate year for clothing, from Wright’s Charity ; and the annual sum of 20s. to one of the widows from Taylor’s Charity. In 1724, the Rev. JOHN TAYLOR left ahouse and garden, now worth £17 a-year, and directed the rents to be applied yearly as follows: 20s. to each of the widows in Newman’s Almshouses, 20s. to one of the widows in Stafford’s Almshouses, and the remainder to be distributed among the poor parishioners. The latter have a weekly distribution of bread from a yearly rent-charge of £5. 4s. , left by RICHARD HARRISON, in 1734, out of ahouse and land called Drinkwater’s. A legacy of £100, left by EDWARD WISE, in 1798, was vested in £158. 5s. 1d. Three per Cent. Consols, and the dividends are applied as follows : £1 to each of the four inmates of Reeve’s Almshouse, and 14s. 10d. for cleaning and repairing the donor’s tomb. The dividends of £210 new Three-and-a-half per Cent. Stock, left by JOHN PERRY in 1809, are applied in providing gowns and petticoats for six poor women. In 1504, THOMAS CRANWELL bequeathed, for sustaining and repairing the parish church, 3A. OR. 2P. , called Smith’s Mead, now let for £9 per annum. The rent of a farm of 16A. 3R. , in Potter street, let for £52, is applied to the same use, and was bequeathed, in 1505, by JOHN SWORDER, to the churchwardens, in trust, that they should bestow the yearly proceeds there of in relieving the poor parishioners from the payment of fifteenths and other taxes levied by Parliament, or, if not wanted for that purpose, in repairing the parish church. Both these charities were conveyed to new trustees in 1830, and the yearly income (£61) is applied in the service of the church, and in paying the organist. In 1803, £136. 10s. was givenby the trustees towards the purchase of a new organ.
In Edward the Confessor’s time, Harlow belonged to the Abbey of Bury St. Edmund’s and to six freemen. At the Domesday Survey, the Abbey still held its portion, but the rest of the parish was then held by Ranulph, brother to the Earl of Boulogne. The manor of HARLOWBURY, about half-a-mile N.N.E. of the church, was held by the Abbey, and was one of the abbot’s resting places in his way to Parliament. At the dissolution this manor was givenby Henry VIII. to Katherine Addington. It is now held by the Hon. William H. J. North. Near the manor house is a large ancient chapel, converted into a barn, and having a fine circular head door, the shafts of which have capitals like those of the Gallilee, or Chapel of St. Mary, at Durham. This building is in a good state of preservation, and some of its small windows have round and others pointed heads.
MOOR HALL, the elegant modern seat of J. W. Perry Watlington, Esq. , M.P., is pleasantly situated nearly a mile N.E. of the church, in a well-wooded park, with shady walks, a fine sheet of water, and beautiful gardens. The south-eastern front is handsomely ornamented in the Doric style. HUBERT’S HALL, three-quarters of a mile south of the church, was anciently held by the Hubert family, and afterwards passed to the Shaw, Reeve, and other families. It is now the property of Sir J. T. Ibbetson- Selwin, Bart. , and is occupied by Miss Sims. The Hon. Wm. Henry John North, son and heir of the Baroness North, is now lord of the principal manor, and impropriator of the great tithes. He also owns a great part of the parish. The Rev. J. Arkwright, Hy. White, Esq. , Charles Selwin, Esq. , and several smaller owners, have estates here. The tithes have been commuted the rectorial for £597 12s. 6d., and the vicarial for £396 5s. 6d. per annum. The Vicarage House was formerly the Rectory, and is anold wood and plaster building.
Petty Sessions are held here occasionally at the Police Station, and Mr. Metcalfe, of Epping, is clerk to the magistrates. Many British and Roman coins have been found in the parish and neighbourhood, and Mr. Barnard, of Harlow mill, has a fine collection of them.
Harlow Agricultural and Labourers’ Friend Society has a numerous list of members.
POTTER STREET, OF VILLAGE, is a hamlet of Harlow parish, 2 miles S. of the town, near the Common and Harlow Bush. It had formerly several potteries, and has been much improved during the last twenty years.
It has a neat CHURCH (St. Mary Magdalen), built in 1834, at the cost of about £1000, contributed by the Vicar and other subscribers. It is a district church for the southern parts of Harlow parish, and the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the vicar, and incumbency of the Rev. W. R. Scott. Attached to it is a house for the minister, and also a National
School. The village has a Post Office and a Baptist Chapel. The latter was built in 1756, and enlarged in 1832, at the cost of about £200.
HARLOW PARISH DIRECTORY.
Marked * reside in Potter street, and the rest in Harlow, or where specified.
The POST OFFICE is at Mr. Chas. Whittaker’s, in High street, where Money Orders are granted and paid. Letters despatched at 11 morning and 10 night. There is a sub-post office in Potter street.
