London 1746 Rocques map
You can search the historical London and Pub wiki sites by surname, street name, district etc.

HEMPSTEAD

White's History, Gazetteer & Directory of Essex ~ 1848

Submitted and Transcribed by Essex Villages

HEMPSTEAD, or Hemsted, a large straggling village, 7 miles E. of Saffron Walden, and 6 miles N. by E. of Thaxted, has in its parish 789 souls, and 3567a. of land, including Hempstead Wood, Smith Green, Cabbage End, Gallows End, and many scattered farm-houses, &c.

At Domesday Survey, it was held by Richard Fitz-Gislebert. Cecil Fane, Esq., is now proprietor of most of the soil, and lord of the two manors called Hempstead Hall and Crouchmans, or Winslows, which were purchased by the Harvey family about 1640. The Hall, which was formally an occasional seat of the Harvey family, is demolished, but the moat remains, and also part of some out-houses, converted into a cottage. Of this family was the celebrated Dr. Wm. Harvey, to whose memory there is a handsome monument in the church, displaying his bust, and recording, in a Latin epitaph, his discovery of the circulation of the blood, and other circumstances connected with his professional knowledge. He died in 1657, aged 80. He was physician to James I. and Charles I., and adhered to the royal cause in the civil wars. He was the son of Thomas Harvey, of Folkestone, in Kent, and elder brother of Eliah Harvey, who purchased the Hempstead estate. He was not only an excellent physician, but of an admirable character as a man and a christian philosopher. Having no children, he gave his paternal estate to the College of Physicians, to which he added a valuable library and museum.

That notorious highwayman, Dick Turpin, was born here, in the house now the Rose and Crown Inn.

The parish is well wooded, and celebrated for having produced remarkably large trees. Arthur Young mentions two immense oaks, in a field near Great Dawkins farm-house, but only one of them is now standing, and much mutilated and decayed. This venerable oak is supposed to be a thousand years old, and was formerly 99 feet in height, and its boughs covered an area of about 36 yards in diameter. An estate called Moynes was long held by the Moigne family of the Earls of Oxford. J. Drummond, Esq., and several smaller owners, have estates here.

The Church (St. Andrews,) is a large ancient structure, on a hill, nearly in the centre of the parish. It has a nave, with aisles, a chancel, and a handsome tower, containing five musical bells. The interior is highly ornamented and beautiful, and the nave is separated from the aisles by four clustered pillars on either side, supporting pointed arches. In a chapel, or apartment over the vault of the Harvey family, are several handsome monuments, one of which has a well-carved bust of Dr. Harvey, who immortalized his name by discovering the circulation of the blood, as already noticed. The benefice is a curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Great Sampford, to which this parish is sometimes called a chapelry.

The Dean and Chapter of Canterbury have here 57a. 3r. 4p., of rectorial glebe, and are appropriators of the great tithes, which were commuted in 1836, for £725. 18s. 5d., and the small tithes for £235. 10s. 9d. per annum. Two houses, called the Workhouse and Almshouse, are occupied by paupers, and are supposed to have been given by John Pound. The parish has three tenements, let for about £12 a year, which is applied with the poor rates. Several pieces of land, which have long been held as private property, are supposed to have belonged to the poor parishioners.

Barker Denney, wheelwright

Bird Thomas, blacksmith

Brazier Joshua, vict. Oak

Hales Peter, tailor

Hebblethwaite Thos. schoolmaster, &c

Horsnell Mr Sampson

Metcalf Robert, gardener

Moore George, corn miller

Richardson Chas. vict. Rose & Crown

Savill Wm. beerseller

Surridge Joseph, parish clerk

Ward Henry, cowkeeper

Farmers

Andrews Samuel, Hop House

Andrews Thomas, Boarded Barn

Bacon Saml. Wm. Bull Bridge

Baker Wm. (joiner) Anso-Gallows

Green Mary, Hempstead Hill

Major Mark Edward, Hall

Moore Joseph, Smith Green

Moore Philip ll Mortlook Luke

Myhill Wm. Great Dawkins

Rutland Har. ll Speller Wm.

Stubbing Thos. ll Surridge Wm.

Tredgett Wm. ll Tycer Charles

Willis William, Fields

Boot & Shoemrs

Hales Wm.

Mash Wm.

