The Way-Back Machine, Stage 3
This essay is about Stage 3 of our trip to England (I wrote about Stage 1 on June 9 and about Stage 2 on June 16). The image above is a snip from my detailed planning spreadsheet, showing where we’ll be from September 11 through September 15.
First, a little information about where we’ll be staying:
This studio apartment is located in the town of Grays, Essex – about four miles north of the bridge that crosses the Thames River from Essex into Kent. The listing describes it as a well-equipped and contemporary style with a very homely atmosphere and feel. In-built wall amp and speakers, tv, Wi-Fi, Netflix, Fridge, kitchenette, shower, and many more. Hot tub and infra-red sauna available at extra cost. Ideal for working away from home guests and short stays.
Cranbrook, Kent
We’ll be visiting several villages in Kent, across the Thames from Grays. One place we’ll visit is Cranbrook, about 45 miles (1+ hours) southeast of Grays.
This is the church we’ll be visiting in Cranbrook.
St. Dunstan’s Church dates to the late 13th century. Its 74 feet-high tower, completed in 1425, has a wooden figure of Father Time and his scythe on the south face. It also contains the prototype for the Big Ben clock in London. Work started in the late 13th century, the chancel arch and porch are a century later, the nave and tower were added after 1500, and the building was restored in 1863.
William Eddy
My paternal 10th great-grandfather William Eddy (1558-1616) was born in Bristol, England, but served as the Vicar of St. Dunstan’s in Cranbrook. After he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (where he served as a Sizar, or servant) he served as curate or a church in Suffolk before returning to Trinity College to earn a Master of Arts degree in 1586. In 1591, he was appointed Vicar of Cranbrook by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Whitgift. He served in this position until his death in 1616.
William was married twice – first to Mary Fosten, with whom he had 10 children before Mary died in 1611 at the age of 31. Their 8th child was my 9th great-grandfather, Samuel Eddy (1608-1697). William married Sarah Taylor in 1614, and they had one child before William died in 1616.
Since Samuel was only 11 years old when his father died, the terms of his father’s will put him in the care of his older brother Phineas until Samuel reached the age of maturity, at which point he would inherit money from his father’s estate. Samuel apparently used this inheritance to come to Massachusetts, where he and his brother John arrived in 1630.
Sandwich, Kent
We’ll also visit the town of Sandwich in Kent. Sandwich is about 70 miles (1 ½ hours) from Grays, just a couple of miles from the coast. This is the church we’ll be visiting in Sandwich.
This is what Wikipedia says about this church:
A Norman church stood on the site of the present church by about 1100. This was probably destroyed in 1216 when Sandwich was attacked by the French. The church was rebuilt during the 13th century, it is thought, by Carmelite friars from France. At this time the church consisted of a nave with north and south aisles, a tower and a chancel. Beneath the chancel was a vaulted undercroft, which was probably used as a charnel house. During the 14th century the north aisle was widened and raised in height, and a chantry chapel was built at the east end of the south aisle. The north porch was added in the following century.
In 1560 a group of Flemish Protestants from the Spanish Netherlands came to live in Sandwich, and St Peter's became their church. The tower collapsed in 1661, destroying the south aisle. The Flemings rebuilt the tower, but left the south aisle ruined, and filled in the south arcade, making it the exterior south wall. They also added a cupola to the top of the tower. The church was restored during the 19th century. In the 1860s the west end was restored after it had been damaged in a storm, the roofs were retiled, the choir stalls were re-arranged, the box pews were replaced by bench seating, and the pulpit was moved from its position against the north wall to the southeast corner of the nave. It is thought that some of this might have been directed by the architect William White.
In 1948 the parish of St Peter's was united with those of St Mary's and St Clement's. St Clement's became the parish church of Sandwich, and St Peter's was closed for regular worship.
