St Nicholas. Rawreth. Wickford. Essex. SS11 8SH.

Описание: ** wickfordhistory.org.uk/content/churches/st-nicholas-rawreth **

It is not known for sure when a church was first established at Rawreth or how it came to be. During the thirteenth century some of the land there was held by the Wix Nunnery which was situated just south of the River Stour between Colchester and Harwich. The nunnery was established around 1130 during the reign of Henry I. The land the Wix Nunnery held at Rawreth, or at least part of it, was granted by Robert, son of Robert de Trindheye, and by Nicholas, son of Thomas de Ragerays. At the end of the thirteenth century during the eighth year of the reign of Edward I (1279-1280), Isabel Braham, the then Prioress of Wix, granted land at Rawreth to Gilbert Koleman of Rayleigh. However, I have not found any evidence to suggest that Wix Nunnery, or its associated Priory, were involved in the founding of a church at Rawreth.

Richard Newcourt states that the church at Rawreth was in the Gift of the Priory and Convent of Prittlewell and that it remained so until the Suppresion. He lists the first five rectors as serving during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). The first rector on his list is Johannus de Thornhill, who it is stated in his notes had by license (1348) an arrangement to be exchanged with William de Sutton for Abbotsbury in the Diocese of Sarum. Thus William de Sutton succeeded Thornhill. Unfortunately the exact date of Thornhill’s appointment is not known. However, at the beginning of his involvement with the French wars in 1337 Edward III confiscated all the goods and possessions of those places associated with the Cluniac order of which Prittlewell Priory was one. Thus Edward III became patron. It is therefore reasonable to conclude Newcourt’s list begins in 1337. This implies Johannus de Thornhill, or at least Rawreth Church, was with Prittlewell Priory before that date. King Edward’s involvement in the French wars ceased in 1361 and goods and properties were once more mainly under the control of the Cluniac order. This is supported by John Wade being appointed to Rawreth by Prittlewell Priory in 1361 as is shown in Newcourt’s list:

Joh de Thornhill Edw III
Will de Sutton Edw III
Ric de Groundesburgh Edw III
Will Man Edw III
Rog de Bromley Edw III
Joh Wade 1361 Pri & Con Pritt

However, documents held at the National Archives mention a Richard de Standford as being a rector at Rawreth and his tenure, whenever that was exactly, predates Thornhill. It is therefore likely the church at Rawreth was in existence during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) and was probably established sometime during that period.


The church tower, which stands today, is the one Bishop Andrews would have seen for it was erected in the fifteenth century, probably around 1450, as so many were. The church itself was rebuilt in 1823 at a cost of around £400 when John Calcutta White was rector. White was born at Colchester at the end of 1790 and he was appointed rector at Rawreth in 1821, replacing the deceased Reverend Dr John Willgress, who was also Reader at the Temple Church. He died at Eltham, Kent in his 81st year and was the son of John Willgress of Framlingham, Suffolk. White married, firstly, Sarah Pyne, the eldest daughter of Thomas Pyne of Boyce Hall, Benfleet. They were married at South Benfleet on 10 May 1825. She died in 1848 at the age of 48 during the same year the Reverend White qualified as a Magistrate at Chelmsford. A few years earlier, in 1842, White caused much controversy when he refused to bury the 4 month old child of a poor man because the infant had not been baptized and the parents were not Episcopalians. However, the proprietor of the copyhold estate on which stands the Congregational Chapel at Battlesbridge heard about the matter and arranged for the deceased to be buried on the small section of land fronting the chapel. The service was performed by Edward F. Bodley of Rochford.
Author
David C Rayment
Page added:
15/04/2022