High Easter is a village and a civil parish in the

Uttlesford Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the market town of Saffron Walden. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 79,443. Other notable settlements include Great Dunmow, Elmdon, Stebbi ...

district of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. The village is northwest from the city of and

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of

Bishop's Green Bishops Green is a village in the English county of Hampshire, on the border with Berkshire. History Bishops Green expanded greatly during World War II, when the original few houses and farms were joined by the Eagle Road and Ashlands housing est ...

and Stagden Cross. Parsonage Brook, at north from the village flows northeast to southwest, meeting at the west of the parish the

River Can The River Can is a river in Essex, England. Chelmsford is centred on the confluence of the Can and the River Chelmer. The Can enters Chelmsford from the west, joining the Chelmer to the east of the city. From the confluence, the Can becomes par ...

, whose chief source is at the north, from the village, near Bishop's Green. High Easter is part of 'The Easters', an area adjacent to

The Rodings The Rodings are a group of eight villages in the upper part of the River Roding and the west of Essex, England, the largest group in the country to bear a common name. (Registration required.) The Rodings do not lie within a single district in th ...

. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 754.

History

The name 'High Easter' refers not to the Christian festival '

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

', but to the 11th-century ''Estre'' (in the ''

Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' as ''Estra''), from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''eowestre'' meaning a

sheep fold Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

, or 'a place at the sheep fold'. The 'High' part refers to the Old English ''heah'' (meaning geographically high), the place name being ''Heyestre'' in 1254. The sister village of

Good Easter Good Easter is a village and civil parish in the Chelmsford (borough), Chelmsford district of Essex, England. The village is northwest from the city and county town of Chelmsford. The parish includes the hamlets of Farmbridge End at the south, ...

to the south, has the same origin. By 1200 that place was called ''Godithestre'', the 'Good' part of today's place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon woman's name of ''Godgyth'' or ''Godgifu'', who probably held possession of the place. High Easter developed as a linear settlement to the west of the parish church and was known as 'High Estra' before the Norman Conquest. The 'High' in the name is because of its elevated position, and also to distinguish the village from its neighbour, Good Easter. The village was also latterly known as 'High Easton'. Before the Norman Conquest, High Easter belonged to Ely Abbey, but it passed to an Anglo-Saxon landowner known as Asgar the Staller until, like many of Asgar's lands, it was granted after the Conquest to the Norman Geoffrey de Mandeville. The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

was today's Grade II* listed 'High Easterbury', dating to the 13th century, which is situated to the southwest of the parish church of St Mary. This house and manor was formerly held by the

Earls of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new crea ...

and the Fitz-Piers, Bohun and Stafford families. According to ''

Kelly's Directory Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses o ...

'', High Easter in 1895 was in the Dunmow

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

, one of

The Hundred Parishes The Hundred Parishes is an area of the East of England with no formal recognition or status, albeit that the concept has the blessing of county and district authorities. It encompasses around 450 square miles (1,100 square kilometres) of northwes ...

, and the

rural deanery In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

of Roding. Parish land of was of clay soil and grew chiefly wheat, beans and barley, and supported a population of 690 in 1891. The lady of the manor was

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, with major landowners being

Lord Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English mathematician and physicist who made extensive contributions to science. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. Amo ...

, Sir Brydges Powell Henniker 4th Henniker baronet, and the trustees of the late

Lord Dacre Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by Hereditary peer#Writs of summons, writ. History The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre, Ralph Dacre was Hereditary peer# ...

. The Church of St Mary had been "thoroughly restored in 1865 at a cost of £2,200". The church

incumbency The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

and

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

(land used for the support of a parish priest), was in the gift of the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. High Easter's vicar since 1849 was the Rev. Edward Francis Gepp M.A. of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, who was also

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

of Roding and a JP for Essex. Attached to St Mary's was a National School for 201 mixed children with an average attendance of 60.''Kelly's Directory of Essex'' 1895 A further village school was Manning Prentice Memorial School for 100 mixed children, with an average attendance of 73; this school, erected in 1893, was attached to the

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

chapel which had seating for 300. Parish occupations in 1895 included a tailor & draper, a blacksmith, two wheelwrights, one of whom was also a carrier, two grocers, one of whom was also a draper and an agent for W. A. Gilbey wine and spirit merchants, a saddler & harness maker, a beer retailer, a shoe maker, a miller using wind and steam, eight farmers, two of whom were landowners and one a carrier, two licensed victuallers of public houses, and two farm bailiffs. Quoting the archeologist Miller Christy, J. Charles Cox wrote in his 1909

guide book A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

''Essex'' (The Little Guides): "In and around the Easters are many old farmhouses of timber and plaster, formerly residences of greater consequence than at present; many are moated and have large or ornamented brick chimneys".

Geography

The village is situated approximately 75 metres above sea level and lies just west of the source of the River Can, which flows south eastwards from the village to meet the River Chelmer in Chelmsford. High Easter is part of an area of Essex villages and parishes known as 'The Easters', which is adjacent to the east of

villages.

Community

High Easter village has a post office and cafe, a parish church, restaurant, village hall, football pitch and cricket pitch. Within High Easter parish are 70 listed buildings and structures: houses, farmhouses, cottages, barns and pubs, and also a post office, a brew house, and a gatehouse. St Mary's Parish Church on The Street in High Easter village is Grade I

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

and dates in part to the 12th century.

Location grid

References

External links