Thomas Stoughton
My paternal 13th great-grandfather Thomas Stoughton (1557-1622) is associated with Sandwich and with this church, although I have more research to do in order to pin this down. After his education at Cambridge, Thomas, who had been born in Sandwich, was installed as Rector of St. Mary’s Church in Naughton, Suffolk, where he served from 1586 to 1594. He served churches in Great Burstead in Essex as well as being Vicar of Coggeshall in Essex before his non-conforming beliefs deprived of this living in 1606. He returned to Sandwich, where he lived in penury and wrote several more treatises until he died in 1622. It is possible that I will find more information about him in Essex than in Kent; I’ll continue researching until I pin this down.
Here's what I’ve been able to find out about him. (from an essay shared by sgnoll7 on Ancestry.com in 2018).
Matriculated at Queens College, Cambridge 1573 and receive the degree of bachelor of arts in 1576-7. Made a Fellow of the College in 1579 and became a Master of Arts in 1580. He was ordained deacon and priest at Lincoln, Feb 13, 1582.
In July 1586, he was installed Rector at Naughton in Suffolk. Baptism records of his children Anne and Thomas are in this church. Edward Stubbin succeeded him as rector at Naughton in 1594.
Between 1594 and 1600, Thomas assisted the minister at Burstead Magna, Essex, where the birth of his daughter Judith is recorded.
In 1600, Thomas became vicar at Coggeshall in Essex. THe birth record of Israel appears in this church, as well as the burial of Thomas's wife Katherine. Thomas was "deprived of his vicarage" in 1606, but the reason was not recorded.
“Early in his career the Reverend Thomas became attracted towards the Presbyterian movement which came into some prominence about the middle of Elizabeth’s reign. Though the activities of its members seldom progressed beyond discussion, their doctrines were unacceptable to the authorities and many clergymen suffered deprivation of their livings for professing them.
This Presbyterian movement was not the foundation of the later Presbyterian movement of the Civil War times, but actually the starting point of the Congregationalists who later found a home in New England. The editor of the “Minute Book of the Dedham Classis” states that “the movement was made possible and as far as it succeeded, successful owing to the support of the gentry such as Lord Rich.” It was Lord Rich who in December, 1600 presented Thomas Stoughton to the living of Coggeshall in Essex, of which he was deprived because of his opinions in 1606.”
In 1606 Reverend Thomas Stoughton was finally silenced, at Coggeshall, when he was removed, most likely due to disagreements with the Authorities. He withdrew to Sandwich, Kent, where he was had been born, and seems to have eked out a meager and impecunious existence, “from my poore lodging in the Poore Hospital called St. Bartholomew’s by Sandwich,” possibly as an underpaid chaplain.
“It is uncertain where Rev. Thomas lived after the time of his deprivation. He for a while presumably carried on active ministerial work somewhere in the Eastern part of England. His name appears in 1606 with a group of ministers mentioned in the will of Timothy St. Nichols In 1610, Alice Wade, widow of Bildeston , Suffolk, left 20s by will to “Mr. Stoughton, a silenced preacher.” In 1615 his son (Rev.) John, in a letter not dated as to place, sends a message to his tutor at Emanuel College. from his father. Charles Evers of Grays Inn, London, willed Rev. Thomas of St. Bartholomews in Sandwich, Kent, 10 pounds in 1619. ”
Thomas and his wife Katherine had 12 children, including my 12th great-grandfather, also named Thomas, who came to Massachusetts in 1630 and relocated to Windsor, Connecticut, by 1635.
Egerton, Ashford, Kent
Eastwell, Kent
We’ll go to these villages on the same day, because they’re both associated with the same member of my family tree. More about him in a minute. Egerton is about 40 miles from Grays (where we’re staying) and Eastwell is about 10 miles further away. It will probably take us 1 ½ hours to drive to these villages because of traffic, as our route will skirt the suburbs of London.
This is the church we’ll be visiting in Egerton:
This is what the church website has to say about the village and the church:
The village of Egerton sits on the crest of a range of hills on the Greensand ridge, with the Kent rag stone near the surface that was used in the building of many churches and houses, including its own church of St James.
