History of the Church

Creeksea and the Domesday Book

Modwin holds Creeksea before 1066 Alfward held it. Manor of 1 hide

The measurement of a hide was the land necessary to support one household for a year. During medieval times it evolved to become an area of about 120 acres. [50 hectares]

The displaced Saxon Farmers of Creeksea would have lived in carefully crafted wooden halls, two of which may have become known as manor houses before the new tenants took over the land under Bishop Odo [half-brother to King William the Conqueror]. It is possible that one of these halls had a chapel which provided the site for a new church built in the Norman style when the new Lord of the Manor, a member of the Fitzwalter family gave the church to Dunmow Priory, a house of Augustinian Canons, founded in 1104. As the Fitzwalters were the Lords of several manors in Essex, the manors in Creeksea were managed by tenants and there may have been revenues granted to the Priory from the estate to pay for the building and care of the church.

And so the construction of the new, Norman-style, stone church began. The square font under the west widow of the church has been dated to around 1125 and part of the doorway is also of a similar date. Under the auspices of the Priory of Dunmow there will have been priests appointed to serve the tiny village. But at some point, the advowson – the authority to appoint a priest – passed to lay patrons. A list of clergy and patrons is on the south wall just past the font.

In 1671 the patronage lapsed and returned to the Crown and King Charles II presented John Middleton as Rector of Creeksea. He remained as incumbent till 1704, the year that his great granddaughter married James Baker of Creeksea Place. But an entry for the Archdeacon’s visitation – a regular inspection of the church which continues to this day – in 1684 said ‘the church is so decayed and ruinous that it must be built anew.’ Nothing seems to have been done, for in 1785 Revd Henry Bate Dudley, incumbent of Bradwell, was reported to have killed a fox with hounds on the roof of a very dilapidated Creeksea Church. A noted artist Dean Wolstenholme painted a picture of the scene called Reynard Seeking Refuge In The Church, possibly from memory or from local accounts of the incident. In 1834 Revd Henry Mawson Milligan painted a copy of the painting. (Below)

Restoration and rebuilding

The living of Creeksea had been united with the living of Althorne in 1811 and although some repairs may have been undertaken it was not until the mid 1800s there was a major move to repair and restore the church. From this period, we have a very clear view of the medieval church.

There is a sketch by Revd Mawson Milligan of the ancient building and the eminent Victorian Architect Frederick Chancellor was asked for his opinion. His inspection of the church resulted in a series of detailed drawings and descriptions. Included a plan which shows the box pews in the nave and the benches at the rear of the church, a clear segregation of gentry and others. These drawings and other information are available on an Essex Record Office blog Creeksea Church: a hidden Victorian gem

The Kemp family, who then lived in Creeksea Hall, were the main instigators and supporters of the restoration. Samuel Kemp was a descendant of the Robert Kemp who, in the 17th Century had married Dorothy, the daughter of Arthur Herrys. The Lords of the Manor were at this time the Mildmay Family who had inherited it from the Herry’s family through marriage. Samuel was churchwarden for 30 years and with his wife Phoebe, and their daughters became very involved with not only the church but education. In 1855, they opened a Dame School, in the former public house the Leathern Bottle, under the care of Mrs Smith, and then proceeded to provide a purpose built schoolroom in Creeksea Lane. Some 40-50 children were on the roll of the new school. Now a private house, it was for many years the home of the Creeksea Sunday School.

When the new church hall was being built in 2018 it was possible to see exactly how material of old church was included in the new. It had long been understood that the pieces of chevron mouldings that could be found in the outside walls, along with floor and roof tiles were from the original church. However, when the time came to break through the walls into the lobby joining the church to the hall, the builders found that the apparently thick walls consisted of two skins with the hollow between being filled with rubble from the old building, including pieces of window and chunks of masonry. So, we can honestly say that the walls which surround us today are steeped in the prayer of the centuries.

The Medieval Church

Suzanne Thacker a former treasurer of All Saints researched the Herries Family for a History Festival in the Church in 26-27 May 2007. There are still descendants of the family living in America and in response to their interest when visiting the ancestral homeland, she produced an information pack to use when they came to look at the church, from which the following details are taken.

In 1549 the manor of Creeksea was sold to William Harrys of Prittlewell, Mundon and later Southminster. He had profited from Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, through his connections with Richard Riche, one of the chief organisers of the break-up of church lands. When Church Commissioners interviewed the churchwardens at Burnham and Mundon in 1551, William’s name was linked to the disappearance of valuable parish ornaments and, when he was High Sheriff of Essex, he supervised the burning of (Protestant) heretics at Stratford. He died a wealthy man in 1556, ‘once more a good Catholic under Queen Mary’, and left enough money for prayers to be said for him yearly, for the next eighty years. This showed just how concerned he was for the welfare of his soul after death.

William organised marriages for his children with the gentry and mercantile families of Essex and Kent and three of his sons became prominent county officials. One son, Arthur Herrys, was a Justice of the Peace and gained a coat of arms for his family in 1578. It is possible that he built Creeksea Place, which has a rainwater hopper, still in place, bearing the date 1569. There was already a large house in another part of the parish, Creeksea Hall, in which Arthur may have lived for a time but his main residence was at Woodham Mortimer. He died in 1597.

Until recently it was believed that the picture hanging in the church was of a painting of Sir William Harris of Creeksea, but Charles Raymond of Belchamp Hall, near Sudbury, confirms that he has the original and that it is of William Harris of Shenfield, who married Frances Astley. The two Williams were cousins. The rapier hanging in the church belonged to Sir William Herries, Knight, of Creeksea Place and legend has it that it remained at Creeksea Place until 1877 when the Galloway family left. Miss C M Galloway gave it to the Revd D A Rooke in 1933 and, when he died in 1974, he left it to the Rector and Churchwardens of All Saints’ Church. It was made in England in the early 17th Century and the hilt has embossed motifs in silver. The blade is not the original, but when it was replaced is unknown.

Arthur’s son, another William, was knighted in 1603. William had married Alice Smith in 1583 and the couple had several children. In his will proved in 1618 Sir William named Sir Arthur (died 1631) as his eldest son and the inscription on Sir Arthur’s tomb in All Saints’ Church Creeksea states that he was the son and heir of Sir William of Creeksea. (One printed reference says that Sir Arthur was the son of John, heir to Sir William of Creeksea, but this would appear to be incorrect.) William and Alice’s other children are believed to include William of Lincoln’s Inn, Alice who married Sir Henry Mildmay of Graces and two sons, Thomas and John, who were amongst early settlers who went from Creeksea to Virginia. Thomas died in Isle of Wight County in 1672 and John died in Charles County around 1638. Both the Harris and Smith families were involved in the development of Virginia. The brasses on the tomb of Sir Arthur Herris were restored in 2008, with the aid of a generous gift from Mr Lytton T Harris IV and his sister Mrs Nancy Harris Hix of the USA, descendants of those early Harris settlers from Creeksea. Other grants towards the cost of restoration were received from the Francis Coales Charitable Foundation and the Monumental Brass Society. Visitors to the church are able to view the brasses on request.

t would appear that one more generation of the Herris family, Arthur’s son Cranmer, inherited the Creeksea estate before it passed to the Mildmay family who held it until 1901. Cranmer and the rector of Creeksea were included in a list of ‘malignants’ presented to the House of Commons on 15 May 1643. Malignant was the name given by Parliamentarians to the followers of Charles I in the Civil War. (Essex had been held secure for Parliament throughout the first Civil War and saw little fighting until the Royalist army came up from Kent to join the Essex Royalists in 1648. Fairfax was only a day behind with his Parliamentary forces and the siege of Colchester followed. The Royalists held out in Colchester Castle for almost three months eventually surrendering due to disease, starvation and lack of ammunition.)

In the 18th Century part of the Herris family home, Creeksea Place, was demolished and the remaining wing was let to the Baker family and their descendants the Galloway Family. They were followed by the Matthams family until the estate was sold to William Rome in 1899. William Rome, son of a local police inspector, had made his fortune through the Oyster Trade, working his way up from a very junior employee in the Counting House to Senior Partner and Proprietor of the fishmongers and oyster company Sweetings. Rome redeveloped the house, replacing the demolished wing and the enclosed garden, and filling the house with artefacts from around the world. He also supported All Saints’ Church financially when it was damaged by fire in 1906. During this period Creeksea Hall, still remained in the hands of the Mildmay Family, who were absentee Lords of the Manor of Creeksea. As a result, the Hall was rented out to a variety of tenants.

