Romford 1882 Kelly's Directory
History of
Romford
part 2 of the 1882 Romford Kelly
Directory
Romford is an ancient market town and
railway station, head of the union and of a county court district, and a polling
place for the Southern division of the county, in the rural deanery of Chafford,
archdeaconry of Essex and diocese of St Albans, seated on the little river Rom,
whence it derives its name, on the high road from London to Colchester, 17 south
west from Chelmsford, 8 north east from barking, and 6 south west from
Brentwood: the town originally consisted chiefly of two streets, crossing each
other at right angles; the principal street, and that in which the cattle market
is held, is a wide thoroughfare, of considerable length, running from west to
east and in recent years several new streets have been added on the southern
side of the town. The Great Eastern railway passes on a lofty embankment at the
bottom of South street:
and has separate stations for goods and passengers. The town is governed by a
Local Board of Health and the parish is divided into four wardsviz,:
Romford
Town,
Collier Row, Harold’s Wood and Noak Hill. Romford is the capital of the liberty,
comprising the three parishes of Hornchurch, Romford and Havering: has an
ancient, peculiar, and separate jurisdiction, granted by various charters from
the time of Edward the Confessor, whose original grant has since received many
additions and confirmations: it is independent of the county, appoints its own
magistrates, has a clerk of the peace, coroner, quarter and petty sessions,
courts of record and ancient demesne, and a county court and is governed by a
high steward and three justices: all business relative to the liberty is
transacted in the town of Romford. The
Liberty
quarter sessions are held on the Thursay succeeding the county quarter sessions,
and petty sessions every Thursday for the purposes of the Criminal Justices Act.
The church of St Edward the Confessor, erected in 1850 on the site of the old
parish church, is a handsome building of Kentish rag with Bath stone dressings
in the Later Decorated style and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, with chapels
and an embattled tower with spire 162 feet in height, tower on the south,
containing a clock and 8 bells dated respectively 1850, 1756, 1704, 1651 and
three others 1636, one being undated: the fine east window was given by Col
Graves in memory of his wife: there is also a stained window in the south aisle
to the memory of Edward Ind esq: in the north aisle of the church is a stately
monument, with alabaster effigies, of himself and his lady in kneeling attitudes
to Sir Anthony Cooke (preceptor to King Edward VI); he died June 11, 1576: the
Latin inscription on his monument enumerating the various members of his family
is supposed to have been furnished by his daughters, who were among the learned
females of that age: against the south wall of the chancel formerly stood the
fine monument, now in the porch, of Sir George Harvey of Marks; he had
previously been sheriff of Essex, 38 Eliz and was at the time of his death, 10th
August 1605, lieutenant of the Tower of London, where he died: but was buried
here on the south side of the chancel with heraldic honours: there is a long
inscription in gilt letters on a slab of black marble, to himself, his wife and
various members of his family: also in the porch, but previously on the south
wall of the porch, immediately wet of the Harvey monument, is the stately tomb,
with her recumbent effigy of Anne Carew, raised by her famous son, George, Lord
Carew and eventually Earl of Tones; she was the daughter of Sire Nicholas
Hervey, Knt, and sister of Sir George Hervey and married George, third son of
Sire Edmond Carew; he died 15th of June, 1583 and his wife, 27th
August, 1605, at 76: the church will seat 1,102 persons. The register dates from
the year 1561 and is in very good condition. The living is a vicarage, yearly
value £700, in the gift of
New
College,
Oxford,
and held by the Rev William Maunder, MA, of
Wadham
College,
Oxford
and hon canon of Durham Cathedral and surrogate. St Andrew is an ecclesiastical
parish fromed in 1863 from the mother parish; the church, erected in 1863 is a
plain building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave,
south aisle and porch, with a belfry, rising from the west end, surmounted by a
spire and containing 1 bell: there is also one stained window in the chancel.
