CHURCH.
The church, which was granted to
Little Horkesley priory at its foundation c. 1127,
was both conventual and parochial until the
Dissolution. (fn. 46) It was presumably the former
priory ownership which led Edward Husbands,
patron and impropriator, to claim in 1705-6 and
in 1727 that the church was free from episcopal
and archidiaconal visitations. (fn. 47)
The lord of Little Horkesley Hall was in 1332
said to hold the advowson of the priory, (fn. 48) and
the cure may have been served by the monks.
After the dissolution of the priory in 1525 the
advowson of a perpetual curacy apparently
descended with Little Horkesley Hall. (fn. 49) In 1917
the manor and advowson were purchased by
W. F. Dick who held it until 1927. By 1928 it
had passed to A. E. Macandrew and two other
trustees of a private trust who held it until 1960.
The surviving trustee W. W. Otter-Barry (d.
1973) was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth
de Havilland (d. 1976). On the death of her husband Maj. Gen. P. H. de Havilland in 1990, the
advowson passed to Mrs Felicity Reynolds (d.
1996). (fn. 50)
The priory's chaplain received £6 13s. 4d. in
1525, and the later impropriators apparently
provided funds from the tithes for the maintenance of a curate or vicar. A parish priest was
recorded in 1550. (fn. 51)
The curacy was said in 1650 to be worth £20,
probably paid out of the rectory by the impropriator. (fn. 52) In 1717 the curate received £34 a year
from the rectory. (fn. 53) An estate in South Hanningfield was purchased in 1720 with £200 from
Edward Husbands and £200 from Queen
Anne's Bounty. James Husbands's attempt to
endow the living with the small tithes failed. (fn. 54)
The curacy was valued at £69 in 1831, rising to
£80 by 1874. (fn. 55) In 1883 the benefice was
endowed with £13 6s. 8d. out of the Common
Fund. (fn. 56)
There was no ancient vicarage house. From
1874 to 1897 the curate or vicar lived at The
Grove, Tog Lane, Great Horkesley. In the
period 1897-1934 the vicars were also rectors
of Great Horkesley and lived in the rectory
house there. Fishponds, London Road, Great
Horkesley, served as the vicarage from c. 1934
until 1986. (fn. 57)
In 1517 Sir William Findern left all the books
and vestments in the vestry to the church and
made bequests to the high altar and the altars of
St. Mary, St. Catherine, and the Trinity. (fn. 58) The
priest paid 2s. rent to Little Horkesley Hall
manor for obit lands c. 1530 and there were
church, presumably obit, cows in the 1540s. (fn. 59)
In 1546 the Crown confiscated lands left for
other obits and that left for the maintenance of
a rood light by John Falcon (fl. late 15th century), founder of a chantry chapel in Great
Horkesley. (fn. 60) In 1552 the churchwardens had
20s. from the stock of an otherwise unrecorded
parish guild, and two sales of church goods
raised over £8, most of which was spent on
church repairs. (fn. 61)
Thomas Newcomen, unpopular Laudian
rector of Holy Trinity, Colchester, was curate
in the 1620s. (fn. 62) In 1634 the royalist William
Lynne of Westwood Park complained of sectarian preaching and accused William Ball of
the Priory of intending to enlarge his grounds
with part of Little Horkesley churchyard. (fn. 63) In
1636 the curate appeared before the Court of
High Commission, presumably for his puritan
beliefs. (fn. 64) Although no minister was reported in
1650, and the patron Sir John Denham was
described as a delinquent, it was later said
that Denham's bailiff appointed a curate
c. 1645-53. (fn. 65)
Azariah Husbands, and his widow Elizabeth,
provided a curate until c. 1676. Their son
Edward refused to appoint one and in 1679-80
the bishop granted a sequestration of the tithes
to the leading inhabitants, who appointed a
curate. In 1683 six inhabitants refused to pay
tithes to Husbands unless he provided a minister, but they lost their case probably because
Husbands appointed one. (fn. 66) In 1697 the curate
sued the lessee of the Priory for non-payment
of tithe. (fn. 67)
In 1684 the church needed a new bible and
books of homilies and canons. They had been
provided by 1687 when a total of £108 2s. 8d.
