Welcome to this website about the community of Chrishall in Essex.
Chrishall is a small village on a hilltop in the very north west of Essex, close to the borders of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, in the East of England. This website is particularly aimed at the local community and the genealogist who perhaps has never visited Chrishall and wishes to visualise the kind of community whence his or her ancestor came. It is run by…
“I stumbled accidentally across some aspects of its history, and began to learn and think more about it, but then – as I studied the records – people began to rise up out of them. Where before I had seen only names on lists, individual characters began to shake their shoulders and stand up. It was as though these dead were being awakened, resurrected. They seemed close, as though they had something to say.”
(quote from In a Country Churchyard by Ronald Fletcher. Although this quote refers to Westleton in Suffolk, we hope you come to feel the same about Chrishall charcters and history.)
We would love some "HELP!"
There are so many interesting projects and stories that we would like to explore and bring to life here on the website and in local newsletter articles and events – but there is only so much time available in the day! “Many hands make light work” as they say. We are a friendly, informal group and would love to have you along with us. If you are interested in Chrishall history and have even just a tiny bit of spare time occasionally do get in touch.
Recent updates to existing content:
- April 2021: Added some new researchers’ resources. So many great databases now coming on line – that include Chrishall records! – so get searching!
- March 2021: Found the name of the baker in the photograph and updates to road names.
- February 2021: update to the projects page. Board with lockdown? See if you could help with any of our projects.
And the village was burned
Is this the source of an intriguing and persistent folklore tale? Since I was very small, I have been brought up with the story that the old village of Chrishall was in the fields in front of the church going down towards the main Saffron Walden to Royston Road (known...
Wenden Lofts Mill
Wenden Lofts’ Mill “Miss Nellie Smith who lived at Hamlet House, Pond Street, is shown on the photograph as a young girl on the steps of the Mill. Her family lived at Hope Farm and farmed the land round about. The Mill was taken down very soon after the First World...
Chrishall Windmill
For nearly two hundred years Chrishall had it’s own windmill. It stood next to Mill House on Mill Causeway and was a post mill, probably very similar to Chishill Mill. The mill was made of wood and could be turned around a main central post so that the sails were into...
Mary Tins – a request for help with research
Chrishall Archive has received the following request for help with a research project. I must admit I know very little about 'Mary Tins' so if anyone does have one, or knows any more about them, it would be lovely to know. Please reply to Martin in the first instance....
Alfred Brand and the bees
Alfred Brand lived at Peacock Cottage in Crawley End Chrishall. We don't know where the above photograph was taken - whether it was in Peacock Cottage garden or at an allotment. At the time Alfred Brand lived there, there would have been allotments just over the road...
A period of unrest leads to road improvements!
1830 Wheat 64s 3d per quarter. A changeable summer. Accounts of the harvest vary, some recording a good harvest and some estimating it as less than average. Blizzards in mid-January and severe frosts in February, March was fine, warm and excellent for sowing. July was...