St Jamesʼ church, a Grade 1 listed building, has Norman roots, originally as a daughter-church to Charing. Although it is not quite old enough to be in the Domesday Book, it did make a listing in the Domesday Monachorum, the later annex added by monks.
The church tower is over 100 ft high and can be seen for many miles, hence it has a beacon tower. This was used to warn of invasion and is one in a chain of churches with that function.
There is a fine display of Darell monuments on the north side of the church in memory of Sir John Darell (1435 – 1509). These were originally in the church of Little Chart: St Mary that was bombed in 1944, and then placed during the 1950’s in Little Chart’s new church. In 2007, they were restored and installed in St. James through the generosity of a member of the Darell family. Egerton church also boasts a splendid chandelier made in 1699 and donated to Egerton in 1856. The 36 candles are lit for special services and celebrations.
This is the site we’ll be visiting in nearby Eastwell:
Much of the medieval parish church of St Mary collapsed in 1951, and most of the ruins were demolished in 1956. Only the 15th-century west tower, the west wall of the south aisle and a 19th-century mortuary chapel remain standing. The internal fittings and monuments have all been removed and most of the latter are in the care of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is located in the grounds of Eastwell Park, a large area of parkland and a country estate in the civil parish of Eastwell.
John Howse (House)
My paternal 11th great-grandfather John Howse (1570?-1630) was born in Leicestershire, northwest of London (maybe -- his origins are uncertain). He matriculated at St. John’s College, Cambridge in 1590. He is listed in the Alumni Cantabrigienes as such with the further note that he was rector at Eastwell, Kent in 1610. In the Bishop’s Transcripts for Canterbury he is also given as Curate for Egerton, 1592-96. From his location at the time of the baptism of his children, he is likely to have also been Curate for Eastwell from 1603 to his death in 1630. He performed the marriage ceremony for his daughter Hannah, in her marriage to Rev. John Lothrop [also Lothropp] in Eastwell, 16 October, 1610. I am descended from John Howse’s 9th (and last) child, Samuel, who came to Massachusetts in 1634.
I have some information that explains this decision to move. In 1632, Rev. John Lothrop was arrested in the house of one of his congregants along with 42 of his congregation including three of John Hawse [sic] children, Samuel Hawse, Peninnah Hawse and Hannah Lathrop. They were brought before the Court of the High Commission and were charged with sedition and holding conventicles. The political nature of the charge of sedition, and the antique language of “conventicle’ [ a private meeting to hear illegal preaching] renders the charges unclear to modern ears. The charges were, however, deadly serious and the court proceedings unimaginable. The accused had none of the rights of modern citizens. The court was an inquisition, where the accused were forced to testify against themselves, with our counsel. The process was so intimidating that many people were driven to flee. It was one of the driving forces in the Great Migration to New England. It was no dispute over prayer books and vestments. It was about life, death, and salvation.
Some records report that John Howse was interred at Kent and Sussex Cemetery and Crematorium in Tunbridge Wells, but I can’t find any information about that. Tunbridge Wells is about 25 miles west of Egerton, so it may be another stop on our trip for this day.
Sutton-by-Dover, Kent
This small village is 66 miles (1 ½ hours) from Grays, only about 5 miles from the coast. It is not far from Sandwich (above), so we may visit both of these places on the same day.
Ralph Partridge
My paternal 11th great-grandfather Ralph Partridge (1579-1658) was born (possibly) in Sutton Valence, Kent, UK. I say probably, because there is a lot of uncertainty about this. I know only a little about Ralph, because the most significant portion of his life occurred after he moved to Massachusetts in 1636.
