Stock is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in south

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. It is about south of

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 county town. The village is in the borough of

and in the parliamentary constituency of

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

The village

The village has three churches: the

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

of All Saints, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

of Our Lady and St Joseph and Christ Church (Free). There are three

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in the village: The Bear, The Hoop, and The Baker's Arms and two other pubs on the outskirts, the Ship near West Hanningfield and the King's Head near Billericay and Buttsbury. There is a post office and general store, a tapas restaurant and Coffee shop. There is a hotel, bar and restaurant called the Harvard. There is a Church of England primary school, which is rated as "good" by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

Transport

The village has a direct link to the A12 trunk road via the B1007. There are bus services to Chelmsford, Lakeside, Wickford and Basildon.

History

The origins of the village are uncertain and are subject to debate. Archaeological finds suggest that during the Iron Age period there was a settlement on the site. 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 ...

of 1086 does not mention Stock. The first documentary evidence of the settlement dates from the 13th century. Until the 16th century the village was known as Hereward Stock/Stoke, or variations thereof. Formerly half of the village was in the parish of Buttsbury and the parish had within its boundaries a hamlet which was a detached part of Orsett. Both of these anomalies have now been resolved.

Notable residents

The poet

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scen ...

(pronounced Cooper) was a friend of Willam Unwin, who was the rector from 1769 to 1787. The Cowper poem that is most closely connected with Stock is ''Tithing Time at Stock'' or the ''Yearly Distress''. Admiral Sir

Vernon Haggard Admiral Sir Vernon Harry Stuart Haggard, KCB, CMG (28 October 1874 – 30 January 1960) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station. His career in the Royal Navy spanned forty-four years, fro ...

lived in the village.Memories of Stock
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References

External links

The Village of Stock in Essex
{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex