GOOD EASTER, HIGH EASTER
WHITE'S DIRECTORY OF ESSEX 1848
EASTER, (GOOD) a pleasant village and parish, in the vale of a rivulet, 7 miles W.N.W. of Chelmsford, has 504 inhabitants, and 2042 acres of land, It was called Estra at Domesday Survey, and belonged to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, who gave it to the collegiate church of St. Martin-le-Grand,London. From this appropriation, it obtained the name of God's Estra, or Godicestre, now corrupted to Good Easter. This manor, with that of Mashbury and other possessions of the above-named collegiate church, was given by Henry VII., in 1492, to Westminster Abbey. Henry VIII. gave ot to his newly formed bishopric of Westminster, in 1540, but that see being dissolved in 1542, the King granted the manor to Sir Richard Rich, from whose family it passed to the Mildmays, Watersons, and Bonnels. J. R. S. Phillips, Esq., is now lord of the manor, and owner of the estate called Newarks, or Newland's Fee. Lord Rayleigh, F. J. Matthews, and several residents have estates here. The Church (St. Andrew,)has a nave, south aisle, and chancel, with a stone tower, containing five bells, and crowned by a tall and handsome wooden spire. From stone arches in the walls of the chancel, there seems to have been several cells or chapels. When appropriated to the church of St. Martin-le-Grand, four of the prebendaries had prebendal houses here, called Fawkeners, Imbers, Bowers, and Paslows. Mrs. E. Rust is impropriator of the rectory; and the vicarage, valued in K.B. at £8, and in 1831 at £171, with that of High Easter annexed to it, is in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, London, incumbency of the Rev. Geo. Leapingwell, LL.B., who has two acres of glebe. After the consolidation of thev two livings, in 1771, the vicarage house in this parish was pulled down. The tithes here were commuted in 1842, the rectorial for £240, and the vicarial for £120. A chalybeate spring, at Wares Farm, was formerly in repute for medicinal virtues. The Church Lands comprise 2½A. in this parish, let for £1. 17s. 6d., and 6A. in Writtle and Roxwell, let for £4. The church has also a yearly rent of 1s. 4d., out of Wares Farm, and another of 10d. out of Gate House Farm. A yearly rent of 10s., left by one , is carried to the account of the, which is supported chiefly by subscription, and was built in 1844, at the cost of £128. Until 1805, the poor had yearly two bushels of wheat, and two bushels of malt, and a reserved rent of 3s. 10d., out of Bailey's Farm.
EASTER, (HIGH) a large and pleasant village, near the chief source of the river Can, 8 miles N.W, of Chelmsford, has in its parish975 souls, and 4648 acres of land, including Lofty Green, Pentlow End, Staggin's Cross, Bishop's Green, and many scattered farmhouses, bearing different names. Before the Conquest, High Estra belonged to Ely Abbey, but at the Conquest it was seized by Algor, the constable of the army, but he was dispossessed by the Conqueror, who gave the parish to Geoffrey de Magnaville. J. J. Tufnell, Esq., is now lord of the principal manor, called High Easterbury, and formerly held by the Earls of Essex, and the Fitz-Piers, Bohun, and Stafford families. From the latter it reverted to the Crown, as part of the Duchy of Lancaster. It was sold bu Charles I., in 1629. Lord Dacre, Fdk. J. Matthews, Guy's Hospital, and the Rev. Sir A. B. Henniker, have estate here. The latter is lord of the manor of Garnets and Merks, on the north side of the parish. An old manor-house, called Hayrons, 1 mile S. of the church, is still encompassed by a moat, and has belonged to the Hayron, Gedge, and Glascock families. An estate called Mannocks, was long the seat of a family of its own name, the last of whom, Sir Francis Mannock, sold it in the civil wars, to escape the ruinous effects of fines and sequestrations.
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales...., by John Marius Wilson. circa 1866
EASTER (GOOD), a parish in Chelmsford district, Essex; on an affluent of the Chelmer, 4¾ miles W by S of Great Waltham, and 6¼ NW of Chelmsford r. station. It has a post-office under Chelmsford. Acres, 2,081. Real property, £3,074. Pop., 539. Houses, 107. The property is subdivided. There is a chalybeate spring. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of High Easter, in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £169. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of St. Pauls. The church is ancient but good; and has a tower and spire. Charities, £7.
EASTER (HIGH), a parish in Dunmow district, Essex; 4½ miles S by W of Dunmow r. station, and 8½ NW of Chelmsford. It has a post-office under Chelmsford. Acres, 4,725. Real property, £6,005. Pop., 947. Houses, 202. The property is divided among a few. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Good Easter, in the diocese of Rochester. The church has a tower and spire; and was reported in 1859 to need repair.
(Transcriber's note. Good Easter and High Easter were once known as Good EASTON and High EASTON respectively.)
Transcribed by Noel Clark