This is what his Find-A-Grave memorial says about him:
Ralph was admitted a sizer of Trinity College in circa 1595. He received his B.A. 1599-1600 and M.A. 1603. Although he was not formally licenced to preach until 1607, from prior to Dec. 1604 [first baptism under his name] to after Feb. 1633/4 [last baptism under his name] Ralph was curate of the small rural parish of Sutton-by-Dover (Sts. Peter & Paul Anglican Church). This parish is 3-miles southwest of Deal and just under 5-miles northeast of Dover in southeast Kent. At this parish his five known children appear in baptism records.
Ralph was twice married. His first wife Priscilla was buried at Sutton-by-Dover Apr. 1, 1608, the same day their daughter Elizabeth was baptized, but later buried May 2, 1608.
On Jan. 14, 1608/9 at the small parish of Chillenden 5-miles northwest of Sutton-by-Dover, Ralph Partridge, minister of Sutton, married Patience Batherst (q.v. Bathurst). Ralph and Patience had four children, including my 10th great-grandmother, Mary Partridge (1607?-1677). (I need to research this some more; her reported birth date is before the death of Ralph’s first wife.)
According to John Winthrop’s Journal, Ralph arrived at Salem, Mass. in Nov. 1636 after a voyage of 26 weeks and was soon installed as the first settled pastor of Duxbury, Mass. At Duxbury Ralph was involved in numerous land transactions. He was also involved in the ecclesiastic conference that lead to the Cambridge Platform, which formed the basis of subsequent Congregational Church government in New England.
According to another source, “the Rev. Ralph Partridge had been a minister of the Established Church in Sutton-near-Dover, in the County of Kent in England, but had been driven out through the severity of Bishop Laud.” https://www.geni.com/people/Rev-Ralph-Partridge/6000000006440792441
The clergy of this time and place in Massachusetts were a closely-knit bunch; Elder William Brewster, the religious leader of the Pilgrim group that came on the Mayflower in 1620, died in Duxbury and was attended by his clergy friends, including Ralph Partridge, in his last days.
[NOTE: This needs more research – the more I’ve tried to write about this, the less certain I am about it.]
Braintree, Essex
This village is about 40 miles (50 minutes) north of Grays, in Essex County. I have a number of ancestors who lived in Essex, so I need to split them up between two legs of our trip. This is the church we’ll be visiting in Braintree.
Here’s what a church brochure says about this building:
The present church was built in the 12th century. Braintree was an ancient, and prosperous, market town, and the church was enlarged in the 13th and 14th centuries. Nave and chancel are of 12th century in origin. The North and South aisles and the West tower were added c.1240. The northeast vestry was added in the late 14th century, and the North chapel built between it and the North aisle c.1400. The South aisle was widened and lengthened to the West in the 15th century, and the South chapel was built c.1530, at which time the North aisle was widened and an upper floor inserted in the northeast vestry. The clerestory was also added or refenestrated in the 16th century, and most of the rest of the church was given new windows. The extensive rebuilding of the church in the early sixteenth century testifies to the particular prosperity brought to the town by the cloth trade in that period.
The church fell into disrepair in the early 19th century as a result of a well publicized conflict over the payment of church rates [taxes]. Between 1834 and 1853, a large number of local non-Conformists in Braintree refused to pay the rates, on the grounds that they did not use the parish church. This was part of a larger national dispute about church rates, which were finally abolished in 1868. The church was heavily restored in the mid 19th century, beginning with the restoration of the tower and spire and the rebuilding of the North aisle in 1859-60. The South aisle was restored in 1866-7 by Frederic Chancellor, who also built the North porch and replaced much of the 16th century work, including the South porch, clerestory and almost all of the windows. The North chapel was widened in 1886 to form an organ chamber, and a choir vestry was added at the West end of the North aisle in 1894.
A notable feature of the restoration of St Michael's is the extent to which the church was rebuilt and older material replaced with something wholly new. The ruthless removal of features not deemed to be of the correct medieval period (in this case the removal of so much C16 Tudor fabric and its replacement with C13 work) was typical of church restoration in the mid C19. Later restorers were more sympathetic to all periods of a building's history.