In the early part of the 20th century, it was a working farmhouse occupied by the Keys family and saw the birth of their son, John Alan Cyril Keys. His father was away at the Front and his mother wrote a poignant prayer which was later found in her account book.

July 11th, 1918

Oh Lord God, who art the author and giver of all good things,
give to every wife, whose husband is serving the colours,
wisdom and understanding and a brave heart.
With the husband away from home
wilt thou guide the wife in the management of the home
and in the care of the children. Give each one courage to play the true woman’s part
Patience to endure without complaining
Calmness and quietness in times of great strain
And strength in all difficulties.
Keep every wife cheerful in her anxiety for her loved ones
And may she encourage her husband to persevere,
to do his duty well.
Be present too with the children of our men
God bless each little one
Defend and provide for them
Protect them from all anxious ailments
Keep them in health and strength
Hear their prayers for their father as they bend at their mother’s knee
And endow the mother with a double portion of thy blessing to enable her to be both
father and mother to the little ones at home.
Help each husband away from home to pray for his loved ones
And wilt thou be pleased to hear their prayers Amen

It being written in the household accounts book this was followed by a list of expenditure – including Rent at 8/6 (Eight Shillings and Six Pence) The Key family were followed by a number of other residents including, Kenneth Milne the brother of A. A. Milne. A. A. Milne was married to Dorothy de Selincourt – sister of Aubrey de Selincourt who wrote the children’s book Three Green Bottles which is about a family staying in the White House, Creeksea. He obviously knew and loved the river and the White House and may have encouraged his sister to bring the Milnes to visit and stay. Ray Norcup, a former churchwarden of All Saints spoke of Mr Milne and of working for him at the Hall.

Mrs Key’s Prayer

Over the past 100 years the church has been supported and cared for by a congregation drawn from both Creeksea and Burnham. Writing in the Parish Magazine Bernard Dutton remembers the parish and the church from his childhood in the 1950s. He lived with his grandparents in the row of small cottages past what is now an Indian Restaurant but where previously stood the George and Dragon Public House.

He wrote,

My Grandmother, Katie Smith, was one of a number of flower ladies who took turns to decorate the church with flowers and was a member of the Cricksea Mothers’ Union. My Uncle Leonard Smith was Altar Server to the Rector, Reverend Browning. I do not recall my exact age, but it would have been about 10 or 12, when I was given the job of pumping the church organ. This involved pumping up and down a handle of about three feet in length located to the Altar side of the organ. This operated a bellows which supplied air for the organ to play. I did not know the exact method of operation but I imagine there was some sort of reservoir of air. There was a lead weight on a string which moved up and down to indicate the amount of available air. This had to be kept between he upper and the lower mark or the organ could run out of air. Pumping could be quite hard work at times, especially when the organist, Miss Robinson [I never knew her first name as then everyone was addressed and Miss, Mr or Mrs] decided to open up all the stops to for a lively toccata and fugue or wedding march. Most of the time though it was quite a leisurely rhythmic operation. Some of the most memorable and somewhat amusing occasions were when a note [valve] in the organ would stick in the open position due to dampness or some malfunction and would play all the time despite Miss Robinson’s efforts to stop it.

I had to use my judgement by observing the lead weight to let the organ run out of air just as the music ended, or otherwise the note would continue its mournful wailing into the next part of the service. For this I was paid one shilling [5p] with extra for weddings. In the winter I was also tasked with lighting the paraffin heaters in the church for the early morning communion services [no health and safety concerns then!] Early in the morning, about 5am in the pitch darkness [no street lighting] with only my bicycle lamp to light the way I rode to the isolated church, remembering the Dracula films I had seen. Letting myself, breathlessly into the dark Church, and with relief turning on all the lights [there were electric lights even if the heating and the organ were not electrically operated] I slammed the door against any possibly pursuing vampires. I then had to brave the darkness again, going to the shed where the paraffin was stored, fill and light the somewhat temperamental and dangerous heaters and then wait around for a time to ensure they burned correctly and did not go out. By this time, it was usually getting light – so the vampires would have retreated to their lairs – and I could cycle less fearfully home. I do not remember if I was paid for this or not – but danger money would have been appropriate.

Finally, a little later I Joined my uncle Len as an Altar Server for a short time, until, as I entered my teenage years and schoolwork became more demanding, I fell away from church attendance. I look back now to this time with fond memories of the positive influence it had on my beliefs and values to-day. Bernard Dutton [30th October 2014]

In 1975/6 the very dry summer caused serious structural damage and there were fears that the church might have to close. An incredible effort by the then church wardens and congregation enabled the east end to be underpinned and repaired. A pageant was staged in 1979 to celebrate the history of the church and the 100th anniversary of its restoration.

In 1980 The parish became part of a wider benefice incorporating North Fambridge and Latchingdon under the care of Revd Vincent Castle and it remained a quiet backwater, with some houses in the Maldon Road being having been demolished for a road widening scheme that never happened. The church continued to hold a weekly Sunday Service and attracted a large congregation with a wide age range. The family services particularly drew several families from Burnham with the children attending Sunday School in the church hall in Creeksea Lane except for the monthly family service which drew together all the generations.

In recent years the Parochial Church Council has developed these services with the introduction of Audio Visual equipment [2009]. Under-seat heating [2011] pew cushions [2012] Choir pew cushions [2012] Community Hall – begun in 2012 with the first planning application – completed 2018 and officially opened and dedicated by Bishop John Perumbalath at the Harvest Festival Service on the 12th September. The stained glass window in the hall is a memorial to Iain and Richard House, Son and Husband of Mrs Katherine House and was created by the stained glass artist Benjamin Finn of Tolleshunt Knights. In 2022 the church roof was replaced using the best of the existing tiles for the south side and new tiles matching the roof of the extension for the north side. At this time the eighteenth century bell was removed for the belfry restoration and was repaired and rehung by Whites of Appleton thanks to the good offices of Mr Tony Bowen.

The combination of new facilities, while maintaining a very traditional country church, enable us to make the church a warm and welcoming place. There are facilities to run a not only a Film Club, but also a Toddler Group [the Bartholomew Bear Club] a Luncheon Club and Coffee, Cake & Company as well as offering a home for Dengie D-Caf. The building of the new Corinthian Estate within the Parish boundaries has enabled the church to grow further as the local community seek to worship in their church.

Memorials

Within the church there are several memorials to former residents. Below the chancel steps is a flat tombstone inscribed;

Here lieth the body of John Cooch, deceased October 10th 1711, aged 20.
To the right lieth the body of John
Cooch his father, deceased December 16th
1716, aged 50, To the left lieth the body of Mary Cooch his wife, deceased
December 20th 1732, aged 62

In the chancel is the tomb of Sir Arthur Herris of Creeksea Place, with coats of arms and inscription in fine English Brass. It reads;

If any prying man here after come
That knows not who’s the tenant of this tomb Wee’l tell him freely, as our sighs give leave
One (whose) religious breath to God did cleave
And that to men just offices discharged
And to the pinched soul his heart enlarged One,
that thought laid in the dust of breath bereft
Like dying roses sweet distillation left
And moulders, hoping, from this God may
Raise up a child to Abraham, one day.

At the foot of the altar steps lies the body of the Revd John Robinson MA, Rector of Creeksea for 29 years and who died on the 25th October 1824 aged 57, He was the last Rector to live in the Creeksea Parsonage.

At the entrance to the Vestry is the tomb of the Revd Michael Vandilure, Rector of Creeksea for 12 years. He died on the 13th of October 1727 aged 78

On the South wall of the Chancel is a memorial to Charles Eric Wyndham Browne, Second Lieutenant of the 2nd Essex Regiment (Pompadours) who was killed in action on the Somme aged 19 years, on the 24th September 1916 and lies buried in a soldier’s grave near Meault.

The churchyard is full of memorials to the much loved members of Creeksea Church who are no longer with us. There are former church wardens, organists and long-term worshippers. There are the people who spent time and effort to restore the church in the Victorian era and those who were behind the restoration in the 1970s. There are dear friends and neighbours, there are ancestors but there are many who were never named on a memorial over the many centuries that the church has stood here. All these people will have added their prayers to the hundreds that have been sent up to God over the years – they are our spiritual ancestors and thanks to their good offices we have the church we love and are tending in our time.

