Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911
Birth, Death and Marriage Registration
The London Gazette
Newspaper archives
Trade Directories
History of Great Wakering
Great Wakering, High Street c1950
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
Welcome to the home page for the History of Great Wakering and its inhabitants.
Below you find links to a range of sources transcribed by History House. Further below under 'more local history sources' you will find to links to other places on the web where you can continue your research.
For other locations in Essex see our alphabetical list of Essex towns and villages.
Poll of Voters 1826
Great Wakering inhabitants who voted in the 1826 general election held in the Borough of Maldon.
White's Directory of Essex 1848
WAKERING (GREAT) is a large village, pleasantly situated on rising ground above the marshes. One mile from >>more.
White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.
White's Directory of Essex 1863
White's Directory of Essex 1863 - list of inhabitants.
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 - list of inhabitants.
Great Wakering Criminal Cases
Court cases involving Great Wakering residents - ongoing project >>more.
Education in Great Wakering
Reports and returns on schools and education in Great Wakering.
Images and Maps
Images and maps of Great Wakering by Francis Frith.
Great Wakering Poor
Under the Poor Law of 1834, Great Wakering became part of the Rochford Union. See our article on researching your workhouse and pauper ancestors.
My Great Wakering Ancestors
Are your ancestors from Great Wakering? Why not tell us their story: My Ancestors.
More local history sources
Discover how to explore newspaper archives. With millions of pages now online, there is always the possibility of finding articles featuring your ancestors.
Ebay is now a great source for old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these. Link already formatted for Essex. Browse through or type the name of the location in the Ebay search box. >>
Also on Ebay are legal documents on vellum. This link is formatted for Essex. (Sometimes I think these should be in an archive.) >>
Books featuring Great Wakering from Abebooks. Just click the logo. The search terms are already formatted for Great Wakering.
Search for Great Wakering census returns at ancestry.co.uk.
1841 England Census | 1851 England Census
| 1861 England Census
1871 England Census | 1881 England Census
| 1891 England Census
1901 England Census |
1911 England Census
The Essex Record Office 'ERO' is an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of SEAX and many of the parish registers are now available online. Access to both via the ERO's homepage.
If you are unable to travel to the ERO, we provide a professional archival research service.
Report on the landscape history of this parish and surrounding parishes: Stonebridge: An Initial Assessment of its Historic Landscape Character - (pdf)
Friends of St Nicholas' Church with its history and photographs.
Personal web site with old photographs of Great Wakering.
Personal web site on the history of Great Wakering and old photographs of the village.
1881 Ordnance Survey Map from the British History Online web site (Essex: 079, Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1.0).
Ordnance Survey - type the place name in the gazetteer search box to view detailed map of Great Wakering.
Heritage Gateway. Database of national and local records of England's historic sites and buildings. Includes records and photographs of all listed buildings, and historical and archaeological information on locations throughout England.