Rutland Damon

Stock James

Carpenters

Baker Wm.

Stubbing John

Wright Wm.

Shopkeepers

Gilder Mary

Hales Wm.

Hebblethwaite T.

Moore Thomas

Letters from Saffron Walden

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales...., by John Marius Wilson. circa 1866

HEMPSTEAD, a village and a parish in Saffron-Walden district, Essex. The village stands near the river Pant, 5¾ miles SSW of Haverhill r. station, and 6½ E by S of Saffron-Walden; is an ancient place; and has a post-office under Saffron-Walden. The parish includes also the hamlet of Blackden. Acres, 3,565. Real property, £5,008. Pop., 797. Houses, 168. The property is subdivided. Winchlow Hall was the seat of the Harveys, one of whom was Dr. Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. The parish is noted for its trees, and has a famous "Hempstead Oak," of remarkable size. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Great Sampford, in the diocese of Rochester. The church is ancient; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with lofty tower.

Transcribed by Noel Clark

Post Office Directory of Essex ~ 1871

Submitted and Transcribed by Essex Villages

HEMPSTEAD is a village and parish, which existed as early as the reign of King Edward the Confessor; it is 7 miles east from Saffron Walden station, and 47 from London, in the Western division of the county, hundred of Freshwell, union of Saffron Walden, rural deanery of Great Sampford, archdeaconry of Colchester, and diocese of Rochester.

The church of St. Andrew, an ancient structure, has a chancel, nave, aisles, lofty tower, and 5 bells; beneath the vestry and chancel is the vault of the Harvey family, wherein lie the remains of Dr. William Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood; several of the coffins in this vault are of lead, of the shape of the human body. The register dates from the year 1559.

The living is a vicarage, annexed to the parish of Great Sampford, in the gift of Myles Formby, esq., and held by the Rev. Robert Henry Eustace, m. a., of St. Peter's College, Cambridge; the Rev. Johnson Fowell Swann, b. a., of Caius College, Cambridge, is the curate. The rectorial tithes are in the hands of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, and yield about £700 per annum.

The Primitive Methodists have a chapel here.

The charities of the parish amount to about £16 per annum. The trustees of the late Mrs. Fane are the principal landed proprietors.

The soil is loam, subsoil, clay. The chief crops a wheat and barley. The parish contains 3,565 acres, and the population in 1861 was 797; gross estimated rental, £4,984; rateable value, £4,395.

Parish Clerk, James Surridge

POST OFFICE - Peter Hales, postmaster

Letters arrive from Saffron Walden at 9am; dispatched at 4.15pm.

The nearest money order office is at Saffron Walden.

National School, Miss Catherine Eliza Hyde, mistress

CARRIER TO WALDEN - Ward, Wednesday & Saturday

Rutland Miss, Church farm

Swann Rev. Johnson Fowell, b. a. [curate] Vicarage

Commercial

Andrews Eliza (Mrs.), farmer, Witch trees

Andrews Thomas, farmer, Philips

Andrews Thomas, farmer, Winchlow hall

Bacon Samuel William, farmer, Bull's bridge

Baines Peter, farmer, Hempstead hill

Basham Edmund, bricklayer

Beddall George, farmer, Church farm

Betts John, wheelwright

Bird Thomas, blacksmith

Brand Jenner, farmer, Anser's farm

Chatters George, baker & grocer

Dare Francis, farmer Blagdon

Hales Charles, wheelwright and machinist

Hales Peter, tailor

Hales William, grocer & draper

Horsnell Sampson, property & assessed tax collector

Marsh William, shoemaker

Metcalf Robert, market gardener

Moore Joseph, farmer, Ruse's

Moore Joshua, miller

Myhill William, farmer, Dawkins

Price Walter, farmer, Hempstead hall

Rutland Damon, shoemaker

Ryland Charles, shoemaker

Smith George, Royal Oak

Stock Walter, cattle dealer

Stubbings John, carpenter

Surridge Geo. farmer, Pollard's cross

Walford Fisher, shopkeeper

Ward Henry, farmer, Parsonage

Ward William, shopkeeper

Willis William, farmer, Field's

Willshire William, Crown

Hempstead War Memorial


PUB HISTORY
And Last updated on: Monday, 02-Jun-2025 13:42:30 BST