EASTON, (GREAT)
WHITE'S DIRECTORY OF ESSEX 1848
EASTON, (GREAT) a pleasant village, on a gravelly, acclivity, on the east side of the river Chelmer, 3 miles N.N.W, of Dunmow, has in its parish 929 souls, and 2537 acres of land, including the estate and neat village of DUTTON HILL, and several scattered farm houses. Viscount Maynard is lord of the manor, which was held by Matthew Mauritaniensis, at the Norman Survey, and afterwards passed to the Clinton, Moyne, Stourton, Warren, and Cromwell families. The latter sold it to an ancestor of the present owner. The Rev. Sir A. B. Henniker, Mrs. Collett, T. Kearsey, Esq.; Sir J. Fitzgerald, and several smaller owners have estates here. About two-thirds of the parish are freehold. The estate, called Blamsters, is the property of the occupier, Wm. Josling, Esq., and anciently belonged to a family of its own name, but afterwards passed to the Strange, Stourton, Kendall, and Taleure families. Tiltey Abbey had a grange here, called Crays, which, after the dissolution, passed to the Gunter, Lewis, Fitch, and Meade families. One of the latter built a neat brick house at Dutton Hill, in 1721. The Church (St. John,) is an ancient structure, with a tower and five bells. It is built chiefly of flint, and stands on a commanding eminence. In the interior are many monumental inscriptions, one of which is in memory of the Rev. Thos. Cecil, a former rector, who wrote several theological works, and died in 1627. The rectory, valued in K.B. at �18. 13s. 4d., and in 1831 at �598, is in the patronage of Viscount Maynard, and incumbency of the Rev. Paul Saumarez, for whom the Rev. T. R. Walne, B.A., officiates. The tithes were commuted in 1839, for �765 per annum. Here is a small Independent Chapel, and the following Charities:-
In 1759, Rebecca Meade gave for the foundation of a FREE SCHOOL, for the education of ten poor girls, of Great Easton, a farm of 35A., in this parish, and 12A. of land, at Weathersfield; then worth �30, but now let for �60 a year. The school was held in a hired building, but in 1833, Viscount Maynard gave five roods of land, on condition that the trustees would build a school room upon it, at the cost of about �120, which they had then in hand for that purpose. In consequence of the increased value of the endowment the schoolmistress teaches 30 free scholars, but only ten of them are clothed at the expense of the charity. She has a yearly salary of �26, and the trustees provide school books, and pay �2 a year to the rector for superintending the school.
In 1761, Charles, Lord Maynard, gave three houses for the free residence of the parish clerks of Tiltey and Great and Little Easton, and charged the lords of the manor of these parishes with the reparation of the said houses. He also gave a yearly rent-charge of �5, out of Great Easton Hall estate, for the education of 12 poor boys of Great and Little Easton. The Schoolmaster occupies rent-free a house and garden, belonging to Viscount Maynard, and also receives from him a yearly gratuity of �4. He is allowed to take about 30 other boys besides the 12 free scholars on Lord Maynard's foundation, and four taught for �3 a year, paid him as the rent of the Workhouse Field, which was given by an unknown donor. In 1825, Mrs. Jane Brock left �100, to be invested for repairing her husband's monument, and the surplus for poor widows. It was laid out in the purchase of �108. 6s. 8d. three per cent. Bank Annuities. The Churchwardens have an acre in Bexell Mead, in Thaxted parish.