Aplin Robert, mill manager
Asbury Mrs, furniture broker
Barnard Miss Sarah
Chaplin Mr Philip, Feltimores
Chaplin Joseph, supt. of Reformatory
Chaplin Thomas, brewer
Coleman Joshua, coal dealer
Day & Thompson, surgeons
Day Robert Newcombe, surgeon
Everingham Hy. solicit0r and London
Fordyce William, land steward, New Hall
Freeman John, manager
*Gipps Rev. John (Baptist)
Goodwin Mrs Glyn Misses
Grimwood Mr William
Griffin Mr
Jay George, station master
King Mr John, Potter street
Lewsey Mrs Sarah, Potter st. Post Office
MacLeod Rev. Charles Middleton, M.A. incumbent of St. John’s
Miller Rev. Charles, M.A. vicar
*Parrish John, hurdle & rakemaker
*Pool John, sec. to Archery Soc. &c.
Pratt William, watchmaker, &c.
*Redding William registrar & relieving officer
*Scott Rev. Wm. R. incumbent of St. Mary Magdalen
Shead John, insurance agent
Sims Misses & Frank, Esq. Hubert’s Hall
Snow Misses S. & M.fancy repository
Speller George, hairdresser
Stevenson Rev. T. R. (Baptist)
Spicer James, fishmonger
Thompson Mrs
Sherrard Mrs
Thompson Alfred Doyle, surgeon
Thornton James, contractor
Turnbull A. excise officer
Ward George, police inspector
Watlington John
Watlington Perry, Esq. M.P. Moor Hall
Webb Henry, Esq.
Wedd Mrs
Whittaker Chas. bookseller, grocer &c.
Whittaker My. Ann & Eliza, drapers
Wilson William gardener, Potter street
Windus & Amys, solicitors (& Epping)
Wood John Edw. druggist & dentist
Wright Misses, Mill hill
Wright Joseph, cooper
FIRE AND LIFE OFFICES.
Era, John Shead
Essex Economic, &c. Thos. Glasscock
European, Unity &c. J. E. Wood
Essex & Suffolk, R. Barnard
Norwich Union, &c. Geo. Girling
*Royal Exchange, John Pool
Royal Farmers, &c. H. C.Wentworth
INNS AND TAVERNS.
*George, Boaz Battell
Crown, John Jarvis, insurance agt.
George Inn, James Casidy
Green Man, Edward Bambridge
*King’s Head, James Bull
*Horns & Horse Shoe, Joseph Phillips
Queen’s Head, William Hutson
Marquis of Granby, Thomas Smith
Railway Hotel, Robert Gillingham
*Red Lion, George Burton
*White Horse, Mrs Hannah Warner
ACADEMIES AND SCHOOLS.
*Cleary Peter (Boarding)
Golding Rev. Charles, B.A. College
Jones Miss Eliza (Ladies’)
Miller Miss Elizabeth (Ladies’ )
*Raymond Miss E. (Ladies’)
British School, Robert Pink & Miss Carmichael
Infant School, Miss Hutchin
National Schools, Wm. Hall & Mrs
Winger, St. Mary’s ; and Miss Howard, Potter street
Reformatory School, Joseph Chaplin, supt. and James Braby, teacher
BAKERS.
Borhan Ann
Glasscock Thos.
*Hutchin James
Mackenzie Fras.
*Nash Samuel
Samuel George
*Samuel Naomi
Thurgood Jno.H.
Wedd S. G.
BEERHOUSES.
Barrick Henry – Chequers
Dedman Mary
Foster James
BLACKSMITHS.
*Ironmongers.
Debnam Robert
+Hutchin Annie
Hutchin George
+Smith Charles
BOOT & SHOEMAKERS
Hutson William
*Parsons John
Rixon Jas. Hy.
Sanders Sarah
Searle George
Ward William
BRICKLAYERS.
*Bull James
Jarvis John
Prior George
Sortwell James
Winch William
BUTCHERS.
*Bowyer Joseph
Selmes George
Smith Thomas
CARPENTERS.
Ellis James
Jarvis John
Newton Francis
Newton Joseph
Pratt William
CORN MILLERS.
Barnard Charles
Barnard Richard
*Phillips Joseph
CORN MERCHANTS.
Caswell William
Glasscock Edm.
Franklin Curtis
FARMERS.
Barnard Charles
Barnard Richard
Chaplin Philip
Chaplin Thomas
Dennis John
Glasscock Edm.
Glasscock Thos.
*Izard John
Matthews Chas.
Matthews Sl. P.
*Phillips Jph.
Salmons George
*Squires James
Wentworth Hy.C.
GROCERS & DRAPERS.
*Clayden Peter
Dorkins James
Foster Miss A.
Girling Henry
*Hutchin James
Newman George
Thurgood J. H.
Whittaker Chas.
Young Thos. W.
MALTSTERS .
Barnard William
Glasscock Thos.
MILLINERS.
Bignell Sarah
Crawley Miss
Judd Mary
Snow Misses
PLUMBERS, PAINTERS, &GLAZIERS.
Adams Joshua
Deards Samuel
Nottage Henry
SADDLERS, &c.
Francis Charles
Francis James
Monk Henry
Mumford Daniel
STRAW HAT MAKERS.
Collins Rebecca
Hutchin Annie
TAILORS.
*Lambert Chas.
Metcalfe George
Scott Benj. Fras.
WHEELWRIGHTS.
Collins James
*White William
RAILWAY.
Trains every hour to London, Cambridge, &c .
CARRIERS
Pass to London,
&c. daily VESSELS
From the Bridge to London, &c. daily