was spent on church fittings and substantial
repairs. (fn. 68) The parish vestry only agreed as late
as 1713 to rail in the communion table. (fn. 69) In 1723
a neighbouring clergyman served as curate,
holding one service on Sundays and communion
six times a year. (fn. 70)
James Husbands, impropriator and patron
from 1736, served the church in 1738. He was
also rector of Ashdon (1729-30) and Fordham
(1743-9) and he probably set up the parish
library recorded in 1718. (fn. 71) In 1738 he usually
held services twice on Sundays, and communion
at least five times a year. (fn. 72) Between 1778 and
1818 William Barry, vicar of Wiston (Suff.),
served the church for the absentee curate, holding one service on Sundays and communion four
times a year. (fn. 73) Church attendance on census
Sunday 1851 was 52 in the morning and 100 in
the afternoon. (fn. 74) In 1866 there were two services
on Sundays and communion once every six
weeks. (fn. 75) The living was held in plurality with
Great Horkesley 1893-1934, but the parish had
its own incumbent from 1934 until 1986. From
that date it has been served by the incumbent
of Wormingford. (fn. 76)
The medieval church, dedicated to ST.
PETER c. 1127, and to SS. PETER and PAUL c. 1190, was struck by a landmine in 1940 and
completely destroyed. (fn. 77) It comprised an undifferentiated nave and chancel with north and
south chapels, a south aisle that extended alongside a west tower, and a south porch. That
church was probably the nave of the medieval
priory church whose monastic chancel lay to the
east. The north wall of the nave was probably
12th-century, the tower mid 14th-century, and
the south aisle and chapel 15th-century. The
porch, which was largely rebuilt in the 18th
century, and the north chapel, which was rebuilt
when the church was restored in the 19th century, were added in the 16th century. The north
chapel may have been the Trinity chapel built
by Sir William Findern before 1515. After the
priory's dissolution the chancel of the priory
church was demolished, the chancel arch
blocked, and a new chancel formed from the
eastern two bays of the nave. (fn. 78) Among the furnishings destroyed in 1940 was a 15th-century
screen between the south chapel and the south
aisle, a 17th-century ironwork screen in the
north chapel, a lectern made from 15th-century
tracery, and a table of c. 1600. (fn. 79) A 16th-century
oak chest survived the bomb damage, as did the
15th-century font. (fn. 80)
The new church was built in 1958 from
designs by Duncan Clark and Marshall Sisson.
It has a chancel, a nave with north transept,
south aisle and south porch, and a west tower.
Apart from the porch, which is of exposed brick,
the walls are rendered. (fn. 81)
In 1552 there were four bells. (fn. 82) At least one
was 15th-century, two were replaced in the
17th-century, and only three were recorded in
the 18th century possibly because one was
already cracked and useless. Another bell was
added in 1878. All five remained in 1909. (fn. 83) All
the bells were broken in 1940. (fn. 84) One 16th-
century and four 17th-century bells were transferred to the new church from All Saints'
church, Colchester, in 1958. (fn. 85)
There was a silver chalice in 1552, (fn. 86) and a
silver chalice and paten in 1684 and 1687. (fn. 87) The
chalice was replaced, probably by Edward
Husbands, for in 1997 there was a silver chalice,
paten, and flagon, all inscribed 'Little Horkesley
in Essex 1705' and a second paten of 1685. (fn. 88)
Three wooden effigies survive, probably commemorating Robert Horkesley (d. 1295) and
William Horkesley and his wife Emma (both d.
1332). (fn. 89) The surviving brass of Bridget Marney
(d. 1549) and her two husbands was originally
from a tomb in the chancel. The inscription
correctly identifies her second husband as John
Marney, Lord Marney, but her first husband
was William, not Thomas, Findern. On the
reverse is a shrouded effigy of a lady c. 1490. (fn. 90)
Another female shroud brass is probably of
Catherine Leventhorp (d. 1502). (fn. 91) Brasses of the
brothers John (d. 1430) and Andrew Swinbourne (d. 1418), from a tomb in the south
chapel, were complete in 1796 but largely
destroyed in the earlier 19th century and only
fragments remain. (fn. 92) Another damaged monu-
ment, probably originally with a brass and perhaps of William Swinbourne (d. 1422), was
destroyed in 1940. (fn. 93)
Figure 37:
WOODEN EFFIGIES,LITTLE HORKESLEY CHURCH