Joseph Loomis
My 11th great-grandfather Joseph Loomis (1590-1658) was born in Braintree to parents who attended St. Michael’s and who were buried in this church cemetery. Joseph was baptized in this church, and it was where his marriage banns were announced. Joseph was a wool merchant, as was his father. Joseph brought his family to America in 1638 on the ship Susan and Ellen. They arrived in Boston but relocated to Windsor, Connecticut, in 1639. I don’t know much more about Joseph at this point, but I hope to find out more before our trip.
This is the Loomis Homestead in Windsor, CT. Joseph built this house in the 1640s. As I write this, I realize I don’t know very much about Joseph; I need to dig a little deeper.
Great Baddow, Essex
This village is about 28 miles (35 minutes) north of Grays, in Essex County. Here’s the church we’ll be visiting in Great Baddow:
Here’s a little history of this church (from the church’s website):
The first record of the Church in 1172 arose when Maud, daughter of Robert Earl of Gloucester, and married to the Earl of Chester founded the Priory of Repton in Derbyshire and endowed that Priory with the advowson of St. Mary's Church as a foundation gift. The holder of an advowson has the right to recommend a member of the clergy for a vacant benefice. This association held until 1537 when Henry Vlll effected the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Within ten years the advowson was given to Sir Walter Henley who in turn passed the Church, together with the Rectory and the advowson of the Vicarage to one John Pascall. There is local reference to the Pascall family in the neighbourhood to this day and a wall brass located in the chancel is dedicated to one Jane Paschall following her death in 1614. The Pascall family held the advowson from 1547 to 1732 but it appears that the family did not give up its allegiance to Rome at the Reformation and in consequence suffered persecution for Popery.
During the Fourteenth Century, the church underwent considerable alteration to arrive at its present profile. The South, North and West walls were removed to make way for the current arcades and aisles and the construction of the tower. In addition, the existing Norman arch was removed and a wider arch replaced it. So, in that respect, one may say that the existing layout of the church dates from approximately 1350, at the end of the Middle Ages possibly during the long reign of Edward lll and when England suffered the loss of one third of its population due to the plague.
During the 16th Century the church was literally able to let the light in when the existing roof decayed and was replaced by a new roof, with two windows on each side. Due to a belief at the time that when a witch or bedevilled person was exorcised that the escaping devil exited by the North door, this entrance was bricked up. When the church was re-ordered in 1999 the old doorway was reopened to make way for a toilet block and the previous flint work was replicated on the outside of the extension. At the same time a kitchen was added and the floor re-laid to permit an updated heating system to be installed. The old pews were removed to allow for new flexible seating to increase the seating capacity of the church.
Robert Pease
My paternal 10th great-grandfather Robert Pease (1565-1623) was born in Great Baddow and spent his whole life there. There are many records that connect multiple generations of my Pease ancestors to this church and parish. Many of the men in this part of my family tree are named “John” or “Robert,” so they have descriptors appended to their names to help tell them apart. This Robert Pease is often referred to as Robert “The Locksmith” Pease. His father is called John “The Clothier” Pease. I am descended from Robert’s son John, often referred to as “Captain” John Pease. The earliest member of this family to be documented in Great Baddow was Robert “The Smythe” Pease, who was born in the village in 1485 and died there in 1547.
According to one source, across the street in front of St. Mary's is the White Horse Tavern which was owned by Peases in the 17th century. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/pease/378/
According to the same source, Pease Hall, a large privately-owned manor house, still exists on Sandford Mill Road on the edge of town. Parts of it date back to the 16th century but it is not known what Pease family built or owned it. We’ll try to find this when we’re there.
I joined the Essex Family History Society last year as I was beginning to work on this project. During one of the Zoom meetings, I talked a little about my planned trip. One of the people on the call said he was from Great Baddow, knew the church well, and would be happy to check the church records for me. He did, soon and got back to me with some information that will be very helpful during this part of our trip.
Good stuff. Great itinerary. Take a lot of photos!