The register dates from the year 1863. The living is a rectory, yearly value
£300, in the gift of New
College,
Oxford,
and held by the Rev William James Skilton, MA, of
Corpus Christi
College,
Cambridge
and surrogate. The Congregational church in
South Street
opened on
July 19th, 1877, is a Gothic
structure of Kentish rag stone, with tower and spire, 60 feet in height and was
built at a cost; including site, of about £5,000: there are 470 sittings. The
old Congregational church is closed. The Baptist chapel was erected in 1847; a
Wesleyan chapel in 1827; a Catholic chapel dedicated to St Edward the Confessor
in 1853 and a Primitive Methodist chapel in 1875: each of these chapels has a
Sunday school attached to it. The old cemetery is near the market place. A new
cemetery, situate on the
Dagenham Road, about one
mile from the town, was opened in October, 1871: it contains 5 ½ acres of
enclosed and 3 ¼ of unenclosed ground, two mortuary chapels and a porter’s
lodge. Charities: Roger Reed of Haverin, by will dates 14th February,
1482, left his “new built place in Jay’s Mead, otherwise called Hoo Croft”, for
five poor men: there are now six almshouses for men and two for widows: one
almsman who keeps the accounts and preserves order, called “the ruler”, receives
£35 per annum, the other men £26, the widows £20: all being supplied with
clothes, coals and medical aid: clothes are distributed from the surplus to the
poor of Romford, Hornchurch and Dagenham. Robert Ballard in 1660 devised two
houses in Romford to the churchwardens for the repair of the highways: these
were let on lease in 1824 to Mr W Hunter for about 21 years, at a rent of £20
per annum, the lesser covenanting to rebuild and keep them in repair. William
Armstead, of Hornchurch, gave to the poor of Romford £2, arising from a farm at
Hay Green, and distributed in bread and money and Andrew Reynolds, by will dated
October 7th, 1626,
£3 also as a rent charge. Lewis Botts, by will dated 18th January, 1669,
left 20s to repair a causeway leading to the church, £4 for apprenticing and £20
to the poor on New Years Day. Hannah Richardson left in 1811, £3 13s 6d from
navy annuities for the poor of Romford, who also have half the rent of Webster’s
Tile Kiln, in Harold Wood ward. Lady Burleigh’s charity, originally £120, is now
only £100. Here are a branch of the
London and
County Bank and a Mechanics’ Institute: also gas works. Here are also the
extensive brewing establishment of Messrs Ind, Cooper and Co. The market for
cattle and corn, one of the largest around Lonson, is held every Wednesday. A
fair is held on June 24th. Here are the headquarters of the A and B
sompanies of the 1st Essex Rifle Volunteers, the A company commanded
by Captain Grimston Abel Smith and the B compant by Capt Hy W Smith. There are
almshouses, founded by Roger Reeds in 1784, for ten persons and several other
charities. Francis Quarles, the celebrated author
of the “Book of Emblems”, was born in 1592 in the
old manor house, called Stewards, which manor became the property of that family
in 1588; he was educated at Cambridge and became cup bearer to the Queen of
Bohemia and afterwards secretary to Archbishop Usher, whom he accompanied to
Ireland: this resolute adherence to the royal cause during the civil war
occasioned him much loss, both of the property, books and MSS, and is thought to
have hastened his death, which took place in 1644. Gidea Hall, half a mile east
of Romford, is the residence of J Ramsey esq and Charles William Johnson esq:
Marshalls,
on the north of the town, is the property of Mrs MacIntosh and is at present
occupied by Ralph G Price esq JP. Priests, the seat of Thomas mashiter esq, is
on the havering Road, 1 mile north. Market gardening, grazing, and agriculture
form the chief occupations of the people. The parish contains about 9,713 acres;
rateable value £44,115; the population of the parish in 1871 was 8,239 and in
1881, 9,173; and of the Local Board District in 1881, 6,861.
Collier Row, 2 miles north west; Hare
Street, 1 mile north east; Noak Hill, 4 miles north east, and Prospect Place, 1
mile north, and Prospect Place, 1 mile north, are hamlets in the parish of
Romford. At Noak Hill hamlet, 4 miles north east, is a chapel of ease to
Romford, served by one clergy from the parish church; there is also a National
school.
Parish clerk, Chas Bamford, Stanley
Lodge, Eastern Road
Official Establishments, Local
Institutions etc
Post & Money Order & Telegraph Office,
Savings Bank & Government Annuity & Insurance Office, South Street – Henry
Betts, postmaster. Arrivals: - from
London, 3.30
& 8 am
& 2 & 6.15 pm; Grays, 7
pm; Horndon on the Hill, 6.50 pm
& Abridge 7.50 pm.
Dispatches :- To London,
3.20, 9 & 11.30 am
& 3.20, 4.30 & 8.30 pm
Letter box closes at 10
pm.
Town
Pillar Boxes cleared at 8.25 &
11.15 am & 4.5 & 8.20
pm. Letters delivered in Romford at 7.30 & 9.30 am & 2.30
& 6 pm.
Local Board.
Office,
Market street
Board day first Monday in every month
Clerk, Alfred Henry Hunt,
South Street
Medical Officer, Alfred Wright,
South Street
Inspector of Nuisances & surveyor, Jph
Turvey, Market Place
Collector, Albert Harvey, High Street
part 2 of the 1882 Romford Kelly
Directory
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