Step into the Enchanting History of Chrishall in North West Essex
Welcome to Chrishall, a village steeped in history that stretches back to before the Domesday Book was penned. This website serves as your gateway to the rich tapestry of tales and traditions that define our community and its extraordinary inhabitants. Beyond the digital realm, we invite you to explore our delightful Archive, where we curate captivating displays that bring our history to life. Don’t miss out—subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on our events and ongoing research.
Discover What’s On
Join us at our Archive during the summer months, where we open our doors from 2 to 5 PM. Indulge in delicious refreshments as you immerse yourself in our current exhibition, which showcases the fascinating journey of the village hall and its roots as a Methodist Chapel. There are no more planned openings for 2025 but do get in touch if you would like to arrange a private visit – or keep an eye out for new dates for 2026.
Available now!
Available now!The history of Chrishall Village Hall and its background as a Primitive Methodist Chapel. This little booklet may be small but contains a wealth of information and stories about how methodism first came to Chrishall and was so embraced by the community that they contributed every penny they had, practically, to make sure they had their own building to worship in.
Copies are available at the Archive but can be posted out. Please use the contact form on this page to request copies and quote for postage.
Village walks to download
Discover the hidden gems of Chrishall with our curated walking routes. Each path tells a story of our rich history and stunning landscapes. Download our guides and embark on an adventure that connects you with the heart of our community.
Articles to read
Crawley End Gallery
The Dove Brooch
(Image above: www.finds.org.uk) A brooch has been found near to Chrishall and it’s story raises some fascinating questions about the origins of the village. I was reminded about this little silver brooch when the Archive attended the recent 12th Century Live event at...
Cheeky card with a lovely address
Chrishall being so close to several county borders has always caused some confusion with it's location. Although we are definitely in Essex, our postal address has always been 'Royston, Herts'. And when postcodes came in, we came under Stevenage with SG postcodes....
A follow up to the Tinworth Story
In August 2017 the BBC Who Do You Think You Are programme included a connection to the Tinworth family who were mining for gold in Australia. Knowing that we had Tinworths in the village, I looked up the connection and found that indeed Charles Tinworth who went to...
Chapel Flower Festival
A reminder that the lovely space we now enjoy as our village hall has always been a community building. I don't have a date for this newspaper report but I guess it was perhaps the 1970s or 1980s? Does anyone know? Pictured above Mr Bob Clarke in the chapel. Village...
Farming in 1864
October 1864 and Samuel Jonas down at Chrishall Grange has had a trying year on the farm. This is his report he sent in to the Agricultural Gazette and published in the Chelmsford Chronicle on the 7th October 1864. The crops about Saffron Walden - Mr Samuel Jonas, of...
Parish Magazine December 1898
This is the start of our Christmas Articles published for 2018 and I thought it might be appropriate to start with a little light reading. So below is the Parish magazine for December 1898. This magazine covered the Chesterfords, Great Chishill, Chrishall, Debden,...
Christmas Articles 2018
As you may know from the last newsletter - (sign up for your copy here if you currently miss out!) - I was hoping to do an advent calendar on the website again this year but other things have got in the way and I have not had time to put all the articles together. So...
Chrishall Remembers World War 1
Thank you to everyone who supported the events to commemorate World War 1 that we held at the Archive in November. Thank you to our many visitors, people who loaned items for the display, gave us items for the Archive, came to the talk and supported us by email even...
Updates to existing content:
- June 2025
- April 2025
- Additional material and photo of Mrs Guiver added to the page about Kemps
- Additional material about Nash’s Farmhouse
- Name research on the Hearth Tax details and addition of 1670 return
- January 2025
- Update to the Links page
- January 2024:
- Update to the details of Rev Leachman on the Vicars of Chrishall page
- March 2022:
- October 2022
-
- Update to the War Memorial page to include names of local special constables
