History of Ashen

St. Augustine of Canterbury church, Ashen
©Robert Edwards
Photograph by kind permission of Robert Edwards,
contributor to the Geograph Project

History of Ashen >> White's Directory 1848

White's Directory of Essex 1848

ASHEN, a small village on the bold acclivity on the south side of the river Stour, 2½ miles South West of Clare, has in its parish 321 souls and 1452 acres of fertile land. John P. Elwes, Esq., is lord of the manor and owner of Launds and Claret Hall; but Ashen House estate belongs to John Sperling, Esq., of Dynes Hall, near Halstead; and the estate of Ashen Hall is the property of King Viall, Esq.

The Church is an ancient tiled building, with a tower and three bells, and contains several monuments belonging to the Piper, Tallakarne, and other families. The rectory, valued in K.B. at £8, and in 1831 at £304, is in the patronage of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and incumbency of the Rev. E. Squire, M.A., who has 17A. of glebe, and a good residence, built in 1836. The tithes were commuted in 1838 for £390 per annum.

A yearly rent charge of 32s. is paid out of Stoke College estate, to 32 of the oldest married couples of this parish, but the donor is unknown.