EASTON, (LITTLE) a small village on the western side of the vale of the Chelmer, 2 miles N.W. of Dunmow, has in its parish 343 souls, and 1557 acres of land, including part of Easton Park, which includes about 1200 acres, and the elegant mansion called EASTON LODGE, the seat of Viscount Maynard, the lord of the manor. A great part of this mansion was destroyed by fire on the 31st of Jan., 1847, but it has been repaired at the cost of about �10,000. It was mostly built in 1595, in the Elizabethan style, with large projecting windows and ornamental gables and chimneys; but it has been improved, enlarged, and altered at various periods, At the east end of the mansion is a handsome chapel, built by Lord Maynard in 1621, and having its eastern window filled with beautiful stained glass, displaying the principal events of the history of our Saviour. At Domesday Survey, the lordship of Ewston, or Easton, was held by Wm. de Warren and Geoffrey de Mandeville. After passing to several other families, it was granted by Queen Elizabeth in 1589 to Henry Maynard, with whose descendants it has since remained. The Maynard family is of great antiquity, and was seated at an early period in Kent, Devonshire, and Hertfordshire. Sir Henry, to whom Easton was granted, was secretary to that distinguished minister of Queen Elizabeth, Loed Burleigh, and was one of the representatives of St. Albans, in parliament. He was knighted by James I., and died in 1610. William, his eldest son, was created a baronet in 1611, and was raised to the Irish peerage in 1620, by the title of Baron Maynard, of Wicklow. In 1628, he was created an English peer, by the title of Baron Maynard, of Estaines ad Turrim, in the county of Essex. In 1766, Charles, the sixth baron, was created Baron Maynard, of Much Easton, and Viscount Maynard, of Easton Lodge. The Right Hon. Henry Maynard, the present Viscount Maynard, is Lord Lieutenant and Vice Admiral of the County of Essex. He was born in 1786, and succeeded the late Viscount in 1824. He married in 1810, Mary, daughter of R. Rabett, Esq.; and his son and heir, the Hon. Charles Henry Maynard, was born in 1814. The CHURCH stands near the village and the park, and is an ancient structure, in excellent repair, and having a handsome chapel on the south side of the chancel, called Bourchier's chapel, but it has been long used as the burial place of the Maynard family, and contains many splendid marble monuments. Upon that in memory of Sir Henry, father of the first Lord Maynard, are recumbent effigies of himself and his lady, with smaller figures of their eight sons and two daughters on the north side of it. Among the other monuments is one of very elaborate workmanship, and finely sculptured, erected to commemorate William, Lord Maynard, who died in 1698, and his lady, Its height is upwards of 20 feet, and its width 12. His lordship is represented by a full length statue standing on a pedestal, and surrounded by various medallions and busts of his relatives that are buried in the vault beneath. An ancient monument of grey narble, marks the place of interment of Henry Bourchier, first Earl of Essex of that name, and Isabel Plantagenet, his Countess. The rectory, valued in K.B. at �10, and in 1831 at �310, is in the patronage of Viscount Maynard, and incumbency of the Rev. J. P. H. Chesshyre, M.A., who has a good residence and 58 acres of glebe. the tithes were commuted in 1839 for �330 per annum. This parish sends six boys to Lord Maynard's School, at Great Easton. The Almshouses, near the church-yard, were built by Banastre Lord Maynard, about 1716, for the residence of four poor widows to be appointed by his heirs. He charged his estate at Magdalen and High Lavers with the repairs of the almshouses, and also with a yearly rent of �20 for equal division among the four almswomen. This bequest was in satisfaction of the will of his grandmother, Lady Margaret Banastre, who, in 1662 left out of her personal estate �20 a year for four poor widows of this parish. The Parish Clerk occupies a house, left for his use by Charles Lord Maynard, in 1761.
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales...., by John Marius Wilson. circa 1866
EASTON (GREAT), a parish in Dunmow district, Essex; on the river Chelmer, 3 miles NNW of Dunmow, and 6¼ E by N of Stanstead r. station. It has a post-office under Dunmow, Acres, 2,532. Real property, £3,885. Pop., 891. Houses, 203. The property is subdivided. Easton Lodge is the seat of Viscount Maynard. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £596. Patron, Viscount Maynard. The church is tolerable. Meade's school has £61 from endowment; and other charities have £12.
EASTON (LITTLE), a parish in Dunmow district, Essex; on the river Chelmer, 2 miles NW by N of Dunmow, and 6½ E by S of Stanstead r. station. It has a post-office under Chelmsford. Acres, 1,548. Real property, £2,385. Pop., 357. Houses, 76. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Patron, Viscount Maynard. The church has two brasses, and is good. There are alms-houses for 4 widows, and a clerk's house.
Transcribed by Noel Clark