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History of Shenfield

Shenfield, Shenfield Road c1955
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History of Shenfield >> White's Directory 1848

White's Directory of Essex 1848

Shenfield
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SHENFIELD is a neat and pleasant village on the Chelmsford road, extending more than a mile eastward from Brentwood, of which town it may be considered a suburb. Its parish contains 983 inhabitants and 2397 acres of land, and within its limits is Brentwood Railway Station. The soil is generally a fertile loam, and the surface picturesquely undulated. At the Domesday Survey, the parish belonged to Eustace, Earl of Boulogne. The manor of Shenfield Hall, (a fine old mansion) has been successively held by the Bohun, Woodstock, Stafford, Tyrell, and Lucas families, and now belongs to Earl de Grey. John Lucas, Esq., was created Baron Lucas, of Shenfield, in 1640, but the title became extinct in 1705. The estate, called Fitzwalters, anciently belonged to a family of its own name, but is now the property of R.W. Hall Dare, Esq. Middleton Hall is the seat of Joseph Tasker, Esq., and Shenfield Place is the seat of Colonel Cooch. Part of the parish belongs to smaller owners, and, here are several neat residences, and three ladies' boarding schools.

St. Mary's Church, Shenfield
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The Church (Virgin Mary,) is an antique structure, consisting of a nave and north aisle, a chancel and north chapel, and a tower crowned by a lofty wooden spire. The rectory, valued in K.B. at £14.8s.4d., and in 1831 at £613, is in the patronage of Earl de Grey, and incumbency of the Rev. C.I. Yorke, who has a good residence and 74 acres of glebe. The tithes were commuted in 1838. The poor parishioners have the dividends of £1OO three per cent. Reduced Annuities, purchased with £50, left by Eliz. Holmes in 1764, and £35, left Joseph Babb in 1789.