Abbess Roding is a village and former civil parish that is located in the west of the county of Essex, 5 miles (8 km) north from Chipping Ongar, and 9 miles (14 km) west from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is one of the hamlets and villages called The Rodings. In 1891 the parish had a population of 240, but by 1931 it had decreased to 169.[1][2]
History
According to A Dictionary of British Place Names, Roding derives from "Rodinges", as is listed in the Domesday Book and recorded earlier as such at c.1050, with the later variation 'Roinges Abbatisse' recorded in 1237. The 'Abbess' refers to the manorial possession by a man called 'Aitrop' held under the ownership of the Abbess of Barking Abbey.[3][4]
In the Domesday account Abbess Roding is listed as in the Hundred of Ongar. The manor held 18 households, seven villagers, two smallholders, five slaves, and one freeman, with 2 lord's plough teams, 3.5 men's plough teams, 20 acres (8 ha) of meadow, and a woodland with 20 pigs.[5] In 1066 there were 10 cattle, 40 pigs, 100 sheep and a cob. In 1086 there were 14 cattle, 60 pigs, 131 sheep, and three cobs. Before the Conquest, lordship was held by Wulfmer of Eaton Socon; after given to Eudo Dapifer who was also Tenant-in-chief to William the Conqueror.[5] A further source, the Domesday Book: A Complete Translation, gives a Domesday record of Abbess Roding being held by Geoffrey Martel as part of the land of Geoffrey de Mandeville.[6] Other traditional names for the village and its previous parish were 'Abbott's Roothing' or 'Abbots Roding'. It was in the Hundred of Ongar. At the Dissolution, Henry VIII sold the Barking Abbey's estate to Robert Chertsey.[7]
Ordnance Survey map 1805 showing 'Abbots Roding'
The parish is recorded as having two windmills during its history. The first was a sunk post mill, and was located in the manor of Barwick Bernes, but in the farming records of 1382 the mill was reported to have been broken.[8] A second later windmill, a Post mill was built upon top of a small mound, quarter of a mile north of the church.[8] In 1578, Elizabeth I visited Rookwood Hall as a guest of the then owner Wistan Browne.[8] A nonconformist congregation started in a barn at Rookwood Hall during 1698, and a permanent chapel was built in 1730.[9]
In 1845, authorisation from parliament was sought to build the Dunstable, London and Birmingham railway, which would have run from Leighton Buzzard to Maldon running through the Rodings, but authorisation was only granted to connect Dunstable to the line at Leighton Buzzard (8 & 9 Vict. c. xxxvii).[10] In 1882 Abbess Roding was in the Ongar Union—poor relief provision set up under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 —and part of the Rural Deanery of Ongar. The registers of the church of St Edmund date to 1560. The church, restored in 1867, had attached an 1882 benefice of a rectory with residence, in the gift of and held by Rev. Lawrence Capel Cure of Balliol College, Oxford. Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt was Lord of the Manor and principal landowner. There was 1,393 acres (5.6 km2) of parish land supporting a population of 237. Crops grown at the time were chiefly wheat, barley and beans, on a heavy soil with a clay subsoil. Parish occupations included seven farmers, a beer retailer, and the licensee of The Anchor public house.[7]
During World War I, non-conformists were sent to an interment camp as conscientious objectors. The camp had been set up at the Old Rectory, and was linked to the Chipping Ongar Agricultural Depot.[11][12][13] During World War II, the lane leading from Abbess Roding to the Matching to Peartree Green road was closed to allow for the construction of RAF Matching within the parish boundary.[14]
Former control tower at RAF Matching
On 1 April 1946 the parish was abolished to form the new parish of "Abbess Beauchamp and Berners Roding".[15][16]
Geology
The soil is made up Glacial Sand and Gravel, Head Gravel and Alluvium on the London Clay formation, which bore holes opposite St. Edmunds church recorded the depth at 37.5m.[17][18][19] Further studies have shown that a fragment of the former floor of the Thames Estuary was found 145 feet below the village.[20] The Rodings area is regarded as the second best ploughing country, second only to the Holderness in Yorkshire.[21]
The population of the parish was recorded from the first census in the United Kingdom in 1801, until the final census in 1951, which was after the parish was dissolved.[8]
Census
Population
1801
205
1811
215
1821
236
1831
234
1841
254
1851
216
1861
220
1871
259
1881
231
1891
240
1901
213
1911
206
1921
175
1931
169
1951
228
Occupations
Over the censuses between 1841 and 1951, the records show the parish residents working in the following occupations:[8]
Occupation
1841
1901
1951
Professions
1
4
7
Farmers
5
7
8
Agricultural workers
51
34
30
Private domestic servants
16
14
4
Carpenters / Carpenter's Journeymen
-
-
2
Cooper
1
-
-
Grocer
1
-
-
Shoemaker and assistants
1
-
-
Bricklayers and assistants
-
-
1
Baker
-
1
-
Hamlets
Abbess End
Abbess End is a hamlet close to the southern end of Abbess Roding, and north of the former site of the moated country house Rookwood Hall,[24][25] in the county of Essex, England.[26]
Horsecroft at Abbess End
Berwick Bernes
Berwick Bernes, also known as Barwick Bernes, was a hamlet in the parish of Abbess Roding.[27][28] It was formerly one of the manors of the parish, along with Rockwood Hall, and owned by the Berners family who also owned the manor at Berners Roding.[29][8] It is now regarded as part of the village of Abbess Roding.[30]
Pond at Berwick Bernes Hall, which may have been part of a moat
Nether Street
The hamlet of Nether Street probably gained its name as being the home of Sir Walter de Netherstrete.[31] The hamlet is now regarded as part of the village.[32]
Buildings, structures and attractions
St. Edmund's Church
The village has several properties that are listed on the National Heritage List for England. An area around St. Edmund church is a local designated conservation area.[33][34]
The village's church, St Edmunds is Grade II listed. The building is of 14th, 15th and 19th century construction, however the font is earlier being dated from the 12th century. The font is square in shape, but is cracked and is held together by an iron band.[35][36] Evidence of a Roman road has been found near both Rockwood Hall and Berwick Berners Hall, and is recorded as the 4th widest Roman road found within the United Kingdom. It is believed to be part of the Suffolk Way.[37]