But among the memorials in the churchyard there are two which sometimes receive more attention. The first is at the entrance to the churchyard and is a memorial to Brigadier General A W Taylor, Churchwarden 1921-22 and 1925-28. Surrounding the grave are the remains of a low surround made of oak and the memorial was once an oaken Celtic cross. We are often asked why it is not being looked after. The answer is that we are doing just what the Brigadier General wanted us to do – he deliberately chose a wooden memorial with the intention that, by the time all who knew him had also passed on, it would quietly disintegrate, and no one would have the bother of maintaining it. 

Close to the Brigadier is a tomb with an oval stone lying upon it. This stone is in the shape of an artist’s palette. The lichen has almost obliterated the name – Alice Maud Taite, the married name of Alice Maud Fanner, 1865-1930. At the turn of the last century Alice Fanner was a well-known artist whose picture Runnymede was chosen for an advertising campaign for the Underground Electric Railways Company. She moved to Burnham in 1914 and produced a number of pictures of local scenes including Mangapps Manor and of the river Crouch – one entitled Luffing off Burnham

The row of graves underneath the west window of the church are from the Baker Family of Creeksea Place.

At the east end of the Churchyard is a striking piece of dark granite – presenting a roughened back to those who walk towards it from the Church. On the eastern face is the memorial to Kemp family of Creeksea Hall. Samuel and his wife Phoebe lived in Creeksea Hall and their children were Christened in the church and this is a memorial to the whole family, even those who were buried elsewhere.

Access to the Church and Hall

Access to the Church is via a road leading also to Creeksea Hall. This is the original public thoroughfare to the Church and is on all available maps, ancient and modern, including Ordnance Surveys. In the past the access to the Hall was via a long drive across the fields from a point further along Ferry Road, which is also on the older maps. This access was removed at some point, and the residents at the hall at that time began to use the public access referring to it as their Drive.

With the construction of the Church Hall, it became necessary to ensure the rights of access to the congregation and other users of the church. Investigations into the maps and other written evidence as well as a survey of worshippers, some of whom who had attended the church for more than 60 years, was presented to the County Highways Department. From the evidence supplied they supported the request for the access to be included on the County Map designating it a non-maintainable public highway open to all traffic. You will notice that if your car shows speed limits on roads that the official speed limit on the access to the church is 20mph.

The Parish Boundary The 1953 Ordnance

Survey map, which is a compilation of one drawn between 1919 and 1921 with later revisions, shows the parish boundary. Creeksea included some of the houses on Maldon Road (most of which have since been demolished), several fields to the north of Maldon Road and a small amount of land to the south of the river. The parish boundary matches that shown on the 1844 Tithe Map. In 1931, Creeksea was part of Maldon Rural District Council and comprised 865 acres of land and 186 acres of foreshore. The population was 84 and the rateable value was £584. Burnham Urban District Council asked to have the Parish of Creeksea included within the Burnham boundary. It stated that many of the amenities that Creeksea enjoyed, such as the water supply, were already provided by Burnham, and that Creeksea children went to school in Burnham. A small uninhabited part of Creeksea Parish, which was south of the river, went to Canewdon Parish and became part of Rochford Rural District Council. On 1 April 1934 the remainder of Creeksea Parish was amalgamated with Burnham Urban District Council. Since then, Creeksea has been determined to retain its ancient name as an Ecclesiastical Parish.

For many years the population remained stable and very small – just 90 in a census of 2011.

Since that time, with the construction of the Corinthian Estate, the population of the Parish has risen considerably and will continue to grow with the building of the Burnham Waters. Creeksea is now very much a village and at its heart All Saints Church remains a beacon of hope and love, a testament to all the hard work and dedication of the generations who have cared for the building. In recent years the building of the hall and the restoration of the roof, as well as many internal projects, have served provide a place of worship and community building that is warm and secure for the years to come.

Sources

The History of an Essex Village, Cricksea in the Hundred of Dengie, By Donald Rooke

The Crouch Valley Parishes, By Ron Fairman A History of Creeksea Place By Neil Kennedy

All Saints’ Church, Creeksea By Suzanne Thacker

Creeksea and the Harris Family Connection By Suzanne Thacker