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Witham in Essex County England History and GeographyWITHAM, a market town and parish in the hundred of WITHAM, county of ESSEX, 8 miles (N.E. by E.) from Chelmsford, and 37 (N.E. by E.) from London, containing 2578 inhabitants. The original erection of this town, or at least that part of it which is situated on Cheping Hill, is attributed to Edward the Elder, about the commencement of his reign, and was subsequently in the possession of the Knights Templars, who had a preceptory at Cressing, about three miles distant. Some consider this to have been the Roman station Canonium of Antoninus, which opinion receives confirmation from the quantity of Roman bricks worked up in the body and tower of the church, and from Roman coins of different Emperors, which have been discovered in levelling the fortifications. There are some remains of a circular camp, defended by a double vallum, yet visible in the vicinity of the town. A mansion here, formerly the property of the Earl of Abercorn, has been repeatedly honoured by the presence of royalty; George II. rested at it in his progress to and from his Hanoverian dominions, and Queen Charlotte, consort of George III., was received here on her first arrival in England. The town, which is pleasantly situated near the confluence of a small stream, called the Braine, with the river Blackwater, on the main road from London to Colchester, is of respectable appearance, and consists principally of one long street; it is partly lighted and paved, and amply supplied with water from wells. There are no branches of manufacture; the principal trade is what arises from its situation on a great public thoroughfare, and the requisite supply of the inhabitants. The market, granted by Richard I., and kept originally at Cheping Hill, from which it was removed by Richard II., is on Tuesday; and fairs are held on the Monday before Whit-Sunday, June 4th, and September 14th. The county magistrates hold here petty sessions for the division, every Tuesday; and manorial courts are held, as occasion requires, at which constables and other officers are appointed. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Colchester, and diocese of London, rated in the king's books at £22. 0. 7½., and in the patronage of the Bishop of London. The church, which is situated at Cheping Hill, about half a mile north of the town, is dedicated to St. Nicholas: it is a neat edifice in the later style of English architecture, and contains many ancient monuments, and a large tomb, erected in the reign of Elizabeth, to the memory of Judge Southcote and his lady, by whose effigies it is surmounted. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Roman Catholics. A National school, for eighty-two boys and fifty-five girls, is supported partly by the rent of a house, conditionally bequeathed, in 1630, by Dame Catherine Barnardiston, and partly by voluntary contributions. Two almshouses on Cheping Hill, for four poor widows, were endowed by Thomas Green, Esq., in 1491, with a farm in Springfield, let for upwards of £50 a year; the inmates have an allowance of money and fuel: this bequest having been lost for eighty years, it was recovered in Chancery, chiefly through the care and exertions of Dr. Warley, vicar of the parish. An almshouse for two poor widows was founded, in the reign of Charles I., by means of a bequest from George Armond, Esq. At Cheping Hill are two tenements, with a weekly allowance, for two poor widows, arising from a bequest of £35 per annum by Mr. Green; six others by Matthew Harvey, Esq., for six poor persons chosen by the pastor and deacons of the Independent chapel; and five, by an unknown donor, for ten poor widows, endowed in 1687 with a farm at Goldhanger, and another at Fairstead; the income is about £67 per annum. Dr. Warley, amongst other benefactions, in 1719, bequeathed £100 in aid of an orthodox school for poor children, to be elected by the minister and churchwardens for the time being. There is a mineral spring in the neighbourhood, which was formerly in great repute. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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